The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-12-05

The Anti.SIayery Pioneers OF the Pan
HandIe-ChiefJustIce ChaSe the Author
OF their Pamphlet In 1874.
EdIton IntcllIgenesr,
1t is due to the truth Of history and a
matter of justice to all parties concerned
TO state that the address to the people OF
Virginia by the pioneer abolitionists,
which you published in the INrR1EoENcrR
the other day, was written by Chief JUS
tice Chase, then leading lawyer at the
Cincinnati bar and actively engaged in
organizing a political party opposed to
slavery.
Tho pamphlet was printed BY ]. E,
Wharton, then proprietor OF the Wheeling
Itnh'-a Wing paper-but you will OBJ.
serve that his imprint is not on it. The
work on It, as he has since stated, was
done at night, and all knowledge OF il
carefully concealed from the public, as It
would have been damaging to him had II
been known, and would probably have
caused Henry Clay to lose some votes.
1t was regarded as an inCendiary publ.
cation and its distribution created quite a
sensation. The writer well remembers
hearing the matter talked Of at the time,
The Older men, with long faces, expressed
the opinion quite generally that they
would be prosecuted, and that It would 20
very hard with them, especially John
Gilmore, who was regarded as the greatest
offender. Gilmore and his friends showed
no signs OF alarm, and II they heard OF apy
one making threats they were careful to
have him offered copy of the pamphlet
and 1t would frequently be accented.
The electoral ticket put in nomination
by these men was not only the first anti.
slavery ticket in Virginia, but the first in
any slave State. The writer remembers
to have heard at a Birney meeting, across
the line in Pennsylvania, DR.. VIM. Eden
than whom as stump speaker the
country has produced few superiors-say
in a speech that he would about as soon
nave his name on that ticket as to the
Declaration OF Independence; that It
would be as sure Of honorable mention in
history.
The votes in Ohio County for this ticket
were all polled at Triadelphia, and we're,
II We recollect rightly, eighteen in mum.
Der. There was then but one other voting
place outside OF Wheeling in the county,
West Liberty-and 1t was understood that
t would be useless to offer the ticket there.
There was some talk that it would be re.
iected at Triadelphia on the plea Of lille.
gality, and to meet this written opinion
thatit was legal was procured from Judge
Fry. There was no difficulty, however
except that the deputy sheriff who re.
ceived the tickets at the window would
drop them on the floor as soon as he saw
what they were, and refused to call out
the names OF the candidates as he was re.
quirod TO do, but the judges would pick
them up and properly dispose Of them.
The writer, being a minor, did mot vote
but was present at the polls. This vote
was not reported in the papers. Net a
line nor a word appeared in the Wheeling
papers during the entire campaign in rel.
erenCe TO this movement.
These pioneer Abolitionists showed as
much courage In what they did in this
initial movement against slavery as ala
the men who gave It the fatal blow ON he
heights Of Gettysburg, and are, perhaps,
entitled to as much credit.
W n