Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1880-12-18
A LETTER FROM MIR. WILSON.

number he shows that the question has Tor h
~ no more interest than Il vermIfage adver,iseme
10 Tor All old bachelor. 1t may be that my We
f. known exclusive reading Of alinanacs has ind
=, ced the st>l lie of u ''patent medicine advertis
- ment.' but If our party remains in the hands
II some of It's present leaders, it will need meC
Of cine worse than it does now. But. scriousl
the Sentinel. by thus attempting to pooh-po
this question, simply denies the ability of its,
II or its candidate to handle it. Whether il is ju
II to a democrat who has devoted as much study
# the subject, and to the great democrats who a.
prove the results of that study, to endeavor
q eeiittle the subject and the writer. 1 confident
leave with fair-Ininded democrats to decide.
a AS to Confederatcs When the war ended Il
northern radical press laid out the followir
programme, rs any one can see by referring
their Old dies. and most men who were readir
newspapers then Will remsmber-pardon d
: prlvates and all officers uD to and including co
onels and win them away from their ''l-aiers;'
take the life OF Jefferson Davis and perhal
some other civil and military officers, the afore
! said 'leaders;'' and keep the other leaders dis
! iranchised for HE. This programme was base
on the Idea. insisted on in the north, that tn
south is ignorant and illiterate, and was mis-
lead by wicked ''southern leaders, The Ide
was rather held out that all, from colonies down
should participate in holding federal appoint
ments. That the northern people do, for som
reason, maze u distinction against all, from
confederate brigadiers'' up, and especial,
harp on that term and except from their hate an,
distrust all below 1t TO some extent. ia known Il
me TO be u fact. At the time l before referred
to, when my northern democratic associate,
seemed even to distrust my loyalty, We had two
ex-confederate soldiers and a Missouri "sympa.
thizer'' on q democratic county ticket, and nc
radical ever made objection to them on tina,
score; yet. NJ that very time, q prominent radf.
cal ofiice-holder in talking to me about 'sconfed-
craze brigadiers' in congress. Missed il through
MS teeth at ME In anger. that "the great mistake
we made was in pardoning any OF these lead
ers.' 1t may be. as the Sentinel charges. that
the county officers have been chosen for q reason
that 1t condemns-becaus they were in the con-
fsderate army; but at whatever risk 1 say it, /
do say that 1 do not condemn 1t in my heart, and
l will net say 1 do. Gen. Price said that his
battles were fought by ''boys and small proper
" holders" and if, after the war ended, those
VINO had been large land and slave holders cheese
to give these offices to the ''boys and email
property holdcrs'' whom they encouraged to 20
Into the army. and who came out wounded, bro
Ken IN health and in fortune. they have u perfect
right to do 1t. If a man from any other county
were to ask me what PECULIARLY our county Of
ncers all possess. that enabled our county to
come cut of its desperate siiuation of a few years
ago, could only say that they had brought into
civil life the capability, tenacity and bravery in
managing the county business, and In Insisting
on the adjustment of its debt, that distinguished
them rs soldiers In the southern army. II Gen.
Cockrell were, among United States senator's as
distinguished for ability as our county officers
are Tor ability ,faithtulness and poIiteness among
county ohicers. l wenld not say q word. though |
unable to ignore the fact that = confederate gen.
ef'di in the senate from Missouri hanulcap. us
In the presidential race for 1884. If Horace
Greeley had been elected. no doubt hs would
nave Insisted on giving some federal Offices of
the lesser grades to private soldiers and under
officers of the confederate army, as part OF his
plan of restoring harmony. II Tilden had not
been sold out by the electoral commission, / do
not doubt that the majority of the offices in the
south would naturally have fallen into the hands
oil the confederates of the lesser grades. What
puzzles me is 10 know why the Sentinel and
others do not look through and see thi. fact and
work for it, instead of letting the generals ride
hem forever, and keep them out of office by
the party out of service. 1t Is the gen.
erals whom you can count on the fingers OF one
nand, who are keeping the mass OF Q nlederate.
IN q position similar 10 that of the negroes In
he radical party, and to that / object, for hate
aristOcracies. There Is an srtilleryman at
ny brothers. company whom I have looked at
'ften and thought he might as we'll he in the soft
)erth oil a Watchman on a public building in
" ashington, at $'5 a month, till he could Law
Up enough to buy a piece of land in this county.
I Montgomery Blair. Dana and such men could
beat their ideas into the heads OF some Of
'ur southern leaders" 1t is those unrort,,.
la'e men wine carried the muske;s or those who
eau lhem IN person. not those who reaped the
't"fy Oh Deing generals at no greater risk, who
ave my sympathy. and they could hold the Of
ices thst they would want without ohense. If
he sentinel had helped and succeeded in renom-
mating THden and Hendricks, instead Of follow
ng Cockrell against them. its editor might "a
veil have Mosby's fat position sin China as nor
'ut 1t generally prefers to be ridden by Il ~s.prir-
There are two notable exceptions
mony southern leaders' to the sel,sbu.,s
nat has prompted some of them. One is a con-
ederate brigadier in our own county, who has.
y his frank and open declaration, SO gained
ne confidence OF the north that he would be I'M
for almost any office; yet no man
as more pcrsistently abstained from Office
or more unsellshly devoted himself TO
the cause CT his Ofice-seekIng friends. /;
aiiuae To Con. DO. o.. Shelby. The other is
he president Of the late conlederacy, who could i,
pafdoned II he would ask for 1t, and could c
ave any Office Mississippi could bestow, but de- ,
iiCes ooins Either. telling his country-men it Is
Ut Dest Ior them that he should draw the anger c
l the north on them; and devotes himself to {
'ritlns the true story of his heroes, whose bones t
ave gone to dust In the trenches, AMI defending g
against the fOOlish nnfinp of To-. r,h,,t.u :
and others, that if they had had d
icy would have fought better; whereas they did Q
mat mortal men could do, and more than
lOrtal men ever did before. y,
we hGve not yet quit hating England for a Diff {
Guilty a century old. The Scotch and English .
ane each other as much as in DIR. Johnson's r
ny. why talk. then, IN the Sentinel about the '
atreds OF civil war ending in fifteen yearse If I
lie sentinel could SEQ the sword now SUI spended n
yer the head OF the south. it might talk more h
'nsibly about Fearful northern men,,
All that 1 say about Gen. Cockrell is that he ia .
lie right lnan in the wrong place. 1t is l. matter b,
sincere regret to me to oppose him, and for I,
. one reason more than that 1 thereby gain the =
l Will OF the Ewing family, with whom mine II
IS been friends for three generations, nv r.
aiding the Rev. Finis Ewing in d
the Cumberland Presbyterian church. =,
nd some Of my most attached and intimate as
were members IF that family-and that r
connection contains more men of
eater than average ability and integrity than n
~ family Of its size that know. have never u
a bad citizen in it. But the recovery of ~
e executive and house of representatives -
Inch we had four years ago and have Lost. /. =.
more Importance to me than the maintenance :,
these pleasant associations. And never. Since ,,
cir ancestors founded a church, have the Ew-
Ss mad such an opportunity of doing good NC y
ey have now by simply reversing their ideus !,
this senatorial question. h
As to sitting Down" on me in cold blood or :,
any one else. at any cost OF suits or ladders. h
no presnines to talk above his breath about -
the Sentinel ought TO have given /.
Is warning earlier. anu thereby prevented I
Is RASH act on my part. But if it wishes TO nm. I,
lis injustice will it take the pains to explain =
ut 1t Charged me with opposing conted.ra,es ;.
general for orice, whereas | only oppoae & /.
rtain confederate general in Il union state e.
mere II seems proper 10 do 50 10 meet that l.
hich has been considered Objectionable by IN. "
orth? The writer Fair Play, in the same ua-
~ VIII never hear me quote the first line of "
cpilaph ~ him. invite him +, j.
lay on, Macdun,' and not '.fo1L-arD If T
'Ice permitted, ! would like to tell Won of tho :,
iofts nave iniiie among northern radicals IN ri