New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-02-09
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
WENDELL PHILLIPS.
ALrTTrR from OLIVER JOHNSON.

III
To the EDITOR Of The Tribune.
SIR: Although the weakness induced by a
painful and protracted illness makes II difficult for me 10
hold pen am constrained TO utter my protest against
some of Your remarks In view OF the death OF "enue
Phillips With much that you have said ind no iau'
To his sincerity. devotion and peerless eloquence you
have done ample justice; but IN some other particulars
You seer. to me have missed the mark and fallen INTO
cxtray and cxazgeraops grea; as any that
can be laid TO the charge Of Mr. Phillips himself
When you say OF Mr.. Phillips and his associates tnat
they "became enemies Of society,"" and "saw IN all s
bulwaIksn the church, the school, the university the
press the ballot tho legislature the organization OF IN
dustry the conventiOaaes OF life-one vast compact
with hell" you fall into strain of e1aggerat1on haruy
eauaed by anything that be found In the recorus OF
"aboiiion fanaticsm" The Aooitionsts, VIII CONFESS
were masters OF a style OF rhetoric that sometimes ou
them beyond the boundaries OF exact truth Dul hcy u
not often come up the level of your example III ts W
stance When colleges seninaries, churehes unlNefsr
ties legislatures the press became servtors OF 'he
slave mower they did indeed arTaign them for their
trsachery TO Christianity and liberty but they did IL az
the friends not the enemies OF society TO save ana ho
TO destroy it's most cherished institutions. The literature
OF the an:islavery movement which has oeen caeiuy
deposited In our public libraries for the Information Oh
pusterty may be appealed for contraction OF THIS
statement As for Mr.. Phillips, bis ansavery record
will be found in the volume (pp. 562) OF bis "speeches
Lectures and Letters" published in 1868 The volume
no doubt obnoxious TO criticism In many respects pu
there Is not word in II to support your extrsvasan
charge In there is effort to trim his uterahees III
Difference TO al adverse public sentiment or to concea
his unpopular opinions Posterty, WIN that WI
umc before IT, will be able to Judge between Mr. Php'
and those who would brand him as all " enemy OF So
cety."
The most aggravated offence to public opinion on tne
part OF Garrison Phillips and their associates was te
advocacy OF the doctrine Of no union WIN saVenou
ers" II should be remembered however, that they ad-
yancsd TO this position slowly and reluctantly ana not
until after dozen year. agitation, during which they
sought TO avoid the necessity for taking SO extreme
step II was only when they could no longer niue Iro
themselves the truth that the compromises OF the Con
stituon rngrdcd the North like huge boacons'eto'
crushing the love of impartial liberty ana making
her the vassa OF power that they concluded 10
take step more unpopular than any that they had taken
before OF all the conclusions to which they came TINS Is
the one that will most readily commend Itself to posterly
for It's wisdom and necessity IL Will need no oiheI uc
fence than simple statement OF the facts For "hsI
were those compromised First the rehabilitation OF the
foreign slave trade previously forbidden 10y mary OF inc
States and the charter OF avers under the National nag
to plumber Africa OF her children for period OF twenty
years; second, the pledge TO put down the slaves ne
should seek to break their feters-a contest III wmcn
Jefferson declared the Almighty had no attribute mat
would take sides" against the bondsnan; thru, the
pledge OF the National authority to eaten ana Return
fugitive slaves their and fourth the provision
by which hreeffths OF the slaves were counted ~ .
In Congress ana INC
eges These provisions the A6oltonits branded as IN
famous. and in the words OF the HeDrew pr9phe
declared that they could oath to support these
provisions, and that they meant as duty 70 Goa ana
man, to rampc them under foot Ihat pOsteIlty VIII VII,
spplaud alike their morality and their courage II WOud
be idle doubt. Their logic was a. as tat vi
Abraham Lincoln, speaking for the Republican party,
tried 10 ssuade the South from secession by earnest as
% seS a 9' . an Evidence Of his good faith the officials
OF the Administration were required 10 SNOW, anu
In QfR
fugitive slaves But the South refused to be coaxed
She clearly enough that behind me RepnDlicanss
the North would make 1t utterly lmp0ssoic Ior ne
Republican party to fn snen psaseTb v tb iboIton
lists who sought to bring i about by peacein means out
the work was not accomplished until inc Norln a.. inc
Infamous compromises TO the winds as no longer ondDg
~ vane a. means To- the grand result not was
the destruction by The Abohtionsts Of that idolaty Of
the Federal compact which was so long one Oh tne co
Constitution OF 1887, a one, from which the
covenant with death and the agreement with hell" has
instrument dared not reconstruct the Union on II as
basis but were compelled to amend u exact accord
Abraham lincoln was not slow to consult the Abel
House to thank them for their efforts to form the public
sentiment which could alone prepare the way Ior
anal close of the Rebellion be expressed in emphatic
terms indebtedness TO hem saying that but for their
emor Chamberlain, Of south Carolina he expressed sni
lar sentiments, going so far as to mention the name G
therefore that The Springfield Republican, comes nearer
the truth than you do when II says: now known
and acknowledged every where that the little bands or
Aboitioniss the force behind the people that de-
struyed slavery" OLIVER JOHNSON
No IOl East y-trdSt, Ne,o- York, Feb. o. 1884
We see no adequate proyocatiOn for Mr.. Johnsons
amiablc anger, but are happy to give hearing
to so excellent a man. He confirms orr statement
that Mr.. Phillips was enemy to society-not, OF
course to society in the abstract or to society as 1t
ought to be; we never SAID that, aud VIC do not
think that the tone of our article justified the
inference that we meant that-but to society as 1T
was represented in the churches, schools news
papers, legislatures, etc. of his day. MI johnson
admits this and argues that Wendell Phillips was
right. Well, then there is no controversy between
no E61