The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-12-25
SHERMAN AND DAVIS,
More Developments in the Famous Con-
troversy.

More Developments in the Famous Con-
troversy.
ST. LOUIS, December lS.-The Rep,tbli-
Gun has received from Washington another
one of the letters upon which General Sher-
man based his recent assertion respecting
Jeff Davis. The letter Is from Alexander
II. Stephens addressed to Herche V. john
son and is dated Charlottesville, Ga, Sep
TENDER 5, 1864. 1t is quite long, and the.
part of 1t which seems most likely to have.
served as the ground for General Sherman's
statement in his reply to letter from Mr.
johnson is which that gentleman alludes to-
Mr. Stephens as being hostile to the admin
istration and tells him that he will neces-
sarily be classed with those whose palpable
object is to organize a party in opposition
to it This, MIR. Stephens says:
81 assure you have no antipatby to Mr..
Davis, nor am hostile to him; and IL there
is any object or intention or wish with any to
istration ] know nothing of it, and have
heard nothing. l repeat, j have no anti
pathy, much less hostility, to Mr.. Davis, but
l have no hesitsncy in stating to you freely
and frankly what my opinions of him are.
They are much more akin tic suspicion and
jealousy than of luminosity or hate. While
do not and never have regarded him as a
great man or statesman on a large scale, or
a man of any marked genius, vet have re-
carried him as man Of good intentions,
weak and yascilating, timiG, petulant fever
ish, obstinate, but not firm. am now begin
ming to doubt his good intentions. i say
doubt, for after watching him closely i am
not satisfied in my own mind, nor have ar
rived at any conclusion whether some Of his
are to be attributed to weak
ness or bad purposes. These are my real
sentiments and my reasons for them are
these:
"Since my first elevation to power he has,
changed many of his State right principles.
Us in the case of consumption. His whole
policy in the organization and discipline of
the army is perfectly consistent with tho
hypothesis that is aiming at absolute power.
Not word has come from him of military
in the orders for. malta. law by
Bragg and vandorn on the whole system Of
passports and provost marshais, which Is
utterly wrong without authority OF law.
After all that may be said and written by
not one word has escaped Mr.. Davis,
showing his diapproyal of them. Again.
It IL well known that the subject
Of dictatorship has been mooted,
talked of and discussed in private and in the,
public Journals, and that the most earnest
advocates of such course, the virtual
doing away with Congress and the Constitu--
ton have been editors near him. Right Under
his noseD Editors of Journals recognized at
the time to be the organs of the admiDlstra-
ton. Now 1t seems to me strange that this
should be so and linen holding and a1yOcat-
ing such sentiments for months should hold
such near relations to him IL such senti-
ments were distasteful to him. These are
bad signs to me, yet they are not conclusive
evidence of bad objects or intentions on his
awaken my suspicion and wntcbful Jealousy.
they teach m, to be on my guard and they
should, in my opinion, put the whole country
on their guard.