St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-07-11

democratic nomination he felt tnat
the war had been prolonged beyond
popular expectation; 1.-THE helm has
not been held with firm and steady
grasp" and too many questionable
experiments upon the public endur-
ance" had been made. John Jay, an
other New Yorker thought a letter
might be addressed to Mr.. Lincoln
asking him to withdraw; he would
be obliged to reply, and the discus
able us to elicit pledges and secure
changes from Lincoln as the condi-
ton of our support" Richard Smith
of the Cincinnati Gazette, which was
then Whitelaw Reds place of work,
thought 1.-THE withdrawal of Lincoln
and Johnson and the nomination OF
a man that would infuse life into our
ranks would be hailed with general
delight" He, however, doubted the
wisdom of convention, the effort
| should be directed to securing Mr..
Lincoln s withdrawal without a con-
vention. The people, he was sure.
regarded Lincoln's candidacy as a
misfortune. Il do not know
Lincoln man." he said. Whitelaw
Reid himself wrote after the demo-
cratic convention that he had done
| what he could in inducing the Ca
zette to come out for Mr.. LincOln's
withdrawal Eve think Mcclellan
and Pendleton strong ticket, and
fear the result" wrote Reid.
Among the other letters may be
mentioned one from Lucius Robin
IF
York; from Senator Jacob COllamer
of Vermont, who was far from being
decided; from Gen. Butler, who was
singularly non-cOmmittal; from
Amasa Walker of North BroOkfeld,
who proposed to get influential sig
natures" in Massachusetts and of
John A. Andrew-but the last is a
note written after the movement
was practically dead, and apparent
ly in response to an expression of
patriotic Devotion Mr.. Andrew
wrote, September "a: eve have, as
practical men, a plain duty now be-
fore us. l think we shall perform it
with energy, and shall win and de-
serve success, and then-hOw great
are the duties which lie beyond"
Charles Sumner felt that things were
in bad way and wrote
1t is clear that all who love their
country, and wish to see it free, must
act together. There must be no divi-
sion. To this end we must all be
ready to make sacrifices. 1t may be
that Mr. L. will see that we shall all
be stronger and more united under
another candidate But if he does
Il &c 4I,a
less clear to unite in the opposition
to the common enemy.
But one man in the whole number
whose responses are iven,-nobody
but the editor of the Sun and Mr.
Stevens knows how many are omit
ted-seemed to have a level head.
That man was Roscoe COnkling. In
the first letter he wrote he said, Il
do not approve of the call or the
movement" In a second he wrote:
81 can hardly comprehend, or even
credit, on any suppOsition, how all
you say can have taken place. But
you seem to have proof enough to
show the danger of doing anything
in these times except minding ones
own business" And further on, in
the same letter, he said in the same
tone of disdainful superiority: you
can all consult your convenience and
ease in the prosecution of what you
propose, think, for we are dropping
down stream with a rapidity which
will make your landing whether you
paddle or not"
After the democratic nominations,
and after the victories begun in Sher-
l.,
changed Mr.. Chase hasted to "hOpe
you carried into effect your design to
disconnect yourself wholly from any
projects of convention unfriendly to
the Union nominations at Baltimore,
and that you will come out zealously
in their support" D. S. Dickinson,
remarking upon the Chicago conven-
ton, called its results 1.-The ignomini-
Gus and reasonable surrender" say
ing also
Gen. McClellan's private attempt
to accept the Chicago nomination
and get rid of the platform is really
beneath criticism. His necessities
must be great indeed to induce such
humiliating Standardization. Imake
no doubt of Mr. LincOln's triumphant
election, in spite of the dusty political
acts of those evidently controlling
his administration, which would de-
feat him if anything could.
Wlitelaw Reid, who had spoken of
Mcclellan and Pend1eton as a strong
ticket, was brought to his senses by
q private cOnverSat with lone of
the prominent leaders in the radical
movement" and sent part of it to
the Cincinnati Gazette, as follows:-
The conditions under which that
call was issued were the general apa-
thy and discomfort and the apparent
certainty of Mr.. Lincoln's defeat. All
this is changed. The outrage on the
nation perpetrated at Chicago, the
fall of Atlanta, the success of the
cause in Vermont and Maine, renders
that impossible and unreasonable
which then seemed our only safety. |
We must now place ourselves in the
van of the fight; we shall not enjoy
it's honors, but we will do what we
may to save the country; it shall not |
be said of us that we have played in
this contest the part of FitZ John |
Porter at the second Bull Run.
From this dispatch we also perceive |
that this movement was not wholly |
without publicity, as indeed many
men still living can remember as well
as Mr. Dana or Mr.. Reid. The Chi
cago strong ticket was now become
an Outrage" Mr. Chase (who was
the radical leader above quoted was
now prepared to make speeches for
Lincoln, but hated to be reported
badly, as he always was. A letter
from Whitelaw Reid is printed, in
which he says in regard to this diff