Los Angeles herald., 1891-07-10
NICOLAY'S ANSWER.
An Open Letter to Editor
Mcclure.
The Manner of Man Abraham
Lincoln Was.
His Preference for Vice-President
in 1864.
1t Seems to Be Well Established That
Hannibal Hamlin Was His First
Choice-General News
G1eanings.
Associated Press Dispatches.

WASHINGTON, July 9.--John G. Nicolay
today addressed an open letter to Colo
mel Mcclure, editor of the Philadelphia
Times. Nicolay says, in part, he was at
the Baltimore convention as spectator.
A. B. Cook, chairman of the Illinois
delegation, had conversation with him
about the course OF certain disaffected
leaders in Illinois. That conversation
Nicolay reported to the president in a
letter to Major Hay, assistant private
secretary. What he had heard had
made Cook suspicious that SWEET might
be untrue to Lincoln. One of the straws
which led to this belief was,
that SWEET had teiegraphed to Balti-
more, urging the Illinois delegation to
go for Holt. Cook wanted to know con-
fidentially whether, in urging Holt for
the vice-presidency, SWEET reflected the
presidents wish whether the president
had any preference, or whether lie
wished not even to interfere by conf
Dental indication.
Upon this letter President Lincoln
made the following endorsement in his
tionably ali right; Mr.. Holt is a good
him for vice-president. wish not to
interfere about the vice-president. 1
cannot interfere about the platform. The
convention must Judge for ITSELF"
"This written evidence" says Nico-
lay, ''cannot be spurned. In trying to
evade its force you assert that Lincoln
called you to Washington and urged the
nomination of Johnson, and that you
returned to Baltimore to work and vote
in obedience to that request, against
your personal predictions. The pro-
ceedings of the convention show that
you acted an entirely minor part. Is it
probable that Lincoln, among all the
other men in Pennsylvania, (Simon
Cameron, Thaddeus Stevens, A. H.
Reeder, Galusha A. Grow and otners),
would have called you alone
to receive his secret instructions?
1t is matter. OF public history
that Simon Cameron was more promi-
nent and efficient than any other Penn
SYLVAN in the movement in that state,
to give Lincoln second term, and that
on the 14th of January, 1854, he trans
mitted to the president the written
request of every union member OF the
Pennsylvania legislature, to accept a
denomination. This and his subsequent
open and unvarying report lent no
doubt of Cameron's attitude. How was
it with you?"
Nicolay then quotes letter. from
Mcclure to President Lincoln, May 2,
1864. protesting against the intimation in
one or two papers that he (McClure)
was not cordially in favor of Lincoln's
nomination, and assuring him of cordial
support, ard continues: THAT is,
only month before the convention you
felt called upon to personally protest
against accusations of the party OF dis
loyalty; but this is not all. When the
time came to make nominations for vice
president, Simeon Cameron, chairman
OF the Pennsylvania delegation, and one
of the earliest and most persistent
friends of Lincoln, himself nominated
Hannibal Hamlin for vice-president,
while the whole vote of Pennsylvania
was on the first ballot cast for Hamlin's
nomination also the Illinois delegations
entire vote was for Hamlin on first
ballot. Does it stand to reason that
Lincoln called upon you to desert Ham
lin and nominate Johnson, and gave no
intimation of this desire to the chair
man of the Pennsylvania and Illinois
delegation? Dare you venture the asser-
tion that Lincoln was deceiving
Cameron, deceiving Cook, carrying on
secret intrigue against Hamlin and an
other secret intrigue against Holt, and
that on top of the whole he has written
a deliberate lie to us? That may be
your conception of Abraham Lincoln,
but it is not NINE"