The record-union., 1891-07-10
Special 10 the RKcoRp-USIov.

|
WASHINGTON. July 9.--John c. Mic
olay to-day addressed an open letter to
Colonel Mcclure, editor of tho Phila-
delphia Times, replying to the latter's
editorial on the subject.
Nicolay says in part that he was Mt the
Baltimore convention rs spectator. b.
9. Coke, Chairman of the Illinois delega-
tion,' had conversation with him about
the course of certain disaffected leaders
IN Illinois; that conversation Nicolay re-
ported to the President in letter TO
Major May, Assistant Private Secretary.
What he had heard had made Cook sds-
picious that SWEET might be untrue to
Lincoln. One of the straws which led to
this beliefwas that SWEET had telegraphed
to Baltimore urging the Illinois delega-
ton to go for Holt. Cook wanted to
know confidentially whether in urging
Holt for the Vice Presidency, SWEET re-
fiected the Presidents wish; whether the
President had any preference, CIR whether
he wished not even to interfere by conf
dental indication.
Upon this letter President Lincoln sent
the following in his own handwriting:
'Swett is unquestionably all right. Mr..
Holt is good man, but had not thought
u. L
Interfere about the Vice-Presidency. L
cannot interfere about the platform. The
convention must Judge for itself"
This written evidence says Nicolay
cannot be turned in trying to evade it's
force. You assert that Lincoln called
you to Washington and urged the nomi-
nation of Johnson, and that you re-
turned to Baltimore to work and vote in
obedience to that request, against your
personal predictions The PROCEEDINGS
OF the convention show that you acted an
entirely minor part. Is it probable that
Lincoln, among, all the other men in the
Pennsylvania delegation Simon Cam
eron, Thaddeus Stevens, A. II. Reeder,
Galusha a. Grow and others, would
have called you alone to receive his secret
Instructions?
ut is q matter of public history that
Simon Cameron was more prominent
and efficient than any other Pennsylya-
nian in the movement in that State to
give Lincoln second term, and that on
the 14th of January, 1864, he transmitted
! to the President a written request of
| every Union member of the Pennsylva-
MIA Legislature to accept the renomina-
tlons This and his subsequent open and
unvarying report left nc doubt of Came
ron's attitude. How was it with you?'
Nicolay then quotes letter from Nc
Clure to President Lincoln of May 2, 1864,
protesting against the intimation jn one
VI Two papers tIldJ lie khCClur6J was not
in favor of Lincoln's denomination, and
assuring him of cordial support, and con-
tinues that 1T was only ia month before
the convention that you felt called upon
to personally protest the accusation of
party disloyalty.
But this is not all. At one time, to
make nominations for President,
Simon Cameron, of the Pennsylvania
delegation, and one of the earliest and
most persistent friends of Lincoln him.
self, nominated Hannibal Hamlin for
Vice-President. While the vote of Penn
sylvania was on the first ballot cast for
Hamlin's nomination, and also Illinois
delegation voted for Hamlin on the first
ballot, does it stand to reason that Lin
coin called upon you to desert Hamlin
and nominate Johnson, and gave no init.
nation of this desire to the chairmen of
the Pennsylvania and Illinois delega-
tionS? y Dare you venture
the assertion that Lincoln was deceiving
Cameron, deceiying Cook, carrying on a
secret intrigue against Hamlin and an
other secret intrigue against Holt, and
that on the top of the whole he has writ
ten a deliberate lie to us? That may be
your conception of Abraham Lincoln,
but it IS not mine.o