The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-07-10

with Lincolp who was not known to be his
choice. 1t was not proclaimed, but it WASH
the air and pretty much everybody but
John u. Nicolay scented and bowed to it
''Of the few men who enjoyed Lincon's
complete confidence, Charles A. Dana wa:
conspicuous, and his statement, given II
another column, is as credible testimony
as could now be given on the subject. He
was trusted by Lincoln in the most deli
cate matters, political and military, and
he logically tells of Johnson's selection by
Lincoln for the vice presidency in 1864
With Dana's direct corroboration of my
statement added to the strongly corrobora.
tive facts herein given, | may safely dis
miss John u. Nicolay and the dispute his
mingled ignorance and arrogance has
thrust upon them. A. b. NJ.
NICoLAY's REPLY.
WASHINGTON, July 9-John G. Nicolay,
President Lincoln's private secretary, to-
day addressed an open letter to Col. A. h..
Mcclure, editor. of the Philadelphia
Times, in which be SAYS: Il viii not re-
ply to your personal abuse; it proves moth
ing but your rage and wounded vanity at
being exposed in a gross historical mis-
statement. You asserted that President
Lincoln opposed the denomination of Han
nibal Hamlin for vice president. | refuted
that assertion by calling attention to the
written record, wherein Lincoln, in his
own uduOWElllDGs GADllCAbl9 SbdbcS LuC
contrary. You now reaSSert your state
ment; or. to put it in other words, you &C
cuse President Lincoln of acting low po
litical deceit, and with his own hand
writing deliberate lie. You assert that
Lincoln called you to Washington and
urged the nomination of Johnson, and that
you returned to Baltimore to work aud
vote in obedience to that request against
your personal predictions.
= ct MS examine this claim. The prO-
ceedings of the convention show that you
were one Of four delegates at large from
Pennsylvania. a. The proceedings also show
that you acted entirely minor part
Among those who made motions and speech
es were Simon Cameron, Thaddeus Stevens
A. II. Reeder, Z. A. Walbern, Galusha \.
Grow and NJ. B. Lowery, but beyond the
presentation of a routine report, your
name did not give forth the squeak OF the
smallest mouse.
is it probable that Lincoln, among all
these men, would have called you alone to
receive his secret instructions? IT. is a
matter of public history that Simon
Cameron was more prominent and active
than any other Pennsylvania in that
state TO give Lincoln a second term, and
that on the 4th Of January, 1864. he trans
mitted to the president a written request
from every Union member of the Pennsyl-
vania legislature to accept the renomina
tion. / find among Lincoln's papers
letter from you, dated Chambersburg, Pa,
May 2, 1864, saying:
~ have been amazed to see it intimated
in one or two journals that am not cor
daily in favor Of your denomination.
shall notice the intimations no further |
than to assure you that you will have no |
more faithful, earnest or cordial supporter |
In the convention than your obedient SER
want % 4. Is. Mcclure
This is only a month before the Balti- !
more convention, and you felt called upon |
TO personally protest against accusations |
of party disloyalty. But this is not all |
When the time came to make nomina-
tiOns for vice president, Simon Cameron
nominated Hannibal Hamlin for vice pres
jdent, while the whole vote of Pennsyl-
vania was on the first ballot cast for Ham
Inns denomination.
Does it stand to reason that Lincoln
called upon you to desert Hamlin and
nominate johnson and gave no ntimation
OF this desire 10 the chairman of the Penn
syIvania delegation and of the Illinois
delegations And, once more: Is it
probable that if Lincoln had de-
sired the nomination of John
son he would have allowed SWEET,
one of the presidents most intimate
friends, to urge the nomination of Holt?
Dare you venture the assertion that Lin
coin was carrying on secret intrigue
against Hamlin and another secret in
trigue against Holt and that on top of the
whole he was writing deliberate lie TO us. |
That may be your conception of 4 braham
Lincoln, but it is not mine.n