The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-05-29

LINCOLN. NOT sswAsD.
Ths Rev. Dr.. Alison. in his Memorial
Gay diseourSs. says:
AHspolsou Just sched 70 havs m excuse
for sending troops - aid the CoDfsdsracy.
hecause thereby IN alliance might Be
esssfui. which woald prevent the United
States from snfoesing the Monroe doc
tsfne On the INVADER of Mexico. 6ecre-
tAry Seward NJ urged 70 Send . note TO
1apoleon ordering him to order the svac-
nes1on Of AsxicO . once. He uas roundiy
ebessd for dseiininG. He vas called
stand ths inssds Of aiEsisn That man
Seward saved this union. II he had sent
tAat letter In 1663 Napoleon had u once
uent soldiers TO this country and the civil
var would doubtless have hsd . different
ending. But Il was not 70 be. Gods hand
vas catstrstchsd. In tSG1 Seward sent
the note.
Dr.. Alison b historically mistaken; the
credit Of the conservatism. the courage
ard The sagscity q Lissola's administra-
lion bslongs wholly 70 Lncoln and not to
SEWARD. No man vas more smphatscaIly
president o. the United States, not even
jackson. than Abraham Lineoln. II Vas
Lincoln Who completely rswrots with his
own land Stewards Dispatch In the Mason
and olidsai eass: hs changed nes only TT
spss5t. bat rscAss IL into bettsr English
than Seward could write. Tho archives
~ tho government show thss Lincoln
wrote every line Of che order removing
Cen Mcclellan with his own hand: that
~ was N constant cosssspondsncs with
Basil. Hooker. Meade and Grant. frankly
vebuking Whist seemed 70 him error and -
FRANKLY c0u1sssing his own mistakes.
His famous letter TO Gen. Hooker
zsbukins him fos stupid talk about
''dictatorships." saying In substance
attend 70 POUR own business; give
~ . victory and will take care Of the
dictatofship. !" b that Of . dsssrminsd, mas
terful man. His lssesn 10 Gen. Meade.
urging him In vain 10 move while Long
street. hsd gone with 1900 of Lees army
70 help Bsasg bsat Rosscrans at Chicka-
manga. show that lincoln had his per-
sonal eye always on the gun; that ne was
no psffunctosy president Whatever
Seward did In the Mexican business he
did through Lincoln: had Lincoln per-
mitted Stewards original Mason and
Ulidsll dispatch 10 have bssn transmitted,
" would have had war with England,
snd Lincoln promptly sat down on this.
sayings sGsntlemen. one war at . time. /"
That Lincoln Was not only the consery.
atism, the sslf-rsstraint but the courage
of his administration 10 shown by the fact
shat the Republican radicals. Charles
Sumner and Ben Wade. after very hard
parliamentary contest, defeated Lincoin's
reconstruction plan for the government OF
Louisiana proposed in February. Is6a II
President Iincoin's plan had prevailed for
Louisiana and the othsr rebel states. IL
would have resulted in the permanent sx-
clusion Of the colored people from the
Suffrage In oil the old slave states. To
Charles Summer. and not TO Lincoln. do
Ne owe the fact that whether for veal or
voc for the black man aud the country,
suffrage irrespective Of color or race bs-
came tixed and universal In the American
system. President Lincoln had set his
heart on the very different plan Of recon-
posals. and vas sorsiy disappointed ct It's
failure.
Ltncoln's last public speech made In
Washington City on April II. 1868. leaves
NJ In doub whether he would have sup
ported the plan Of reconstruction evsntu-
ally adopted. Mr.. Lincoln aaid: AS for
sustaining IL fths new state government Of
louisiana my promise IL out But a. bad
promises are better broken than kept. I
shall treat this ~ bad promise and break
IL. Whenever shsli b convinced saat
keeping IL Is adverse 60 the public interest !;
but have not ret been 30 convinced"
The emasnsier OF this speech shows thai
evidently Lsncoln did net think the fran.
chsss should b ~ oacs eonissrea upon any
negroes except those .'whe we're very in.
intsltirsnt or who had served our cause a,
soidierA" La this position he was opposed
by Thad sssvens. somnss ana wsas. ana
this latest rabstc dsiivssanes If Ilncoln's.
uttered thrss days before bic murder, leads
- ths conviction that hs would have on-
posed the immediate snd sweeping sn.
fraaehlsemsas Of the calorea people and
that plan Of reconstruction whose outcome
vss the earpss-esx govern msnts.
Lincoln vas ~ oacs the courage and
conservation Of his administrations he
checked Seward In the Aason and stisassl
dispatch and avoided var With Engiand:
Ne checked hosh Fremont and Aanssr
when they rsemasnreiy attempted 20 pre-
ctpstass the var measure Of emancipation !:
and yes when he gos ready. July y. iSSs
hs wrote Aia immortal proclamation. and
confessed that he ensy held 10 eAck anti
after the hattie 81 Aassssam ON the prasss.
GO, suggestion OF Secretary Sssara. sAas ID
WAS better 10 sssas it On TIE Ae<as az q CON-
fedsrass cheek than On the heels os Nc.
Cselsaa's defeat on the RsainsalaA
There SAa 10 40 sort Of deahs thai in 90
ssnpsssAas . matter ~ the dipl.,mAsss asss
s~fssFss 10 hy nr. Alison. Abraham Lin
coin dictated tie soarss az ssesesAry
Seward. The nsan vho wauld not Tea
kswssd send his Ma.aa Ard Sssdsll ro.s
nata - ssa csnsassssy zsssssssa IL viii