The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-06-17

bat Is must be confessed that Of these two
great anti-sisFery Wings the conservative
Lincoln showed more morsi courage az
critical moments than the radical Greeley,
for Greeley advocated the crit.enden COM
promise. which would have left the ne
groes in bondage, and be advocated the
right Of secession, which would have left
them in slavery far more hopeless. Lin
coin. or the other hand, in his famous
Republican Gaiena speech Of 1850. said:
"We. the majority. would not strive 10
dissolve the Union. and il any attempt -
made. IL must be by you, who so loudly
stigmatize Us as dtsuulonists. Bat the
Union, IN any event. will not be dissolved.
We don't want TO dissolve IL, and II you
attempt It we Won't let yoE. With the
purse and sword, the army and navy and
treasury IN our hands and az our CON-
nand, you could not do 10. This govern
meat would be very weak indeed II
majority, with q disciplined. army and
navy and well filed treasury, could not
preserve Itself ~hen attacked By an M
armed, undisciplined, unorganized minor
ity. All this talk about the dissolution Of
the Union is kumbug, nothing but folly.
We DO not want 70 dissolve the Union;
you shall not.
Lincoln did not like war any better than
Greeley, but these are the words of a con-
servative man who. IL elected president.
would never acquiesce in a disrup-
ton of the Union. Greeley. far more
radical in language in 1880 than
Lincoln, hated war and loved peace
50 dearly that in 1861 he was ready
TO do anything TO avert impending sar,
for he abhorred bloods shed and the destruc-
ton OF property more than he abhorred
slavery. But Lincoln, when confronted
with events which he had done bis best by
moderate language and counsels TO post
pone, would never for . moment consent
to dissolve the Union to save effusion Of
blood. He was fun Of ''pisonmad, pig
headed fighting when anybody seriously
undertook to disrupt the Union. And yet
both Of these great men were Henry Clay
Wings; both were anti-slsvery men; both
were men of benevolent and philanthropic
natures; both were absolutely honest and
pure in both public and private life. The
difference between them was that Greeley
was chiefly man of great critical genius,
while Lincoln was not only this. but he
was great statesman and executive.
or executive genius Greeley possessed
probably very little, and ne lacked what
Lincoln. under sll his good nature, self
command and benevolence, possessed,
viz. creature pugnacity. You could have
pads great soldier and general out of
Lincoln. but never out of Greeley. Ad-
md Al - 4.
how after Richmond fell ex-Confederate
Duff Green, who had known Lincoln well
before the war. came on board the Mall
vern and Lincoln greeted him cordially
and offered him his hand. Green refused
to take il, saying that he ''could not take
the blood Of his people" Lincolu's face
turned scarlet in moment and, drawing
himself mp to his full height, he sternly
rebuled Green. ordered him to leave the
ship and never to speak to him again in
his life. Lincoln. like George Washing
and no man could recklessly insult him.
Under similar circumstances Greeley
probably would have discussed" the situ-
alton, but not so with Abraham Lincoln.
Kentucky born and bred. he would neither
do injustice or offer insult; neither would
he permit any man to insult him.
And yet during the war Greedy was
always more radical in expression and
prematurely aggressive in action than
Lincoln. lie scored Lincoln for calling
Fremont and Hunter 10 a halt when they
sought to force emancipation, and subse-
quentiy he showed his inferiority to Lin
coin in the Niagara peace conference
fasco. Greeley's signing the bond of JEFF
Davis was perfectly upright in intent, but
IL wat the expression of the crank side of
his nature: Lincoln, a man of equal benev-
olence. humanity, justice and moral cour-
age, would never have done such a thing,
because his strong. logical. robust brain
would have told him that Ii was an
untimely and incongruous act that
could do no possible good and
would subject him to injurious mis-
understanding and Misrepresentation and
impair his influence for good in the coun-
sells Of his party. Had the matter come
before him legiumately for official decision
Lincoln would have as fearlessly followed
"the right as God had given him light TO
see the right" as Greeley. bat he was far
greater and more statesmaulike man; he
was great critic as Greeley was. but he
was far more than this: he was like
Franklin and Washington a great man.
lie had as sympathetic heart as Greeley,
but he Was better balanced man; that is.
he never did exactly the right thing at
exactly the wrong time, which Greeley
sometimes did.
1t is no serious disparagement 20 Gree
ley 70 say of these two great and noble
anti-slavery Henry Clay Wings that Abra-
ham Lincoln was greater man than
Horace Greeley. and Horace Greeley be-
longs fairly 20 the list of great Americans
which includes Lincoln. Washington,
Franklin, Hamilton, Marshall. Webster,
Jackson, Clay and Grant; that is. all these
men could rise above sectionalism to the
serene eiroumamhient air Of noble ma
tionslity.
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