The morning call., 1895-02-10

tail of the contest which ensued than that
recorded in his letters.
SPRINGFIELD, Nov. 27, 1854.
T. J. Henderson Esq.-MY DEAR SIR: II has
come round that Wing may, by posslDillty, De
elected to the United States Senate, and l want
the chance of being the man. You are mem
Der of the Legislature and have vote to give.
Think it over and see whether you can do bet
ter than go for me. Write me, at all events
and let this be confidential. Yours truly,
A. LINCOLN.
SPRINGFIELD, III, Dec. II, 1854:
Hon. E. B. Washburne: = AS to my own
matter, things continue to look reasonably
well. / wrote your friend George Gage and
three days ago had an answer from him, In
which he talks out plainly, as your letter
and will not be until he sees how most effec-
tually to oppose slavery extension.
have not ventured to write all the members
in your district, lest some of them should be
offended by the indelicacy OF the thing-that
is, coming from q total stranger. Could you
not drop some of them a line? Very truly your
friend, A. LINCOLN.
SPRINGFIELD, January 6, 1853.
Hon. E. B. WdShburne: AS to the sen
atorial election, l think very little more is
known than was before the meeting OF the Leg
islature. Besides the ten or a dozen on our
side who are willing to be known as candl-
dates, / think there are fifty secretly watching
for a chance. l do not know that 1t is much
advantage to have the largest number OF votes
at the start. If did know this to be an advan-
tage, should feel better, for cannot doubt
but have more committals than any other
man. Your district comes UP tolerably well
for me, but not unanimously by any means
George Gage is for me, as you know: ). ID.
Adams is not committed for me, but | think
will be for me. Mr.. Talcott will not be Tor me
as first choice. DR.. Little and Mr.. Sargent are
openly for me. Professor Pinckney is foT me-
ney writes me that Rev. Mr.. Lawrence
will be for me, and his manner
to me SO indicates, but he has not spoken 1T
out. Mr.. Swan have some slight hopes OF;
get him whenever l can make 1t appear 10 De
his interest to go for me. DR.. Lyman and old
choice. NJ. P Sweet is here a candidate and
l understand he claims that he has twenty-five
members committed to him. think some part
of his estimate must be based on insufficient
evidence, as l cannot well see where they are
to be found and as / can learn the name Oh
only one-Day of La Sale. Still it may be so.
There are more than twenty-five anti-Nebraska
members who are not committed to me- Tell
Norton that Mr.. Strunk and Mr. Wheeler come
out plump for me and for which l thank him.
Judge Parks l have decided hopes of, but he
says he is not committed. understand my
self as having twenty-six committals and do
not think any other one man has ten. May
be mistaken though = y Yours as ever.
A. LINCOLN
SPRINGFIELD, February 8, 1855.
Hon. E. B. WGShburne-MY DEAR SIR: The
agony is over at last, and the result you doubt
L
particulars to explain what might appear
difficult of understanding. l began with forty
four votes, Shields forty-one and Trumbull
five, yet Trumbull was elected. In fact, forty
seven different members voted for me, getting
three new ones on the second ballot, and losing
four old ones. How came my forty-seyen to
Weld to Trumbulls five? 1t was Governor
Matteson's work. He has been secretly can
didste ever since before even) the fall election
| All the members round about the canal were
anti-N ebraska, but were nevertheless nearly all
| Democrats and all personal friends of his. His
| plan was to privately impress them with the
| belief that he was as good anti-Nebraska as any
| oneeelse-at least could be secured to be so by
instructions, which could be easily passed. In
| this way he got from four to six OF that sort
| of men to really prefer his election to that OF
any other man-all sub rosa, of course. One
| notable instance of this sort was with Mr..
| Strunk of Kankakee. At the beginning of the
| session he came, q volunteer, to tell me he was
| for me, and would walk hundred miles to
| elect me; but 10! it was not long before he
| leaked it out that he wasgoing for me the first
| few ballots, and then for Governor Matteson.
| The Nebraska men, of course, were not for
| elect no avowed Nebraska man, they tardily
| determined to let him get whomever OF our
| men he could, by whatever means he could,
| and ask him no questions. In the meantime
! Osgood, Dan Morrison and Trapp of st. Clair
| had openly gone over from US. With the
united Nebraska force and their recruits, open
| and covert, it gave MatteSon more than enough
| to elect him. We saw into it plainly ten days
ago, but with every possible effort could not
| head it off. All that remained of the anti
| Nebraska force, excepting Judd Cook, Palmer,
| Baker and Allen of Madison and two
| or three of the secret Matteson men,
would go into caucus, and could
get the nomination of that caucus. But the
| three Senators and one of the two representa-
| tives above named ''could never vote for
| Whig and this incensed some twenty Wings
| to "think" they would never vote for the man
| of the five. So we stood, and so we went into
| the fight yesterday-the Nebraska men very
| confident of the election of Matteson, though
4 la~. -{.Nr~ h. lot md q Jvnr
| much believing also that they would elect him.
| But they wanted first to make show OF good
faith to Shields by voting for him few times,
and our secret Matteson men also wanted to
make show of good faith by voting with us a
| few times. So we led off. On the seventh bal
| lot, / think, the signal was given to the
| Nebraska men to turn to Matteson, which
| they acted on to a man, with one excep-
| ton, my old friend Strunk going with them.
| giving him forty-four votes Next ballot the
| remaining Nebraska man and one pretended
anti went over to him, giving him forty-six;
| the next still another, giving him forty-seven,
wanting only three of an election. In the
| ing our expected boilers, had been turning
from me to Trumbull till he had risen to
thirty-five and had been reduced to fifteen.
These would never desert me, except by my
direction; but l became satisfied that if we
could prevent Matteson's election one or two
ballots more, we could not possibly do so
single ballot after my friends should begin to
return to me from Trumbull. So | determined
to strike at once and accordingly advised my
remaining friends to go for him, which they
did, and elected him on the tenth ballot.
such is the way the thing was done. l think
you would have done the same under the cir
cumstances; though Judge Davis, who came
down this morning declares he never would
have consented to the forty-seven men being
controlled by the five. regret my defeat mod
erately, but am not nervous about it. could
have headed off every combination and been
elected had it not been for Matteson's double
game-and his defeat now gives me more pleas
ure than my own gives me pain. Onthe whole,
it is perhaps as well for our general cause that
Trumbull is elected. The Nebraska men con-
fess that they hate it worse than anything that
could have happened. 1t is a great consolation
to see them worse whipped than l am. | tell
them it is their own fault; that they had album
dant opportunity to choose between him and
me- which they declined, and instead forced it
on me to decide between him and Matteson.
With my grateful acknowledgements for the
kind, active and continued interest you have
| taken for me in this matter, allow me to sub
scribe myself yours forever, A. LINCOLN.
Mr.. Lincoln philosophic view of the re-
suit was correct; it turned out that Trum-
bulls election was "as well' both for him
self and for the cause. By the unwritten
law of party utilization, party faith, and
party fairness, he now had valid claim
= IL Il loco II