The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-21
II.

the way to Mr.. Lincoln's first nomination
for the Presidency was laid out in the
Illinois State Central Committee and in
the office of the Chicago Tribune. Ms.
Medill was secretary of the committee and
editor of the newspaper.
1t was arranged that Lincoln's name
was to be mentioned by the Illinois coun-
try newspaper press, but the Tribune,
though the leading Republican paper of
the West, was not to take the initiative. A
dozen county papers down in the old
Wing belt of the State were to breach the
subject; then the Journal in Springfield
was to copy what they said, and the Tribune
also, with some editorial Endorsement. A
Rock Island pa per was the first to open
out for the Presidency. This plan was
duly carried out and it worked like a
charm. The people of Illinois took kindly
to the idea.
The committee had little to do with Lin
coins trip to New York and his Cooper
Union speech Mr.. Lincoln wrote that
speech in Springfield in response to the
invitation to make a speech in New York.
He brought it to Chicago and left it over
night with Mr.. Medill and DR.. Ray for ex-
animation, saying: ''You boys read that
through and note such changes as you
eve went over it carefully" said Mr..
Medill, "and made number of marginal
and separate notes, suggesting changes.
He took our notes to his hotel before he
left Chicago for New York and examined
them at his leisure. A very few of them he
adopted; the others he threw away. He
generally had his mind made up before he
asked for advice, and he was not an easy
man to move"
When the time came for the Tribune to
take up Lincoln's name for the Presidency
in downright earnest, Mr.. Medill went to
Washington with the view to start the
boom from the capital His picture of
newspaper correspondents life at Wash
ington thirty-tive years ago may be in
structive to the corps of to-day.
Telegraph tolls to Chicago" says Mr..
Medill ''were cents word. As we were
not very rich most of my dispatches went
by mail. My Office was under my hat and
nv headquarters were at the Washington
House, where many of the Western Con-
gressmen and some of the Fasteners were
living. Among them were John A. Bing--
ham of Ohio, and Hannibal Hamlin of
Maine, and members from q dozen other
States.
"Before writing any Lincoln letters for
the Tribune | began preaching Lincoln
among the Congressman. | urged him
chiefly upon the ground of availability in
the close and doubtful States with what
seemed like reasonable success. At length
| sent to the Tribune a ringing Lincoln
letter, making his availability my strong
point. 1t was the first letter written east
of the Allegheny Mountains in any lead
ing newspaper urging Lincoln for Presi-
dent in preference to the great and over
shadowing Seward.
'tWhen the Tribune came back to Wash
;ngton with that Lincoln letter l realized
T Ia lafn h
there had been a mild Seward party at
Washington, but the line was not sharply
drawn. Now, however, the Congressman
of the party were nearly all pronounced
for Seward, even Owen Lovejoy himself.
Farnsworth of Chicago was for Lincoln,
though he loved Seward.
81 had been invited to grand reception
Minister at that time. | had hardly en-
tered the drawing-room when Seward saw
me. He tapped me on the shoulder, say
ing, 'Medill, / want to see YOU He took
me into his wineroom and commenced at
once: 'Medill, you have stunned me.
I've read that letter of yours in the Tri-
bune, in which you advocate Lincoln for
President in preference to me, giving rea-
ailability-that are wide of the
truth saying | haven't the strength Lin
coin has in States like Pennsylvania, lndi-
ana and Illinois, and would be defeated as
Fremont was defeated, and that your man,
Prairie Statesman Lincoln, can carry the
essential States, which cannot. Do you
mean thatp
81 assured him that did believe it.
"'Well, he retorted, Il consider this
personal insult. I had always counted on
you as one of my boys. You appealed to
me from Cleveland referring to the letters
written by Mr.. Medill in 1854 about
changing the name of the party, ETC., and
[ trusted you,' etc. He ended by saying in
anger: 'Henceforth you and / are parted.
The golden chain is broken. defy you to
do your worst: | know three daily papers
in your city that are with me. (This was
true. The Tribune stood alone in Chicago
for Lincoln) and / shall never regard you
again as friend of mine And he turned
on his heel and strobe out, while | said
sharply in reply: Success next fall l
esteem of more importance than any mans
friendship
"And he was as good as his word" Mr..
Medill continued. II met him several
times afterward in Lincoln's chamber
when he was Secretary of State to the man
out on the prairies,' but he never gave me
more than a formal bow. Lincoln knew
all about the episode, for had told him,
but he never referred to it by word or
look"
Mr.. Medill kept on writing Lincoln let
ters from Washington, and the Tribune
made "Old Abe' the issue. Once or twice
he met Mr.. Lincoln after returning home,
and the candidate said:
''See here, you Tribune boys have got
me up peg too high. How about the
-Presidency-won't that do?"
At one of these encounters the CORE
spondent said to Mr.. Lincoln: I'VE are
not playing second in this dance to any
musician. You're an apt man at telling
apropos stories. Now let me tell you one
that my schoolmaster used to tell me.
when you go to theater,' he would say,
always buy box ticket, because with that
you can anywhere in the house; but if you
buy pit ticket you must sit in the pit or
go out. ,"
.'How do you apply that?" asked Lin
coin.
Easily. Start in for the Vice Presidency
and you have lost all chance of the higher
place If you must "come down peg as
you say, it will be mighty easy later on.
The Seward fellows will jump at such a
chance to get rid of you. But now it is
President or nothing. Else you may count
the Tribune out. We are not fooling away
our time and science on the Vice-Presi-
dency."
But" persisted Mr.. Lincoln, "how am
going to get the nomination. What States