The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-11-14
Abuse OF Public
Men Is MOI New
THIRD ARTICLE.

! From the Lancaster New Era.
| WIZ HAVE already shown how George Wash.
| w ington and John Quincy Adams. the first
W and sixth presidents of the United States,
| and two OF the wlscsU and best mcil who
ever filled that olti"c. were rcvilcd. abused and
detained by the political mdlcvolcncc Of their day.
| Every crime, not excepting murder, was alleged
| against the one OF the other These assaults were
without cause on dpicn,e. Plnc malice inspired
Them. and the lope Of political profit. There may
also have been Personal Hatred, aside from poIiti.
! cal considerations. Bat the result arrived at
| WdS th6 same. whatever the motive Il is
most istactoly reflection that impartial history
! has done those two great men iul justice. Later
| gcnclItunN have taken the foul abuse poured
| on them AT its tue muAnin. and value and
! placed them high in National Temple Of
Honor Their dciOmcrS aye known only to ,hc
readers OF our carly history and receive only
Wclmcltud condemnation.
But the abuse Of public men was not confined
| to the carly days OF the Republic only History,
| II Is claimed, moves in cycles, and is, in cO,ise.
| qucncc continually repeating itself. II has been
! so in this particular. ScYcnty years after Wash.
| ngton passed through that ordeal another mcsi.
dent, and he one OF the truest and most ami,blc
| ol human beings, WAS uut TO the torture in the
same way and by the same Kind OF men; we re-
! !"r 10 The sixteenth president Of the United
States. Abraham lincoln, al blesSr! memory.
Millions Of mcn and women are still living who
'Iaspcd hi, friendly hand and received ilyori
IRON this most generous and kindly oi men, and
yet The newspapers ii the Civil War period are
lillcd with coarse and rhall remarks concerning
his conduct and appearance and his heroic Efforts
tor the preservation Of the Union. Let Us 60
back single generation, back to a time when
many Of MS took an active part in the great drama
enacted in this country between 1851 and 1865,
nttI
that most cllivalrous and knightly soul. To the
Young men OF today it is almost inconcciyahlc
that such things aS we shall quote were ever
spoken Of President Lincoln, whose name and
memory are cnshrined in the hearts of his corn,
tlymrn aS truly as those Of Washington himself
Ii Washington was the Father OF his Country"
surely Lincoln was It's savious and rc-torcr, and
deserving OF equal honor.
IN the light II Ill We know OF the man today
how iirndish and brutal the following attacks ON
President Lincoln must appear. Listen 70 TINS;
'll the igrulant dcSuot who has exercised This
| unauthorized power over Tie liberties OF his
masters, ihe sovereign people, lad gone a step
further and imbrucd his hands in the blood Of
those Hhum he sent to his military haStilcs. Oh
his own mere motion. there can be no douht
that the act would have been Justified by his
followers We know Mr.. Lincon's sole motive
and purpose WAS the Preservation OF the inion,
but, nevertheless, hi, actions We're asSailcd in
this manner: The Nero who h,ldlca at NASH
hgton in the light OF the greatest conlagra;ion
that the world ever saw will doubtless add 10
his long list ol violations Of the constitution and
the laws 10y attempting to return an army vote
that will elect him, The clearer it becomes 10
linn that the people whose liberties he has out
ragged az about to remove him from tha posi-,
ton hc has too long diSgraecd, the herccr he
will Struggle TO maintain himsclf'
81
The continued enthronemcut of shN@y WAS
the one great inspiring cause Of this abuse OF
Lincoln, as the following viii show, spoken as
late as January, lstj: "Tae war Is not yet
over. All hope OF speedy peace is d,sipa ed.
The fanatics in power still persist in continu.
in@ the Struggle hr the benefit OF the negro.
lh,y will not offer and would not accept peace
on the basis Of rcstolci Union unless it came
in such a shape as should secure thcm a con.
tuiudncc IN power" Nj. Lincoln must be held
responsible ior The continuance vi the war and
for all the bioodshed and misery that must how
from it. Ii men in high position among the
rebels made any such statements and oilers, we
believe peace ON fair and honorable terms WAS
within oar grasp and that it was deliberately
rejected 10y Abraham Lincoln"
Because he would not COnccdc lLe total. m-
acceptable conditions demanded by the southern
peace commissioners at Fortress Monroe, he was