Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1908-06-26
ICoNTIEuEn1
rrosIaverY I alIs In Kansas.

And now began another phase of the
struggle. The policy of the governor
and the secretary was repudiated at
Washington. The former resigned, and
the latter was removed. Meanwhile
a convention held under the auspices
of the old legislature had formed a
new constitution known as the Lee
compton constitution. which the old
legislature proposed to submit to the
people for ratification on the. 21st of
December. The manner of submitting
it was singular. to say the least. The
people were required to vote either
for the constitution with slavery or
the constitution without slavery. As
without slavery the constitution was
In some of its provisions as ohjectiona-
Bile as If it upheld slavery, the free
state men refused to participate in its
ratification. The vote on its submis-
sion. therefore. stood 4.208 for the
constitution with slavery and 567 With
out slavery, and 1t was this const1tu-
ton, thus submitted aud thus adopt
ed. that Mr.. Buchanan submitted to
Congress on the I'd of February, 1883.
as the free expression of the wishes of
the people of Kansas, and its support
was at once made an administration
measure. Meantime the new 1egisla-
ture elected by the people of the ter
ritory In October submitted this same
Lecompton constitution to the people
again and In this manner-votes to be
given for the constitution with slavery
and without slavery and also against
the constitution entirely. The latter
uAhaer prevailed, the vote against the
constitution In any form being over
10000. Thus the proslavery party In
the territory was overthrown- Under
the auspices of the new free state reg
i~slature a constitutional convention
was held at Wyandotte In March,
1850. A free state constitution was
adopted. under which Kansas was sub
s%equently admitted into the Union.
Before leaving this Kansas question
there is one phase of the closing part
of the struggle which II is Worth while
to note, particularly as 1t has a direct
bearing upon the fortunes of Judge
Douglas and indirectly on the success
of Mr.. Lincoln. Douglas always In
sisted that his plan y. popular sover-
eighty would. give tn the people of
IlWNEgrIrofW The utmost ffeedom n
the. formatfV Of their local govern
ments. When Mr.. Buchanan attempt
ed to uphold the Lecompton constitu-
ton as being the free choice. of the
people of Kansas, Judge Douglas at
nnao AcoIx 4o1,,o xrttH 49, olstAo
ton on this question, aud the Demo
cratic party was split In twain. Up TO
the time of the vote of the people of
the territory on the constitution Doug
las had been an answering supporter
of the administration policy In Kan
sas. His speech at Springfield in the
June previoH I not be misunder-
stood. He bS all the proceedings
which he'd to the Lecompton issue to be
In strict accordance not only with the
letter, but the spirit of the Kansas
Nebraska act and WI he faith of the
Democratic party d cxpounded by
himself. Bet a few weeks later 1t be-
came manifest that his opinions had
undergone q change. Ominous rumors
of q breach with the administration be-
gan to circulate among his friends. 1t
was alleged at length that MIR. Doug
Las delicate of Justice had been
shocked by the unfairness Of certain
elections In Kansas. 1t was even I'm
ttmated that he, too, considered the
Lecompton affair an Outrage" upon
the sovereign people of Kansas and
that be would speedily jotn the Re
puhiicans-the special objects Of his
Indignation IN the June speech-in de
nouncing and defeating It The Kan
~sas-Nebraska bill had borne IT'S appPo-
pirate fruits@the fruits all along pre-
dlcted by Mr.. Lincnln-and Mr.. Doug
las commended them to anybody's eat
ing but his own. His desertion was
sudden and astonishing, but there was
method in It and q reason for it. The
next year Illinois was 10 choose a
senator to ill the vacancy created by
the expiration OF his own term, and
the choice lay between the author of
the Kansas-Sebraska bill and its most
conspicuous opponent In that state.
The newspapers We're not yet lone
publishing Mr.. Lfncoln's speech, in
which occurred the following para
graph:
"Three years and a half ago Judge
Douglas brought forward his famous
Nebraska bill. The country was at
once In a blaze. He scorned all oppo-
sftton and carried 1t through congress.
Since then he has e himself super
seeded In q presidential nomination by
indorsing the general doctrine of
hts measure, tut at the same time
standing clear of the o1ium Of its un
timely agitation and It's gross breach
Of national faith, and he has seen the
successful rival constttut1onaIly elect
ed not by the strength of friends, but
by the division Of bis a~dversaries, be-