The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-02-05
(Continued.)

The north, which had opposed
which later led inevitably to the
War OF the Rebellion-now found
itself unable to say much against
the great additions to our domain
which the treaty had secured. We
paid fifteen millions, in addition to
our territorial indemnity claim, and
we got a realm whose wealth could
not be computed. So much, it
must be owned, did fortune do for
that singular favorite, Mr.. Polk.
And. curiously enough, the smoke
had hardly cleared from Palo Alto
field before Abraham Lincoln, a
young member in the house of con.
gress, was introducing resolu-
ton which asked the marking of
'the% spot where that outrage was
co. uitted.' Perhaps it was an
outrage. Many still hold it so. But
let us reflect what would have been
Lincoln's life had matters not gone
just as they did.
With the cessions from Mexico
mia. Now, look how strangely his
tory sometimes works out itself
Had there been any suspicion OF
the discovery of gold in California
neither Mexico nor our republic
ever would have owned it. England
surely would have taken it. The
very year that my treaty eventual.
ly was ratified was that in which
gold was discovered in California!
But it was too late then for Eng
land to interfere; too late then
also, for Mexico to claim it. We
got untold millions of treasure
there. Most of those millions
went to the northern states, into
manufactures, into commerce. The
north owned that gold, and it was
that gold which gave the north the
power to crush that rebellion which
was born of the Mexican war-that
same rebellion by which England
too late. would gladly have seen
this Union disrupted, so that she
might have yet another chance al
these lands she now had lost for.
ever.
Fate seemed still to be with us
after all. as l have so often had
occasion to believe may be a pos
sible thing. That war of conquest
which Mr.. Calhoun opposed, that
same war which grew out of the
slavery tenets which he himself
held--the great error of his other,
wise splendid public life-found its
own correction in the civil war. II
was the gold of California which
put down slavery. Thenceforth
slavery has existed legally only
north OF the Mason and Dixon line
We Rave our problems yet. Per
haps some other war may come tC
settle them. Fortunate for us II
there could be another California
another Texas, another Oregon, tC
help us pay for them.
!, who was intimately connected
with many Of these less known
matters, claim for my master q
reputation wholly different from
that given to him in any garbled
HISTORY" of his life. | lay claim
In his name for foresight beyond
that Of any man of his time. He
made mistakes, but he made them
bravely, grandly and consistently
Where his convictions were enlist
ed, he had no reservations, and he
used every means, every available
weapon. as l have shown. But he
was never self seeking, never
cheap, never insincere. A detectol
of all machine politicians, he was
a statesman worthy to be called
the William Pitt of the United
States. The consistency of his ca
reer was marvellous thing; be
cause. though he changed in his
beliefs, he was first to recognize
the changing conditions of oul
country. He failed, and he Is exc
Grated. He won, and he is forgot