The Washington herald., 1911-02-05

ing the pretensions and much Of the DO
Icy of the slave power and its sup
porters appear ludicrous. Undoubtedly
| the defenders of slavery were tremen
dously in earnest, and the issue they
raised was serious to the point ol
tragedy. But their methods, and still
more their aim and sentiment in public
life, were sheer anachronisms, rooted In
a receding past and badly out of sym.
metry with the spirit and purpose Of the
day. Mr.. Greeley and his writer's
treated them with a touch Of contempt
which was all the more CALLING because
1t was. in the main, good-natured, smil-
ing, confident.
Unquestionably the most important
achievement Of Mr.. Greeley in American
politics was the defeat Of Mr.. Seward as
candidate for the Republican nomins-
ton to the Presidency in 1850 and the
consequent selection Of Mr.. Lincoln.
Greeley's opposition to Seward was due
largely to personal feeling. In 1854 he
had written to Seward . curious letter,
formally announcing ''the dissolution of
the political firm Of Seward. Weed &
Greeley, by the withdrawal of the Junior
partner" The withdrawal was based
quite frankly on personal grievances.
Besides this source Of opposition, Mr..
Greeley regarded Mr.. Seward as too rad
ical an anti-slavery man to weld the as
yet fmperfectly harmonized elements Of
the party, his own choice being Mr.
Bates, Of Missouri. While he was unable
to name Bates. he made the nomination
Of Seward impossible, and that of Lin
coin followed. During the ensuing can
vass Mr.. Greeley. through his paper and
In his personal exertions, contributed
powerfully. perhaps more than any other
one man. to the triumph Of the Republi-
can party. 1t was the most momentous
event in the history Of the nation.
When the attack on Sumter made
that issue from the dispute impossible,
of the war. quite unable to
the material and moral un-
readiness Of the government and Of the
people for the complex and harassing
task Tho disaster of Bull Run was,
not wholly unjust, charged to the For
ward to Richmond cry Of the Tribune.
and tho flood Of passionate reproof that
followed prostrated Mr.. Greeley and
,ame near to ending his career. He re-
covered. however. and was soon engaged
n pressing the administration to emanci-
pate and arm the slaves and make the
var openly. a. he believed 1t necessarily
vas in effect . war for freedom. With
his irresistible tendency toward personal
Eruption into any dispute, he addressed
n open letter to the President which
rev from Mr.. Lincoln one Of the most
amous Of his State papers in which he
announced: my paramount object In
his struggle is to save the Union. and
. not either to save or destroy slavery"
As In many another Instance the saSa-
'ious President had made his opponents
o serve him. When. month later, after
he first Confederate invasion Of the
gorth had been repelled at Antietam.
he emancipation proclamation was ~ |
ued. II was accepted - not changing |
nut promoting the paramount object Of |
he struggle.
In the summer Of 1854 .Ar. GreeleyI
gain interposed to guide or force the
and Of the administrattoa. He Was per- /
uaded that pesce negotiations were prac-
lcable. ana urged them smpaAtloA1ly on j
10 Pregideat 1r. Lincoln reGpoaAs6 By
efnaisston 70 him % meet such psssuas
. he chose from the Con(o0erafe s3do IN l,
AnAAa md loaSn what peopnalt1ouo they I
verU autho9iBed' e snbmit. He went vegy /
oouc<aneay, only to md thnt 10. ono
IN ri a4fhcg3ty froP tho Cunfe11seAot
1vll1l lnt Mas thaee, And tn tl-adviGedi
l1o9 lnl1ea un1eh = - eaA IL 1