The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-09-30

Warrington. D. c.. Sept. 2s.-Ihe
campaign of 1852 marked the end
Of the Wing party ~ . factor In
national affairs. For the third time
that organization placed expediency
before principle to nominate . war
hero for president Winfield Scott
was the hero OF the War Of 1872 and
Of the War with Mexico. He had
been defeated in the convention l..
q narrow margin b. William Henry
Harrison when it was necessary to
choose q hero candidate to oppose
Van Buren, in 1910. That was Tip
pecanoe against Lundy's Lane, and
Tippecanoe won. As will be re-
membered, Scott was defeated in
1870 by a letter written to secure
Abolition support in New York.
Writing letters was the one great
business OF General SCOTS life. He
wrote letters to everybody. about
everything, and at all times. His
letters ruined him and his party.
and when the votes were counted 1t
was found that he had been over
whelmingly defeated by the Demo-
cratic dark horse" Franklin
Pierce. Scott carried only four
states in the union, receiving but
~ electoral votes to Pierce's 254.
When President Taylor died he
was succeeded in the White house
by Willard Fillmore. AS has been
the case in every instance in which
= vice president has become chief
magistrate with q single excep-
tom the policy of the administra-
ton was reversed. Taylor had per-
mitted his policy to be dictated by
the conservative Wings. Fillmore
was a liberal. AS a result of the
right-abont-face attitude taken by
Daniel Webster. who went over to
the non-interference- with slavery
side in his speech OF March z, and
of the succession Of Fillmore, all
parties were enabled to get togeth-
er once more on a compromise
basis.
One More Compromise.
1t was Henry Clay, the great pa
cificator, whose compromises had
kept him out of the White house
who was once more called to the
front in his old age to bring about
T, peace. The Compromise of 1856
was arranged. 1t included several
measures. The most important was
the admission Of California as a
free state, as that broke the balance
of power between free and slave
states in the United States senate
1t was the one concession to the
north, but it was of far greater i'm
portance than the south realized
To the other side the concessions
were a stringent fugitive slave law
the maintenance of slavery In the
District of Columbia, the paymen,
to Texas of $4,000, 900 for yielding
its claims to New Mexico, and the
organization of Utah and New Mex
leo as territories without restric.
tons as to slavery. By this com
promise, Henry Clay united the
warning elements of the Democrat
ic party and destroyed for all time
the party which he organized and
had captained for so many years.
President Fillmore was a candi.
date for the nomination. General
Scott and Mr.. Webster were the
other aspirants. Mr.. Fillmore had
urged the compromise through con
gress and had approved it. HI
wished the whole country to accept
/; it as the final disposition OF the
whole slavery question. The coun
try. for the most part. wished tt
accept it as such. The Democrat,
convention approved. The Wing.
had to do so. To swallow the Fill
more-Clay compromise the north
ern Wings were forced. but the,
would not swallow Fillmore. S,
they took Scott. whose sympathie.
were believed to be with the anti
slavery wing of the party.
General Scott was nominated O,
the SD ballot in the convention, aft
er heated sessions in which a dele
gate would now and then arise /,
spring a letter from Scott. Whel
the nomination was made, Senate
Jones of Tennessee. the Lean Jim
my Jones who had twice defeate,
James X. Polk for governor, leape,
to the platform with . letter from
General Scott. 1t was a letter O
acceptance couched in less than
hundred words. but pledging Iowa
and exclusive support to the plat
form. That all too sudden lette
helped to do his business il
November.
| Another Note Writer.
| General Scott had in years gon
by affiliated with the Nativist part
in Pennsylvania to the extent g
writing letters attacking the Cath
olics and opposing the foreign ele
ment in politics. These old letter
the Democrats used against hir
with great effect. Horace Creole
shouted himself black in the fac
In his attempts to defend Scott fro,
SCOTS letters. but it was of n
avail.
General Scott himself took til
, stump in an effort to win over tn
/ voters Of foreign blood. He was
, great flatterer, and his reference
, to the rich Irish brogue" and til
! sweet German accent" of some {
) his hearers were nothing less tina