Year: 1863

Letter From Attorney General Nourse.
DEs MoNEs, Iowa, July 2s, 1868.


Editor Charles City lntelhgencer


DEAR SIR My attention has been
called to several articles in your pa
per, the last one communication from
Washington City, relating to speech,
supposed to have been made by my
self, in the last Republican State Con-
vention, in regard to the nomination
of military man for Governor Will
you do me and your readers the justice
to pu blish the following statement of
what l did say Soon after the tenn
porary organization of the convention
| was called on for speech. ! spoke
perhaps five minutes, and stated to
the convention that thought it i'm
proper to discuss the merits Of the sew
eral candidates whose names would be
before the convention, and that would
not so much as indicate my preference.
| did not say one word about military
men or any other man After the perma-
nent organization had been effected and
candidates were being put in nomina-
ton, some one unknown TO me, think a
delegate from Mahaska County, put in
nomination General nj. M. Crocker of
Polk County. General Crocker had
retired to the Judges room, and upon
hearing his name came to the door and
looked anxiously over the convention,
evidently looking for some member of
the Polk County Delegation. l imme-
diately went to him, and he requested
me to go and withdraw his name at
once, stating that l knew his senti-
ments in regard to being candidate
for civil Office, and he hoped his
name would not be used by the con-
vention returned to the convention
and stated, that General Crocker had
requested me to withdraw his name,
that he regarded it his duty to remain
in the field, and that he would not
turn away from that duty for civil
Office. That he believed after the war
was over and the Rebellion was put
down, that it would be time enough
for his fellow citizens to pass upon
the claims of military men for poiiti-
cal honors." This is what / said and
all l said and these were the senti-
ments expressed to me by General
Crocker If there was any argument
in what said against any one, SO be
it. l only desire your readers to
know exactly what did say, in order
that they may Judge for themselves
of the Speech l made against militia
ry men," 1t may be that was wrong
in supposing that as delegate from
Polk County that have any rights in
the convention. AS l am not candi-
date for any Office and don't soon ex-
pect to be am at loss to understand
whatcan be end accomplished by public
ly assailing me. have no apology to
offer for what l said have no apol-
ogy to make for residing at Des Moines.
1t may be sin but if it is, | am guilty
and must bear the punishment.
have no apology to make for Polk
County in presaming to send dele
gates to the convention or for myself
in being one Of the delegates. am
really sorry that my vote didn't please
every one and that every body in
the convention didn't see it alike But
such things will happen. l have
known eleven contrary men to hang a
jury much to the annoyance of the
twelfth man. l did not secure my
choice in the candidate for Governor,
but l shall support Conl Stone very
cheerfully. This as an honorable man
l feel bound to do after having acted
as a delegate in the convention. But
aside from such o consideration
shall do so for the reason that he is the
chosen representative of cause the
success of which at this crisis in the
history of the Nation, should be para
mount to all other considerations on
the minds of those who truly love their
country. There are many other mat
ters in your, article Mr.. Editor, that
might have been omitted from your pa
per with justice to others and with
credit to yourself, but as am not a
writer for the papers don't regard it
as my business to notice them.


| Yours Truly,


c. C. NouRsr.


The editor of this paper heard Mr..
Nourse's (not supposed but really
speech. 1t was our opinion then, and
Il 49,. ~