Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 July 1889 — LETTERS OF GREELEY. [ARTICLE]

LETTERS OF GREELEY.

WRITTEN TO CHAS. A. DANA PRE VtOUS TO THE GREAT CONFLICT. The Remarkable I‘ernon* Characteristic* ot the Great Editor Clearly Defiued.— The Newspaper Ai t Expounded—Light Shed on the Politic* of tlie Time—Wit aud Humor Abounding Everywhere. ; XV Vi. Washington, D. C., April 2, ’f?B. Friend Dana. I have mislaid your letter to which I tended night before last; hut iis tenor might seem to imply a preference on my part ior remaining in Washington. I would b ave it" distinctly understood that I am ready to leave this delightful spot the moment you judge that course to be best. 1 ineau to stay at long as that shall Re deemed desirable by you; but I have been expecting some intimation as to a change for some time. Just now Harvey is away and cannot be back till Saturday. When here, tie is very good for the Court end of’town, but not as to the other. Yet we must have some one here who can write about the Capitol, and lam expecting by each mail to be advised by you of a consignment of Pike. I- want him to come prepared to stay, as I have done; merely remaining about here lor a week or two is no good. I want him here several days befere 1 leave, so that l can introduce him to some folks who can be of use to him in getting news (his weak point), and to imoart to him all I know as to the lay of the land. He can’t come too soon to please me, though lam in no nuriy. I came here because 1 could do most good (as I supposed), and don’t want to stay, one miDu:e longer than that shall be tbe case. And, though others may be cleverer, there is no correspondent here who has done nearly as much work as 1 have this winter, except Simonton. and he has great advantages—first, in being always here; next, in being able to retreat to his den, where he is protected bv a barricade of women and children, while my room is the common resort of cigar-smoking, gossiping, political loafers. I began my letter about Washington's tomb after dinner yesterday, and it was close to midnight when I finished it, and had to take it to the Post Office, the hotel bag being gone, I could have written it in an hour and a half, but first came iu Pomeroy, '.ben Gen. Lane, then Wilson, then Gov. Robinson, beside others, ana it won’t do to turn such msn out of the house. So my time was taken up. And so it is from day to day. Now abort ferocity. Lam infavor of J it, judiciously applied. Perhaps Douglas iB a good subject, but every one is not. If it were practicable to “have a giant’s strength,” we must be careful not too often “to use it like a giant,” A blundering attack like that on Brenton destroys the force of our broadside when better directed. When you Bhow up an Albany Register you must consider whether you may not want to use that same—for a lawyer who Bhould make a very strong speech discrediting one of his own chief witnesses would not' be thought clever. And I charge you above all thipgs not to ailow anything to get in which seems impelled by hatred of the Soutn, or a desire to humiliate that section. On the contrary, ours is the course to renovate and exalt the South, and mus: be so commended. Every copy of that misjudged editorial showing how a British army might liberate the slaves and overrun the South, has been careiully treasured to make Loco Foco speeches on in the coming canvass, and I have been applied to lor more by men who did not imagine I knew what they were after. We must be “wise as serpents” this season, and make no enemy needlessly. 11 is by such articles as Weston’s “Poor Whites of the South,” and making the Kansas issue as prominent as possible, that we are to win a decisive" triumph. There are very many things I don’t begin to know, but I ought lo know something of party controversy.

I George Baker writes me that he has rged you to oppose any Excise law, if we can’t have Prohibition. I hope you have done nothing of the sort. I have no faith in Excise laws, but we must not take the responsibility of beating one. Let ns rather let one pass (sub silentio), so as to demonstrate more ciearly its worthlessness. I am disappointed at receiving no letter from Europe this week. Remember to hurry it along when one comes. Yours, Horace Gkkelky. C. A. Dana, N. York. XXVII. Washington, Mon,, April 7,1856. C. A. D : I went up to York, Pa., to lecture on Saturday, and could not get back till 6 this morning. Thank you for the promise of Pike Boon. lam unwell and tired of this hole. I hope he will come down on Saturday at furthest; then I will start on Tuesday and reach home on Wednesday. Ask him to please come down on Saturday if not earlier. And when here I think he must contrive to stay till the 17th of June. Why not? a greenhorn can be of no use here, aud Harvey can do us little good at the capitol. I guess Pike must stay. Now, as to your going away this summer: There are only two conditions to it. Somebody must do up Washington in your absence, and Fry must promise to stand by me and pull steadily in New York. I mean to be extra good this year, and rather doubtfui as to the next. So, if somebody will do us justice here, and Fry will really help me in Now York, all will be well. (I trust there is to be no opera in those months.) 1 guees you are about righf as to Bell Smith, except that she oouldn’t help being fount! out. Ae Oolfax said to her in my hearing, “Who else eonla have thought of puffing Pugh?” Djn’t you see that is a settler? All I regret is that you did not write to her on the receipt of her firßt that you would pay her So and so. It won’t do for me to be hiring correspondents, and I only Bpoke to her because you agreed to it. Better have a good understanding at the outset. But you dou’t write notes on such slender provocation as I do. I presume. Seward’s speech has been sen' you. if not, it snail be by this mail. - Now, I waDt to suggest one thing—the hiring ol Ewbank to examine every new invention th»t may be presented, ■nd eay something or nothing of it, as it deserves. If he has to leave his own house to do so. let those who require it pay him. Otherwise let him have stated Hours three or four times a week on

which any inventor may call on him , and let wnoever comes to the office be told: , “Mr. E. is our editor with respect to inventions. Go to him at o’clocx to-day or to-morrow and he will look into what yon have invented and write aboht it, if he deems it worth notice in Tbe Tribune.” We have never yet had this department on a right footing. Ewback’s retard to New York gives us a chaDce; now let it be done. 1 think he would do this for one thousand a year, writing a leader, a paragraph, or a mere line about a new invention, according and, it would be woith the money. Won’t you look into this? It would be a great relief to uh and a real improvement to the paper. Yours, H. G. P. S.—Contrary to what yon would suppose, Clayton was perfsctly Bober ana Bell atrociouelv drunk at the tune of their row in the Senate last Week Bell was a little worse when he undettook to apologiz,-, it poestble, than when he gave the insult. I made a mistake on Friday, Collamer sat down without concluding, while the Senate went on reading and referring bills. So I went into the House to hear Gen. Granger, after which Collamer resumed and conciuded. Collamer’s speech is better than Seward’s in my humble judgment. Yours, H. G.

TTtm Wash ngton. L>. C., April 9 1856. C. A. D.: I care nothing for Ewbank. If you have the right sort of man to scrutinize inventions, that is well. 2. I don’t want more space devoted to this subject. I presume quite enough is now given. But 1 do want inventions treated like other occurrences—with more or less emphasis, according to theirimportance, not treated as if a motive powerundft new currycomb were of equal consequence. There your present system is ueficient. If a man should invent a new locomotive that could be readily and profitably need in corn fields and on common roads, 1 should wish to see it announced in a leader on the very day after it was patented; wherea»*by your present method, it would probably appear the next month in a supplement, buried up under new raspberries and improved beehives. Is that the thing? lam totally disqualified to judge of the value ot Inventions in general; vou take little interest in them. I believe the history of human progress is written in them, and I want to see that history early and faithfully i effected in our columns. I want to have less and less to do with politics and more and more with productive Industry. I feel that the path of Empire—journalistic and ail other—stretches in this direction. Let us be first to act on this knowledge. It will win few subscribers to-day, but it will win character which may ultimately be coined, if that is deemed essential. Ido believe that onr Daily, with five years’ reputation as the first to recognize and Honor Inventive Genius, would be a far betterproperty than at present.

It does notiollow that we should give long accounts of new inventions. Ninetenths of those patented are worthies; Tfifee-fourths oT the residue are of little genersl interest. One oolnmn per week devoted to Inventions will satisfy me, provided the right man prepares it and has a clear idea of what he has to do — that he writeS'in the interest of the public and not of the patentees.

I telegraphed you yesterday about Fremont’s letter, and hope vou have it in this morning’s Tribune. It is a good letter in itself and will do good to Kansas. if not to Fremont. I do hope you will have it out soon, and that F. will withdraw his objection, if he has any. I mean to print it in next weekly anyhow, if not inthis. I wish yon could have printed Gen. Granger’s speech. It wilt lie greatly discussed hereafter, and has the immense merit of being short. Horace Greeley. C. A. D.

XXIX. Dana: Will yon please have an earnest talk with Craig? I went to the Senate yesterday on purpose to hear tbe additional Champion documents. On hearing them I saw that they needed to be sent over verbatim, and sent Harvey every way for Gobright to tell him to send them to the Associated Press. Harvey came to me and telegraphed to you on the subject. I found Gobright and urged him to do tbe right thing. He hesitated, but telegraphed to Craig. Craig answered that he need only send the substance. I saw Gobright again early in the evening and sa.w him again at 10 o’clock, and he assured me that he had sent all but a few unessential phrases, Ac. I could do no more with him as he was acting under orders from Craig. Now Harvey tolls me that you telegraphed at 11 to have the whole tent, over. Here is a heavy expense imposed on us by Craig’s presuming in New York to know more about documents of which he was ignorant than I did after hearing them. I consulted Gen. Webb, and obtained hiß confidence before acting. I want you to ask Craig whether I may not expect to be listened to in another contingency like this. Here are at least SSOO thrown away by three papers in telegraphing severally what should have gone to all. XXX. Washington, April 11th. Dana: My heart does not break easily, but these mail failures are hard to bear. On Tuesday, Henry Waldren, of Michigan, made a glorious speech. He is one of our best men, never spoke before, and probably will not again. I sat down and wrote a telegraphic dispatch, then a letter. Wednesday’s paper came, and no dispatch. I wrdte one of inquiry to you aud took it down to the office, when lo! they owned up that they bad mislaid and failed to send the dispatch till next morning! So the milk in that, cocoanut. was accounted for. “Well,” says I, “the next paper will bring along my letter, anyhow;” bnt that paper came last night and no letter, but instead of that a dispatch from you, sent after, saying tbat the letter only reached you yesterday. Now, I have myself carried every letter tj the post office this week—usually a little before midnight, and the letters are taken till five in the morniDg. So the fault can hardly be here. I am afraid vou fail to make a row with the New York post office when this sort of thing occurs. List night it was 1 o’clock when I took my letter to the office, and your dispatch gave me a dread that it might have been overlooked and delayed here. So I have been to the postmaster tnis

mcMlng, ana had the-office overhauled, and the letter has certainly gone. The only chance of failure is, says the P. M., that these late letters are made np into a special or extra package, and this: may be overlooked and left unripenFd at night in the New York office. Frav look to this. T:~. ~.'j. ... . Your dispatch about the Fremont letter is generally admired. I have not yet taken Bana’s opinion of it; but he has written me a note saying that he was mislead by A. B. James, aDd will keep out ol such ruts hereafter, Rather late, but very good. You can’t guess now old Butler gave it to me yesterday for that infernal article telling the British how to invade and conquer the South. No report can do justice to his venom. I will trv to keep such articles out of the Triouny hereafter. Oid Badger was sitting in the Senate all day yesterday. He must he “tickled to death” at the prospect of Pike’s return to this city. I irust vou have a supplement toniay. Thank Ctrey in my name for that article on Bowen. Albo whoever did the Joe Bonaparte, though it took up so much room. I mean to have a weekl» or fortnightly letter J rom the Patent Office ere long. Yours, H. G. Can’t you publish General Granger's Bpeecb? It is unique and very short.

XXXI. Dana: This letter is a sort of resume of mv last six. If you are crowded, and it in good part consists of repetitions, you may offe> it to Bonner or to some one else; and, if they don’t want- ts; keep it lor me. I shall write another on the gold mines. lam still inteht on curing my >ame leg. I shall not be able lo reach Laramie muc H before the firet of J uly. when I intended to be at Salt Like on the 4th. But I can do nothing with my leg while travelling. It was made by the corner of a «eat gouging into the side of my left just below the knee. It is now improving. (The End.)