The whole ground will not be covered, or there will be
qualifications. A candidate so weakened should always be passed by.
Letters are the safest basis of action in appointments to office.
Personal appeals are made most usually by interested parties.
At the time of the disasters to Pope and McClellan, Mr. Chase was
demoralized completely. He said to me:
"We have only to wait for the end."
He took me to the President, and said that he could take no part in
the appointments. In that period Mr. Chase was very bitter in his
criticisms of the President. He thought him very slow in regard to
emancipation. Of this opinion there was a formidable knot around
Washington, Mr. Chase and Mr. Sumner being at their head. Indeed,
their opinion in that particular was shared by many, myself among them,
but I never lost confidence in the purposes of Mr. Lincoln, and I well
knew that the way of safety was to maintain the closest relations with
him. No one who knew him had any ground to doubt his good intentions.
The truth was, that Mr. Chase was a candidate for the Presidency
whenever he had the courage to believe in the preservation of the
Government.
From July to the end of December, 1862, I went to the office before
breakfast, then during the day, and then again in the evening. My only
exercise was a ride on horseback after office hours and before dinner.
Pages:
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423