Chapter XI: Postmasters (2)

Perhaps history affords no parallel to the state of affairs in our country when Abraham Lincoln took the Presidential chair. Our readers are all familiar with the history of this rebellion. We will not go over the grounds, dark and bloody as they are: suffice to say, the blow was struck, and treason assumed a bold and formidable front. The Constitution, even from its adoption, with all its amendments, has ever been a fruitful subject of dispute, more particularly with those whose interests were identified with the institution of slavery. To keep that peculiar institution—a relic of barbarism—intact, with their ideas of labor, men South advocated the idea that a sovereignty of States and their separate independency of the Union were guaranteed to them by the Constitution. This fatal error misled the ignorant: men of intellect, men educated in the Union, living under its Constitution and heretofore abiding by its laws, preached up a Utopian scheme to these misguided men. The South was to become the Eden of the world, and slavery its _Magna Charta_.

In the early part of Mr. Lincoln’s administration we edited a paper established for the purpose of maintaining his position and opposing the spirit of treason working its way North. We annex the following extract from an editorial article we wrote in 1861, being one of the editors of the “National Guard,” a paper devoted to the cause of the Union, the whole Union, and nothing but the Union:—

“When this distinguished man was first nominated for the Presidency, the grounds taken by the opposition were his abolition proclivities. Few people in the North were willing that the institution of slavery should go down beneath the Lincoln banner, and hence the increased opposition to the nomination and the powerful efforts to frustrate his election. _He was elected_: he became the President of these United States lawfully in the sight of men and of nations, and equally so in the sight of the Almighty. As President of the whole Union he took his seat. Men who expected to hear the thundertones of his official voice, “down with the South and slavery,” were surprised when they read his opinion upon the subject as President, differing in some respects from that expressed as a mere citizen. Being President, the various State interests had to be consulted: the South was upheaving with the curse of slavery upon it, and four millions of human beings were crying out for mercy. The position in which Mr. Lincoln was placed was a most delicate one: he could not maintain the high fanatical notions of many Northern men, nor would he indorse the actions of the Southerners, who feared that if the administration limited slavery it would ultimately lead to a decadency in their trade in human flesh. This was the state of matters when, in his appeal to the people for aid, he assured the South that he did not intend, in his official capacity, to interfere with their peculiar institution. Then the South dashed back the offered cup of peace presented to them in good faith, and spurned the hand that held it towards them. They feared the man; they feared the popular opinion uprising against slavery, and, deeming a portion of the North favorable to their cause, reared at once the standard of rebellion.

“Let our readers glance back to that period; let them take a view of a tall, pale man seated in the chair of state; let them look into his eyes, his soul, and see and even hear the beating pulse of the nation’s heart in his every fibre; let them look out and over the land and hear the maniacs of treason crying for his blood; let them look North, and even there hear the rebel sympathizers breathing curses loud and deep; let them read the first call for 75,000 troops, written with a nervous hand and a quailing heart; then look! behold! a nation obeys the call of the President, and the voice of the Union-loving people cheers and upholds him in his seat. The rebels find _no open aid North_. Covert, treacherous scoundrels, descendants of traitors, thieves, and murderers, met, it is true, in secret councils, but soon fell into their earthly hell before the indignant glance of an aroused people.

“Where now is slavery? Who struck at its very root and sent it shivering into pieces throughout the land? The very men who perfected and planned this revolution.

“Serpent-like, they bit themselves, and are now dying of the poison. Throughout the whole of these trying scenes—from the firing on Fort Sumter to the present—Abraham Lincoln has stood up firmly and consistently for the nation. Party questions have been repudiated and all sectional distinctions laid aside; for he had but one object, _that of saving the Union_! If to do this the destruction of the institution of slavery was necessary, its being powerless, helpless, and dead cannot be laid to his charge: it fell a victim to the acts of men who attempted to place it above the Constitution, and in the doing of which they have _crushed it and themselves out of the Union_. Thank God for this, the only good they have done!”[42]

Mr. Lincoln’s Cabinet was composed of men who set themselves to work in earnest. What they have done is now our country’s glory, our nation’s triumph.

Mr. Blair, in his first report, speaking of the commencement of his term of office, says,—

“Soon after the commencement of my term of office, the country felt the shock of internecine arms. In view of the great crime attempted against the existence of the nation, it became the duty of this, in common with the other departments of the government, to put forth all its energies to prevent the consummation of that crime. By the existing laws, all postmasters and mail-carriers, and all other persons engaged in handling the mails of the United States, or in clerical service, were required to take the usual oath of allegiance to this government, as well as for the faithful performance of their duties. Whenever it was made apparent by their declarations or by their conduct that there was a practical repudiation of the obligation of this oath, whether the party was a postmaster or a postal contractor, I ordered a removal from office in the one case and the deprivation of contract in the other. Not only was it unsafe to intrust the transportation of the mails to a person who refused or failed to recognize the sanctions of an oath, but to continue payment of public money to the enemies of the government and their allies was to give direct aid and comfort to treason in arms. I could not thus permit this branch of government to contribute to its own overthrow. No other course could have reasonably been expected by such contractors. The _bonâ fide_ observance of that oath, and the duty of allegiance itself, entered into and became a condition, a part of the consideration, of the contract itself. This failing, the department was equitably and legally discharged from its literal obligations. Protection on the part of the government and allegiance on the part of the citizen are correlative, and are conditions mutually dependent in every contract; and the highest public interest demanded the rigid enforcement of this rule of action. Occasional local and transient inconvenience resulted of necessity, but far less than would reasonably have been expected. Loyal men everywhere sustained this action, and speedily furnished the requisite means for continuing the service without increased expense. These changes were mainly called for in parts of Virginia and Maryland and in Kentucky and Missouri.

“In the same and in neighboring districts the duties of the appointment-office have been very onerous, from the great number of changes required in post-offices, according to changing phases of public sentiment, individual action, and military occupancy. It is believed that these positions, with rare exceptions, are now held by men of unquestioned loyalty. Where such men could not be found, the offices have been discontinued rather than they should be held by repudiators of public faith and used for purposes hostile to the perpetuity of our national institutions.”

On the 23d of September, 1864, Montgomery Blair tendered his resignation of the office of postmaster-general, and the resignation was accepted by the President.

The causes which led to this action on the part of Judge Blair were of a political character, and of such a nature as to clash with the opinions of men who could have no feelings of sympathy with rebels in arms. Among the charges brought against Blair were those of opposition to the general acts of the administration. In answer to one of these, made by the editor of the “National Republican,” the judge wrote as follows:—

“WASHINGTON, September 26, 1864.

“EDITOR OF THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN.—DEAR SIR:—The statement contained in your paper and other journals that my resignation was caused by the resolution of the Baltimore Convention referring to the Cabinet, has, I observe, led to the inference that the principles adopted by that body were objectionable to me. This is not true. On the contrary, my offers were made in good faith, with a view to allay animosities among the friends of those principles, and in order to secure their triumph.

“Yours, respectfully,
M. BLAIR.”

The editor of the “United States Mail,” a most valuable post-office assistant, published in New York, noticing Judge Blair’s resignation and letter, says,—

“That the official course of Judge Blair as postmaster-general has furnished no cause of dissatisfaction, and had no connection with his resignation, is a fact vouched for by the President, who, in his letter of the 23d, says,—

“‘While it is true that the war does not so greatly add to the difficulties of your department as to those of some others, it is yet much to say, as I most truly can, that in the three years and a half during which you have administered the general post-office I remember no single complaint against you in connection therewith.’

“Judge Blair’s administration of the post-office department has given evidence of a sincere desire to promote the efficiency of the service, and has been marked by the introduction of many important improvements and reforms,—among them the establishment of the money-order system and the new travelling post-office, the simplification of post-office accounts by the substitution of salaries in lieu of commissions as compensation to postmasters, the free delivery of letters by carriers, with various other plans calculated to increase the postal accommodation of the public and further the interests of the service. He has been a faithful and efficient head of the department, and, as such, leaves a record of which he has no cause to be ashamed.”[43]

There is no question whatever that Postmaster-General Blair studied the interest of the department with an eye to its future destiny. He nourished it, watched it, and we may well say the postal tree is now known and appreciated by its fruit. In 1863 the “Boston Weekly Gazette” thus speaks of him:—

“At a time when war and finance are the all-absorbing themes, nationally speaking, but little attention is paid to the most quiet of our government departments, but none the less important,—the post-office. Of the management of this department too much cannot be said in its praise. When every thing is confused with crowded railroads and the interruption of conveyance threatened by the exigencies of other public service, every thing proceeds in the post-office department with almost the regularity of clock-work. Scarcely a mail fails in its destination, any more than if peace prevailed in the land and men had nothing to do but to think of duty connected with transportation exclusively. We think Postmaster-General Blair entitled to the warmest praise for this state of things, that certainly redounds greatly to his credit. No man has ever filled his position who has received more unanimity of approval; and not a complaint is heard of his management. We make these remarks simply because it has surprised us that our own papers to the farthest points reach with such regularity and promptness, and letters from all parts of the country come to us strictly on time.”

The history of Judge Blair since his resignation is identified with that of our politics, in which he seems to take _a peaceful interest_.

WILLIAM DENNISON.—On the resignation of the Hon. Montgomery Blair, the President appointed this gentleman postmaster-general. This appointment, of course, was made to reconcile political interest and extend to Ohio the right hand of government friendship, and not from any great knowledge Mr. Dennison was supposed to have of postal matters. In this country prominent positions under government are the result of the recipient’s _status_ in political circles. It is, therefore, evident that a knowledge of its duties is not an important requisite qualification for the office.

William Dennison was born in the city of Cincinnati, on the 9th day of November, 1815. His father was well known through more than half a century as a popular and prosperous innkeeper in the young and rapidly growing city, no citizen in the whole community being more respected for probity and general worth among the pioneer settlers of Ohio and their descendants. He took great pride in his promising son, young William, and largely devoted his pecuniary means to secure the boy a thorough and solid classical education. In preparation for his college course he had the benefit of the best schools and teachers in his native city, and in the year 1831 he entered freshman in the Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, then and now a flourishing and highly-respected institution, which has educated many of the most prominent and powerful minds of the great and populous region north of the Ohio River, among whom are Caleb B. Smith, late Secretary of the Interior and formerly United States judge in Indiana, now deceased, Major-General Robert C. Schenck, Samuel Galloway, William S. Groesbeck, George E. Pugh, and others of equal note.

In September, 1835, near the close of his twentieth year, he graduated with high honor to himself and the university, then under the long successful presidency of the Rev. R. H. Bishop, D.D., a learned and venerated Presbyterian clergyman, who had early been induced to migrate from Scotland to the Northern United States by the solicitation and in the company of a renowned divine, John Mason, of the Scotch Presbyterian Church in New York, who at that time brought over a very useful and famous little clerical colony to this country.

Young Dennison then immediately returned to Cincinnati, and there commenced the study of law in the office of Hon. Nathaniel G. Pendleton (father of the Democratic candidate for the Vice-Presidency) and Stephen Fales, one of the most eminent lawyers of the West, in his youth a classmate of Daniel Webster at Dartmouth College and always his intimate personal friend. Completing his legal studies and admitted to the bar, he began the practice of his profession in his native city. Soon afterwards he married the beautiful and highly-educated daughter of William Neil, of Columbus (the State capital), a famous and extensive mail-contractor throughout the Northwest, whose name was very familiar to travellers and newspaper-readers twenty or thirty years ago, in the days of stage-coaches, when railroad enterprise was in its infancy at the West.

In 1840 he formed a law-partnership with the once famous, but now infamous, Albert Pike, poet, jurist, and rebel general, Indian savage by adoption and taste, leader of scalping-parties, &c. In the execution of that arrangement he removed to Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. But the conditions—moral, intellectual, social, and political—by which he found himself there surrounded induced him, after a brief residence and experience, to terminate the connection and return to Cincinnati, where he resumed his professional business. In 1842, at the earnest solicitation of his father-in-law, he removed to Columbus, which became thenceforth his home. He was made solicitor of the Clinton Bank, of that city, then president of the Bank of Columbus; and he finally accepted the entire management and control of all the vast mail-contract and post-road business of Mr. Neil throughout the region between the Ohio and the great lakes.

In politics Mr. Dennison was an original Whig. Throughout the existence of that party organization he was a firm, consistent, and zealously-active member of it. In 1847 he was elected to a two-years term in the Ohio Senate. He next served as president of the Columbus & Xenia Railroad until 1859, when, having been chosen by the Republican party Governor of the State, he resigned his position in connection with corporations. The great rebellion found him commander-in-chief of Ohio. He immediately organized and placed at the disposal of the Federal Government seventy thousand troops, and in offering them gave to George B. McClellan and William S. Rosecrans their first commissions as general officers.

Governor Dennison is a working business-man. He is an impressive orator, tall in person, of courtly but winning manners. He is a good specimen of a Christian gentleman, a devoted member of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Mr. Dennison, immediately upon entering the precincts of the postal bureau, commenced the study of the peculiar as well as intricate business of the department. His active mind, tact, and general knowledge soon mastered many of its intricacies, and, with a precision which surprised the more knowing ones of the office, arranged and alphabeted its business in such a manner as to facilitate operations and lessen actual labor. By this time Governor Dennison is, no doubt, quite familiar with the business of a post-office.

MAILS TO CHINA AND JAPAN.

One of the most important postal arrangements under this gentleman’s administration is the establishing by steamships a postal communication with China and Japan. Congress passed a law, February 17, 1865, authorizing the postmaster to contract for such conveyance. The tender of “The Pacific Mail Steamship Company,” the only one offered, was accepted and engaged for the service. The compensation therefor is $500,000 per annum for the performance of twelve round trips between San Francisco and Hong-Kong, China, touching at Honolulu in the Sandwich Islands, and Kanagawa in Japan.

This is one of the greatest events of the day, and inaugurates a new era in the commerce of our country. Unless the United States, however, unites all her great advantages and brings them to bear upon her foreign relations in such a manner as to place her commerce on a footing with that of other nations, the mere fact of a new era with these is simply a postal experiment. It is for us to become masters of the commerce of the world; and with this line of steamers regularly established, and the completion of the Pacific Railway, there is nothing to stand in the way of success.

Postmaster Dennison, taking this view of it, says, in his annual report, 1864,—

“There are other ocean-routes besides the one to Brazil which can be safely and profitably occupied by American lines of mail-steamers,—among which the route between San Francisco, Japan, and China, at present unoccupied by foreign mail-packets, is perhaps the most important in a commercial point of view, and may be made available in securing to us a large participation in the commerce of the East, the greater portion of which is now enjoyed by Great Britain through her mail-steamship connections _viâ_ Suez in the Indian Ocean and China Seas.

“The central position of the United States, between Eastern Asia and Western Europe, affording routes but little longer, if any, than those now traversed between these distant regions, aided by the superior expedition of railway transportation between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, will furnish such facilities as will make their adoption a practical necessity for the commercial intercourse between Europe and the populous countries of Eastern Asia. These considerations, and others which will readily suggest themselves, render it important that the Pacific routes properly belonging to us should be occupied by American mail-steamers, the profits of which, with the addition of a small subsidy for the mail-service, would justify the establishment of one or more steamship-lines which would be remunerative to the proprietors.”

Now that the rebellion is ended, those steamers which were withdrawn during its progress, thus affording foreign powers all the advantage of ocean lines, will no doubt resume their voyages for the benefit of our own.