If I were asked to name the man who was the strongest and most useful factor in the Government during the great final contest that ended in the emancipation2 of the black man, I would say Salmon Portland Chase.
In expressing the opinions above given, no reproach for Abraham Lincoln, nor for any of the distinguished3 members of his Cabinet, is intended or implied. Inferiority to Salmon P. Chase was not a disgrace. Physically4 he rose above all his official associates, which was no discredit5 to them, and in much the same way he towered intellectually and administratively6. His was the most trying, the most difficult position, in the entire circle of public departments. It was easy to get men to fight the battles of the union if there was money to pay them. It was easy to furnish ships and arms and supplies in sufficient quantity, notwithstanding the terrible drain of the greatest of civil wars, as long as the funds held out. Everything depended on the treasury7. Failure there meant irretrievable disaster. It would not answer to have any serious mistakes in that quarter, and in fact no fatal mistakes were there made. In all other departments there were failures and blunders, but the financial department met every emergency and every requisition. Chase's financial policy it was that carried the country majestically8 through the war, and that afterwards paid the nation's debts.
There is a circumstance that has not been mentioned, as far as the writer knows, by any of Mr. Chase's biographers, which seems to him to be significant and worth referring to. During the Civil War, Walter Bagehot was editor of the Economist9, the great English financial journal. His opinion in financial matters was regarded as the highest authority. It was accepted as infallible. He discussed the plans of Mr. Chase with great elaborateness and great severity. He predicted that they were all destined11 to failure, and proved this theoretically to his own satisfaction and the satisfaction of many others. The result showed that Mr. Chase was right all the time, and the great English economist was wrong.
The entrance of such a man into the Abolitionist movement marked an era in its history. It was the thing most needed. He gave it a leader who, of all men then living, was most competent for leadership. From that time he was its Moses.
The greatest service rendered to the Abolition12 cause by Salmon P. Chase was in pushing it forward on political lines. There was a contest for the mastery of the Government from the hour he took command. The movement was to be slow, sometimes halting and apparently13 falling back, in some respects insignificant14, in all respects desperate, but there was to be no permanent defeat and no compromise.
The espousal of Abolitionism by Mr. Chase was a remarkable15 circumstance. He was not an enthusiast16 like Garrison17 and Lundy and many other Anti-Slavery pioneers, but precisely18 the opposite. He was cold-blooded and cool-headed, a deliberate and conservative man. His speeches were described as giving light but no heat. His sympathies were seemingly weak, but his sense of justice was immense. Apparently, he opposed slavery because it was wrong rather than because it was cruel. He had a big body, a big head, and a big conscience, the combination making a strong man and a good fighter.
That he did, in fact, sympathize with the slaves was shown by his professional work in their behalf, more particularly in pleading without fee or other reward the cases of escaped fugitives19 in the courts. So numerous were his engagements in this regard that his antagonists20 spoke21 of him sneeringly22 as the "Attorney-General for runaway23 niggers." Upon some of his Anti-Slavery cases he bestowed24 an immense amount of work. His argument in the case of Van Zant—the original of Van Tromp in Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin,—an old man who was prosecuted25 and fined until he was financially ruined for giving a "lift" in his farm wagon26 to a slave family on its way to Canada, was said at the time to have been the most able so far made in the Supreme27 Court of the United States. That and other similar utterances28 by Mr. Chase were published for popular reading, and were widely distributed by friends of the cause.
It is possible that, in performing this arduous29 labor10, Mr. Chase, who was not without personal ambition, was able, with his great native sagacity, to foresee, although it must have been but dimly, the possibilities of political development and official promotion30, but at the same time, for the same reason, he could the more clearly realize the wearisome, heart-breaking struggle that was before him.
It was an enormous sacrifice that he made. Journeymen printers and saddlers, like Garrison and Lundy, who had never had as much as one hundred dollars at one time in their lives, and who had no social position and no influential31 kinsfolks, had little to lose. But it was very different with Chase. He had a profession that represented great wealth. He had distinguished and aristocratic family connections. He had a high place in society. All these he risked and largely lost.
In speaking of his sacrifices at that time in a subsequent letter to a friend, he wrote:
"Having resolved on my political course, I devoted32 all the time and means I could command to the work of spreading the principles and building up the organization of the party of constitutional freedom then inaugurated. Sometimes, indeed, all I could do seemed insignificant, while the labors33 I had to perform, and the demand upon my very limited resources by necessary contributions, taxed severely34 all my abilities."
The writer hereof was a witness to one incident that showed something of the loss that Mr. Chase sustained in a business way because of his principles. While a law student in a country village he was sent down to Cincinnati to secure certain testimony35 in the form of affidavits37. During his visit he called at Mr. Chase's law office, introduced himself, and was very pleasantly received. He noticed that there was a notary38 public in the office.
Among other instructions he had been directed to get the affidavit36 of a leading business man in Cincinnati, a railroad president. The document was prepared and signed, but there was no one at hand before whom it could be sworn to. The writer remarked that he knew where there was a notary in a near-by office. We proceeded to Mr. Chase's chambers39, and were about to enter when my companion noticed the name on the door. He fell back as if he had been struck in the face. "The ---- Abolitionist," he exclaimed, "I wouldn't enter his place for a hundred dollars!" We went elsewhere for our business, and on the way my companion expressed himself about Mr. Chase. "What a pity it is," he said, "that that young man is ruining himself. He is a bright man," he went on, "and I employed him professionally until he went daft on the subject of freeing the niggers whom the Lord made for the purpose of serving the white people."
Like pretty much all the early Abolitionists, Mr. Chase had a taste of mob violence. He had one singular experience. When the mob destroyed the printing establishment of James G. Birney in Cincinnati, Chase mingled40 with the crowd. He discovered that personal violence to Mr. Birney was contemplated41 and that his life was in danger. He made all haste to Birney's residence and gave him warning of his peril42. Then he took his stand in the doorway43 of the building and calmly awaited the coming of the rabble44. Those who knew Chase will remember that in size he was almost a giant, and his countenance45 had a stern, determined46 look. The multitude, finding itself thus unexpectedly confronted, paused and entered into a parley47 that gave the hunted man an opportunity to reach a place of safety.
Chase had an appointment to speak in the village in which the writer lived, and the opposers of his cause arranged to give him a warm reception. Something prevented his attendance, and a very mild and amiable48 old clergyman from an adjoining town, who took his place, received the shower-bath of uncooked eggs that had been intended for the Cincinnati Abolitionist.
Chase's great work for the Anti-Slavery cause was in projecting and directing it on independent political lines. Up to that time most Anti-Slavery people opposed separate party action. Garrison and his Liberator49 violently denounced such action. Moral suasion was urged as the panacea50. Chase himself had not been a "third party" man. In 1840, when there was an Abolition ticket in the field, headed by his personal friend, James G. Birney, he had not supported it. But soon afterwards, becoming firmly convinced that Anti-Slavery people had nothing to hope for from either of the old parties, he set about the work of building a new one. The undertaking51 was with no mental reservation on his part. When he put his hand to that plow52 there was no looking back, notwithstanding that a rougher or more stony53 field, and one less promising54 of returns for the laborer55 than that before him, would be difficult to imagine.
In 1841 he headed a call for a convention at Columbus, the State capital, to organize the Liberty party in the State of Ohio, and at the same time nominate a State ticket. Less than a hundred sympathizers responded to the call, and the ticket put in nomination56 received less than one thousand votes.
Among the attendants at the Columbus meeting was a near kinsman57 of the author. On his return, in describing the proceedings58, he said that pretty much everything was directed by a Mr. Chase (Salamander Chase was his name, he said), a young Cincinnati lawyer. That young man, he declared, would yet make a mark in the world.
From that time every important move was directed by Chase. He prepared the calls for important meetings. He wrote their addresses and their platforms. He made the leading speeches. He presided at the great convention at Buffalo59 in 1848, which formulated60 the "Free-Soil" party—successor to the Liberty party—and wrote the platform which it adopted.
In speaking of Chase's share in the independent organization of this time, William M. Evarts says: "He must be awarded the full credit of having understood, resolved upon, planned, organized, and executed this political movement."
The movement thus conducted by Mr. Chase was slow and tremendously laborious61, but it was effective. In the presidential elections of 1844 and 1848 it held the balance of power and turned the scale to further its purposes. In 1852 it shattered and destroyed one of the old pro-slavery parties, and became the second party in the country instead of the third. In eight years more it was the first.
The charge has been made against Mr. Chase that, while a member of Lincoln's Cabinet, he aspired62 to supersede63 his chief in the Presidency64. But did he not have a right to seek the higher office, especially when the policy pursued by its incumbent65 did not meet his full approval? He merely shared the sentiment that was then entertained by nearly all the radical66 Anti-Slavery people of the country. It is not unlikely that Chase felt somewhat envious67 of Lincoln. After, as he stated in his letter of congratulation to Mr. Lincoln on his first election, he had given nineteen years of continuous and exhausting labor to the freedom movement, it would be but natural that he should feel aggrieved68 when he saw that the chief credit of that movement was likely to go to one who had, to his own exclusion69, come up slowly and reluctantly at a later day to its support. If he were somewhat jealous, it would be hard not to sympathize with him.
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1
salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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administratively
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| [医]adv.行政上 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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economist
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| n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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sneeringly
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| 嘲笑地，轻蔑地 | |
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runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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affidavit
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| n.宣誓书 | |
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affidavits
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| n.宣誓书，（经陈述者宣誓在法律上可采作证据的）书面陈述( affidavit的名词复数 ) | |
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notary
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| n.公证人，公证员 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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liberator
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| 解放者 | |
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50
panacea
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| n.万灵药；治百病的灵药 | |
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51
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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52
plow
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| n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough | |
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53
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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54
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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laborer
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| n.劳动者，劳工 | |
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nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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formulated
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| v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
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laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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aspired
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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supersede
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| v.替代；充任 | |
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64
presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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65
incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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67
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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