OCR Text |
Show MOAB, UTAH THE TIMES-INDEPENDENT, Birney s Liberty Party, Formed in 1840, Was Twice Defeated but It Raised an Issue That Triumphed Twenty Years. Later WATSON Newspaper Union.) NE hundred ‘years ago the United States was engaged in its most uproarious Presidential contest. It has come down in history as the "Log Cabin-Hard Cider'? campaign of 1840, in which emotion almost completely replaced reason, issues were totally ignored and a tired old man, who was little fitted for the office of President, was swept into the White House on a tide of slogans and songs. When it ended, the country learned that the "singing Whigs" roaring out to the tune of "The Little Pig's Tail,'' this song: () What has caused this great commotion-motion-motion Our country through? It is the ball a-rolling on For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too. And with them we'll beat little Van. Van, Van, is a used-up man. were true prophets. President Martin Van For Buren, seeking re-election as the Democratic candidate, was indeed a ‘‘used-up man."' He had captured only 60 electoral votes to 234 for Gen. William Henry Harrison, ‘‘Old Tippecanoe." Almost forgotten in the midst of all this hurly-burly, because he had failed to win a single electoral vote and had mustered only 7,059 popular votes (compared to Harrison's 1,275,017 and Van Buren's 1,128,702), was another candidate for President. Yet he was a significant figure in American history because he stood for a principle which would provide the most important issue in American politics during the next two decades, result eventually in the greatest civil war in history and be one of the cornerstones in the foundation of a new political party which would rule this country for 56 of the next 72 years. His name was James Gillespie Birney and he was the candidate of the Liberty party, organized on April 1, 1840. Birney was born at Danville, Ky., on February 4, 1792, the son of one of the richest men in the Bluegrass state. At the age of 11 he was sent to Transylvania college at Lexington and after finishing there studied at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton university, where he was graduated in 1810. After studying law for three years under Alexander J. Dallas, he was admitted to the bar and returned to his hame in Kentucky to practice. In 1814 he became a member of the town council and two years later, although he was barely the constitutional age for membership, was elected to the lower house of the Kentucky assembly. Birney's people were slaveholders but disapproved of the institution of slavery and were willing to emancipate their Negroes if Kentucky could be made a free state. Therefore it was only natural that the young legislator, early in his term in office should lead the moveMartin Van ment Buren to pre- vent the governor of Kentucky from entering into correspondence with the governors of neighboring states to make an arrangement for the capture and return of runaway slaves. Moves to Alabama. Evidently Birney's action made him unpopular with the voters in his district for he did not run for the legislature again but moved to had the Huntsville, Ala., a prominent constitution in 1818 and part in shaping under which Ala- bama came into the Union. He was a member of the state's first legislature but wrecked his political career in 1819 by opposing the legislature's indorsement of Andrew Jackson for President. Having run into debt, Birney was forced to return to the practice of law and was soon elected by the legislature as solicitor of the Fifth Alabama district. He next disposed of his plantation and slaves to a friend who, he was confident, would treat them kindly. By devoting all of his time and energy to his law practice he was soon prosperous again. While serving as attorney for the Cherokee Indians who occupied the northeastern part of Alabama, he began the first of the humanitarian enterprises which were to characterize his whole A } Ar YH } fp fe WADA f 0 WR, 4 SS yy \ % solani ERs career. He helped the Cherokees adopt a more civilized way of life and paid the expenses of many of the Indian girls who entered the Huntsville Female seminary to get an education. To aid the movement to colonize emancipated slaves in Africa Birney raised funds for the American Colonization society and he also used his influence to secure the passage of an act by the Alabama legislature forbidding the importation of slaves into that state. In 1830 Birney organized a colonization society in Huntsville and acted as its treasurer for several years. Meanwhile he was busy with plans for uniting in one party all men, both Northern and Southern, who were in favor of preventing the extension of slavery. Finding that there was little support for such an idea in the South, he decided to move to a free state but his appointment as agent of the American Colonization society kept him in Huntsville for nearly two years longer. Then he re signed and % bought a farm fy adjoining his 7 father's near ' Danville, Ky., ve declaring that that state was John P. Hale the best in the Union for taking a stand against slavery. In December, 1832, he helped promote a convention in Lexington to form a society for the gradual emancipation of the slaves. But he learned to his sorrow that his old Kentucky friends were turning against him and only nine persons attended his convention. Undiscouraged by this fact, Birney next organized a society to attempt the emancipa- tion of the children of slaves when they reached ‘tthe age of 21. He Becomes an Abolitionist. Birney's efforts to extend the membership of this society resulted in his making a thorough study of the whole problem of slavery and he reached the conclusion that its immediate abolition would be less harmful to the slave states than the gradual emancipation which he had formerly favored. To set an example, he gave free papers to his six former slaves who had remained with him and worked for wages. He also resigned his connection with the colonization society and became an out-and-out abolitionist. During the next few years Birney devoted his time to the antislavery cause and traveled about the country making speeches for it. In 1835 he made the principal address at the meeting of the American Anti-Slavery society and laid down the rules for the abolitionists to observe in carrying on their work. Next he announced his intention of returning to Danville and establishing an abolitionist newspaper, the Philanthropist. But when he arrived in his native state, he found himself regarded as a renegade and the persecutions of his neighbors and officials forced him to move to Cincinnati. where he promised to keep up his agitation against slavery until it was destroyed. The mayor of Cincinnati warned him that the city authorities could not promise to protect him if he persisted in his intention of publishing an anti-slavery paper in a city just across the river from the slave state of Kentucky. Despite this warning, Birney issued the first number of the Philanthropist and immediately discovered that the mayor's warning had not been an idle one. For the pro-slavery men started a campaign of persecution against him until finally a mob formed to destroy his property and tar and feather him. Instead of fleeing, Birney boldly faced the mob and made such a stirring plea for the principle of freedom of the press and freedom of speech that the mob any decisive stand on the slavery question, Birney decided that the time had come to put an antislavery presidential candidate in the field. Accordingly he called for a convention to be held in Albany, N. Y., in April, 1840. Delegates from six states met there and their unanimous choice for the nominee of the new Liberty party was Birney. As mentioned earlier in this article, he ran a poor third in the race with Harrison and Van Buren, polling only 7,059 popular votes and failing to get a single one in the electoral college. Despite the poor showing made by this party in the ‘"‘Log CabinHard Cider'? campaign which sent Harrison to the White House, Birney was not discouraged. He kept the party alive and four years later he was again its nominee for President. This time he polled 62,300 popular votes (nearly nine times the number he had received in 1840) but again failed to get a single electoral vote. As a matter of fact he would probably have received more than 100,000 votes had it not been for the ‘‘Garland Forgery," a faked document purporting to be Birney's formal withdrawal from the race and his advice to the anti-slavery voters to support Henry Clay. After this campaign, which resulted in the election of James K. Polk, Birney withdrew from further national political activity. But the seed which he had sown had fallen on fertile ground. In the campaign of 1848 the banner which Birney had first lifted was carried on by the Free Soil party with ex-President Martin Van Buren as the candidate for President and Charles Francis Adams, son of ex-President John Quincy Adams, for vice president. Campaigning on a platform which called for ‘‘Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men'' this ticket, even though it received only 291,000 votes, was sufficient to defeat Lewis Cass, the Democratic candidate, and elect Gen. Zachary Taylor, the Whig, thereby ert stimulating the ga anti-slavery Bas forces throughout the country to renewed activity. In 1852 the x, Free Soil party was againinthe § race with Sen. Ss John P. Hale of New Hampshire as its canJohn C, didate. He had Fremont quit the party over the slavery issue. Although the Free Soilers' vote dropped from 291,000 to 157,000 the issue which they had kept alive would not down. The ‘"‘irrepressible conflict'"' with slavery was on. Four years later, by welding together all of the anti-slavery men-Free Old Line Whigs Spears Service.) KO Pane LAWN] |, ge a] was dissuaded from its purpose. In 1837 Birney moved to New York to become secretary of the National Anti-Slavery society and as such was its guiding genius. Within two years he had organized 644 auxiliary societies in addition to the 1,009 which had been in existence when he became secretary of the national society. In one year he issued more than 725,000 copies of the society's all spreading the publications, gospel of abolition. ; As a part of his work Birney in legislature state every visited the North to secure the passage extenof resolutions against the sion of slavery or to gain the right of trial by jury for those charged with breaking the slavery laws. In 1839 ex-President John Quincy Adams, who was then serving in congress, declared in favor of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and Birney, seeing in this measure an entering wedge for a national abolition law actively campaigned for the election of congressmen pledged to vote for the Adams proposal. A New Party Is Formed. As the presidential campaign of 1840 approached and it became evident that neither the Whigs nor the Democrats would take Soilers, Ruth Wyeth by- S and Know Nothings-into a new party, the Republican, the victory which Birney had foreseen was nearly in sight. For Gen. John C. Fremont, the Republican candidate, polled more than 1,000,000 votes and began sounding the death knell of slavery. Birney did not live to see the final note sounded. He died near Perth Amboy, N. J., on November 25, 1857. Three years and three weeks later the Republican party triumphed over the divided Democratic party and sent its candidate, Abraham Lincoln, to Washington. In a little more than a month after he took the oath of office the guns in Charles- ton harbor heralded the opening of a conflict in whose fires slavery in the United States was destroyed forever. SNAP | i FULL FABRIC SHADE COVER A Don't be a nervous, suspicious, sensitive, injured shadow of Ted. | Bea person yourself. That's the way you won him and that's the way you ll win him back. By KATHLEEN NORRIS HEN a woman of 31, marW ried eight years and mother' of a small daughter, begins to be afraid she is losing her husband's love, what can she do? ‘Perhaps I'm not very well," writes Elinor Baker from a big IIlinois city, ‘‘but lately I seem to be afraid all the time that Ted will get tired else. of me and turn somewhere Our life and home and rela- tionship lost seem luster, to suddenly have gone to have dull. I had a long bout with flu in November; I don't seem to have gotten back strength or spirits. "Ted has formed the habit of going out a good deal without me. It's all pleasant and affectionate enough, but the result is that I feel left out. My mother lives with us, and Ted is really fond of her, I know. She is a wonderful mother; the only one, he says, that he has ever known. The care of Ann and the housework are not too much for the two of us, whereas I really could not handle it all alone. And for several years Ted seemed to be one of us, puttering about, planning things, doing his share. "But for the past few months it is different. I can't deceive myself any longer. His interests and amusements are elsewhere. He enjoys his late breakfast Sunday morning, his paper and his romp with Ann in the old way. But at about noon he always has something to do. He must ‘see a man,' or take someone somewhere. He and the car disappear, and the next thing I hear is from the telephone. Ted and ‘some of the others' are out at Billy Carey's. They want him to stay for dinner. What do I think? Do As You Like. "Of course I can only think one thing. But what I say is not what I think. I say ‘do as you like, dear.' Then he begins to explain. Well, you see, if he comes home now, then there's nobody to bring the Browns home. He'll be early; it isn't a party. And he comes in at about midnight. "This Billy Carey is a woman 40 years old at least; she isn't a flirt. It isn't thut. She has a nice husband and two grown boys, and a sort of far:n, where everyone cooks and loafs about, playing dominoes or listening to the radio. It's all safe enough, so far. But I hate Ted to find so much pleasure away from home, I hate it to disturb Mother, as it does, and we all miss him. Yet I couldn't very well take Ann to these Saturday and Sunday affairs, and if I did it would leave my mother all alone. "It gives me a hopeless sort of feeling, for Ted is a very attractive man, and even if some other woman dyesn't get him now, there are all the years ahead, when I simply don't feel equal to holding him, or rather winning him over and over again. If I try to give an informal buffet supper here, somewhat on the order of the Billy Carey plan, it goes flat. If I go along with Ted I have a horrible feeling that they don't want me. I'm always thinking that Mother and Ann are at home, missing me, and that I'm not making any hit with Ted by going along with him. Worrying about it is making me lose sleep, and look 10 years older than I am, so if you have any suggestion do please send it to me, and [ll be forever grateful." Be Yourself. My suggestion, Elinor, would be that you stop trying to lead two lives. One is your own happy home life with a mother and daughter, which you are doing your best to ruin with fretted thoughts that Ted is having a better time than you are, and that you are losing Ted, and that you have to make yourself different if you hope to hold Ted. The other life is the life you try to share with him so halfheartedly. Hold That Man! @ It really isn't the task it might seem, this ‘‘holding'' your husband, according to Kathleen Norris. q@ The main reason that men seek ‘‘the other woman"' is that wives become so tied up with home and household duties that they forget friend husband. And if they do remember him they take time to live only ‘"‘half a life'' with him. q@ But if the wife finds herself really neglected because some "charmer" has led her husband astray, she has two avenues of escape. @, First, she can ignore and forget all about this phase of her husband's life, that is, let him go his way and wake up for himself some day, or she can go with him on his pleasure trips and throw herself into the spirit of things. This usually shows the erring husband that ‘"‘the little wife'' can be just as charming as anyone else, You go out to Billy Carey's in body, but not in spirit. You watch Ted, rather than watching yourself. You secretly wish that you were back at home, where everything is comfortable, and you and Mother and Ann have so harmonious a time. Now, you'll have to make up your mind to do one thing or another. One way would be to abandon all thought of Ted and his friends, as far as you are personally concerned. Rejoice that he has good times with them, and devote yourself completely to Ann and your mother-and, above all, to yourself. Get some simple, becoming frocks, do your hair a new way, read along some directed line of study or take up a language; develop your own personality so that everyone, and Ted included, will notice a change in you, A brightening and quickening; a new interest in life and a new content. In other words, don't be nervous, suspicious, sensitive, injured shadow of Ted. Be a person yourself. That's the way you won him, and that's the way you'll win him back. The second course, and to me the wiser one, would be to suggest to Ted some day that you go with him when he leaves on Saturday or Sunday. Go to Hilly's, or wherever else he goes, and instead of sitting mute and unhappy and ignored in a corner, pick out some one person in the group to whom to pay special attention. Be sure it is a neglected person. Find a game you two like to play. Or, if it is Billy's mother, who is getting lunch ready for the crowd, just make yourself quietly useful, draw her into talk with you; forget yourself, and especially forget Ted, as much as you can. A New Course. Some years ago a quiet little neglected wife on a noisy house party entered into conversation with the 12-year-old son of the house, who was equally overlooked. He had been given a rather elaborate game that he didn't understand; she got him to bring it down, and studied the rules with him. Presently they began playing it, and a casual onlooker joined them. The onlooker was the Ted type, and presently the group was gathered about watching. It wasn't much, but it Carried the mousey wife through one evening. She and picnic for the boy had planned a the next day. Lonely and shy, he was wild with excitement over the idea of a beach lunch, a fire, chops to be broiled. One or two other guests asked if they might g0; in the end they all went, and the quiet little woman managed the whole thing and gave orders and forgot that she had ever been anything but the ringleader. This was the end of her ‘‘mousey" career. of lamp _ shades CHANGE gives any room a lift, and here is a smart, new transformaYou start with a plain tion trick. parchment paper or bristol board shade, preferably white; then you make a full skirt of some exciting By sewing fabric to cover it. snaps inside and also to the top of the shade, it is easy to remove these for laundering or cleaning. net, organdy, Taffeta, lawn, swiss, gingham-all are used and the imagination runs riot in trimFrills or double ruchings mings. at the top and bottom are favorEdges are pinked or maites. chine stitched in heavy contrastContrasting shirring ing thread. holds the fullness at the top; and color is added by means of fancy braids, ribbons or bias tape, acSewing Book 1 cording to type. and 4, contain directions for making a foundation frame, or you may use a shade that you already have. NOTE: lets Mrs. our readers contains an assor}, ment of 32 pages of curtains; slip covers; rag rugs; toys; gifts an novelties for bazaars. Books am 10 cents each-please order by number-No. 1, 2, 3, and 4-With your order for four books, you will receive a FREE set of three Qui Block Patterns of Mrs. Spear' Favorite Early American Quilts Send your order to: MRS. Bedford * Baked custards and vanilla junket are tasty with a sprinkling of grated nutmeg. ca i York | Name Address . ----y <r f Here's amazing way fo Relieve ‘Regular' Pains Mrs. J. C. Lawson writes: "‘I was undernourtshed, had cramps, headaches and backache, associated with my monthly periods, I took Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription for a while, gained strength, was scription over a period of time-and have bea overjoyed to find that this famous remedy ha A rubber soap-dish makes a non-skid bird bath for the canary. * New greatly relieved of these pains," FoR over 70 years, countless thousands women, who suffered functional pains, have taken Dr. Pierce's Favorite Pre AROUND THE HOUSE @ SPEARS Enclose 10 cents for one book, or 40 cents for four books and set of quilt block patterns. Each of the four bookSpears has prepared for a RUTH WYETH Drawer 10 Hills - SCOTT by Western (Bell Syndicate-WNU Ve" =" Et ELMO (Released There Are Ways of Holding Your Husband lo Breese lq l\evE\ By HOW-.- Kathleen Norris Says: helped them ward off such monthly discomiedl Most amazing, this scientific remedy, for mulated by a practicing physician, is guaray teed to contain no harmfu il drugs-no narcol ics. In a scientific way,it improves nutritiond assimilation; helps build you up and so i» creases yotr resistance and fortifies you against functional pain. Lessens nervousnes uring this Don't suffer one unneces moment from such monthly discomfort. Get Dr. Pierce's Fx vorite Prescription from your cover how wonderfully it acts torelieve youd "Regular" pains. * Rice should always be washed before cooking. Use-cold water and change it two or three times until the water is clear. & * & Store seeds in a cool place if they reach you too early. They keep better than in a warm room. ss *¢ * Try baking apples in a double roaster with one cup of water for a half dozen peeled apples. They are much more juicy than when baked in a pan without a cover. * € * Never press a quilt while damp. It is apt to become if you do. Wash quilts in soap suds and water. Rinse thoroughly and hang them, ping, in the shade to dry. press them on the wrong side a warm, not hot, iron. Don-You Mrs. X night of can't knows the save what storm. it is stiff mild them dripThen with Nina happened Read ha &, now. the the whole story in May True Story Magazine, now on sale.-Adv. Hotel -_f. TEMPLE SQUARE] ); Opposite Mormon Temple HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Rates $1.50 to $3.00 Cause Makes Martyr It is the cause, not the death, which makes the martyr.-Napoleon, ECON ff, Any ie Vy It's a mark of distinction to stop at this beautiful hostelay ERNEST C. ROSSITER, The Whole Wheat Mt 7 Mr hi | Breakfast Food|: There Is Health in Every Grain | and It Tastes ‘*SO GOOD"| With a Flavor All Its Own "SERVE IT HOT' | Makes Your Breakfast A BETTER A MONTANA PRODUC - ASK T FOR IT BY MEAL NAME MONTANA CEREAL CO, Billings, Montana |}, jj 88 ~ Week NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING The advertisements you find in your newspaper bring ie red yt A th you important news. News in regard to quality ond nt My prices. Just as the "ads" bring you news on how tobY B's, advantageously .. . so do the "ads" offer the merchatl the opportunity of increasing his sales at small expens*s Re : att 3 a |