Washburn. I signed the address of which
I wrote a few sentences. Judge Hoar made a bright and characteristic
speech in which he said that "the people of Massachusetts
would not yield the office of Governor to a Tichborne claimant,
whether with or without a bond." This name, "the Claimant,"
stuck to Butler for the rest of his life.
In 1871 my opposition to General Butler and support of Governor
Washburn was well known. I announced my preference for the
latter in a letter to the Springfield _Republican._ This did
not occasion any personal quarrel with Butler, although our
relations were never cordial. But in 1873 he was very angry
with the persons who signed the address in favor of the renomination
of Governor Washburn. He wrote a letter to the people of
Massachusetts in which he angrily attacked many persons in
the Republican party whom he believed to be his opponents.
Among them he bitterly attacked me. He sent a copy of this
letter in the form of a broadside to every newspaper in Massachusetts,
I believe, and had it folded into every copy of the paper.
I instantly replied, setting forth as well as I could the
character and quality of General Butler and the nature of
his influence upon the youth of the Commonwealth.
Pages:
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624