ALS signed “S. P. Chase,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.75 x 9.75, Treasury Department letterhead, September 17, 1862. Letter to the Hon. A. Sankey Latty, commenting on the troubles of the patronage system, the ongoing Civil War, and the question of slavery. In part: "I have seldom been as much surprised and pained as by your letter of the 10th inst., and the copies of Gen'l Ashley's letters which came with it. I received also by the same mail today copies of the same letters in print.
You know how warm a regard I have ever cherished for General Ashley as a true friend & faithful advocate of our cause, and how glad I have always been to promote his advancement believing that I am thereby promoting the great political principles which I embraced early & have defended perseveringly.
I never dreamed until today that he was capable of seeking an appointment for anybody, stranger, acquaintance, or friend, after any understanding direct or indirect…I can never approve or attempt to justify any such understandings…It may be properly observed, however…that any loose ideas in these matters have been current in Washington, the prevalence of which may be attributed in large part, to the system of parcelling out…patronage to members of Congress—a system against which I have constantly & earnestly protested.
His letters cannot have appeared to Gen. Ashley as they appear to me and I am confident that since impressed with a sense of their impropriety, he will never expose himself again to such a censure. Indeed an act of Congress, for which I believe he voted, now expressly forbids such transactions.
Under these circumstances, I think, if I were a voter in his District I should not withhold from him my support to the detriment of our cause. I think I should do by Ashley what Clay once asked me of his constituents, whom he had displeased by voting for the compensation bill, to do by him, 'pick the flint & try the old gun again'…
We have fallen on very evil days. Under the influence of a shortsighted nation that the old Union can be reconstituted, after a year's Civil War, of free states and slave states just as it was, the President has hitherto refused to sanction any adequate measure for the liberation of the loyal population of the South from slavery to the rebels. Hence we are fighting rebellion with one hand & with the other supplying its vital element of strength. There we have placed and continued to command Generals who have never manifested the slightest sympathy with our cause as relates to the controlling question of Slavery…
I confess I should like to complete the work of bringing in a sound system of national currency & of relieving the people of the evils of our existing banknote circulation. Besides this I see nothing for me to do here: and whether I should remain here for this is the question. What do you think of it? We have lost Harpers Ferry, but are hoping for good news from McClellan…Many think the surrender of Harpers Ferry entirely unnecessary. It is a heavy blow and may precede important events. I will not, however, anticipate." In fine condition.
Chase was one of the foremost activists for the abolition of slavery in Lincoln's cabinet, and repeated tried to pressure Lincoln on the matter by threatening to resign—alluded to here when he writes, "whether I should remain here for this is the question." He also makes reference to his goal of establishing national currency, which he had worked towards with the issue of 'greenback' notes. A fantastic letter that embodies several of Chase's most important positions during the Civil War.
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