Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/194

 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE

184

eagerly watched the proceedings from the outside, wrote VicePresident Dallas to the same effect, and Dallas pressed this view upon the President. 25 To them as well as to all others

who raised the point Polk always move must come first from the

returned the same answer; other side, but he invariably

the

softened this statement by his old formula that, in confidence, he would say that he intended to submit any reasonable offer to the Senate for previous advice.

A more difficult situation faced the President on account of an article in the official organ, the Union. Ritchie, the editor, had not been taken into the confidence of the man whose general

views he was supposed to spread broadcast, so, when the was finally passed by Congress, he thundered out against

notice

the Democrats

who had combined

A

President.

the

much

ported that there was crats to

of



with the

Whigs

storm immediately arose.

somebody, they

said,

dissatisfaction

to oppose

Buchanan

among

the

re-

Demo-

ought to be associated with Ritchie

make the Union a strong paper and to prevent alienation members of the party. Allen, whose views the condemned

article like

might have been expected

to represent, thought a

man

(who with Rives had formerly conducted

Francis P. Blair

the Union) ought to be associated with Ritchie who could not get five votes as Public Printer from the Calhoun faction.

Polk himself agreed that although he disapproved the course of Calhoun and his followers, the article had been too denunciaHe talked it over with Ritchie, who was tory and severe.

much perturbed and excused late at night

and

himself by saying that he had

in a hurry.

prepared dent gave him the sketch of an it

him

to

"make out

I

Thereupon the Presion the matter, telling

what he pleased." "This is the second have been President," wrote the PresiDiary, "that I have sketched an article for the paper. of

or third time since

dent in his

article

it

I

did so in this instance to allay, if possible, the excitement I learned the article in yesterday's Union had produced

which

among

the Democratic members." 26

35 Polk, Diary, 26 I, 351 seq.

I,

348-9;

37-