"If there were a class of men who, having no choice of sides in the
contest, were anxious to have only quiet and comfort for themselves
while it rages, and to fall in with the victorious side at the end of
it, without loss to themselves, their advice as to the mode of
conducting the contest would be precisely such as his."--(_His_--Mr.
Thomas Durant, who, in 1862, wrote a letter on behalf of the
conservatives, asking to be let alone.)
"He speaks of no duty--apparently thinks of none--resting upon Union
men. He even thinks it injurious to the Union cause that they should be
restrained in trade and passage without taking sides. They are to touch
neither a sail nor a pump--live merely as passengers (deadheads, at
that!)--to be carried snug and dry through the storm, and safely landed
right side up! Nay, more--even a mutineer is to go untouched lest these
sacred passengers receive an accidental wound."--(Letter to C. Bullitt,
July 28, 1862.)
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