ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI,
August 3, 1865.
Cox’s letter on the subject of negro suffrage is a new
bombshell in your camp. He has thought for himself, and come to a conclusion
different from the new creed of the East, and will in my judgment be sat upon and
badgered, but he is as near right as he can get. Negro equality will lead to
endless strife, and to remove and separate the races will be a big job; so any
way we approach the subject it is full of difficulty. But it is better to study
the case and adapt measures to it, than to lay down the theory or force facts
to meet it. . . .
I think I will make that trip,1 and that is all
this year. I did think of coming to Detroit to see Ord, but am bothered by
people in travelling so much that I prefer to be quiet till the people run
after new gods. In a short time new issues will drop us out of memory.
Affectionately,
W. T. SHERMAN.
__________
1 To the West.
SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The
Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837
to 1891, p. 252
