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To Lyman Trumbull1Jump to section
My dear Sir: Yours of the 23rd. is received. I agree with you entirely about the contemplated election of Forney.2Jump to section Nothing could be more short-sighted than to place so strong a man as Forney in position to keep Douglas on foot. I know nothing of Forney personally; but I would put no man in position to help our enemies in the point of our hardest strain.
There is nothing new here. I have written merely to give my view about this Forney business. Yours as ever A. LINCOLN
Annotation
[1] ALS, CSmH.
[2] John W. Forney, anti-Lecompton editor of the Democratic Philadelphia Press, who had served as clerk of the House 1851-1855. Trumbull wrote that he had learned in New York of a move to make Forney clerk of the House, without any assurance from him that he would act with the Republicans, the idea being that he would bring enough anti-Lecompton Democrats with him to give the Republicans the speakership (DLC-RTL). Forney was elected clerk, and William Pennington, New Jersey Whig, was elected to the speakership on the forty-fourth viva voce vote.