Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and letters of Charles Sumner: volume 4

The purchase of St. Thomas did not attract Mr. Sumner, but he kept an open mind concerning it, and as far as possible held his judgment in suspense. He had a regard for Denmark as a nation, and a particular friendship for Raasloff, and sought to give every opportunity to him to prove the value of the acquisition. He arranged for Raasloff personal interviews with his colleagues, and (what was quite exceptional, if not unprecedented) formal audiences with the committee Jan. 26 and 28, 1869; obtained documents for him which he sought in order to remove objections to the purchase; distributed pamphlet arguments for the treaty among the members of the committee, which Raasloff supplied; and intervened at his request to obtain the opinion of Mr. G. V. Fox, which was known to be in favor of the purchase. He was the one member of the committee to whom Raasloff applied freely for good offices, which were uniformly granted; nevertheless, he was never converted to the treaty. Raaslofs surviving friend, General Christensen, says that he frequently spoke of Mr. Sumner's connection with it, ‘always regretting that he could not win the sympathy of that statesman for the transaction.’

The committee suspended action, but this was in order that Mr. Seward and Raasloff should have the fullest opportunity to complete all proofs and supply all considerations in favor of the purchase. Mr. Seward never called for a decisive vote, and both he and General Raasloff knew that there was no time when the treaty would have been carried, and they thought with diminishing hope that there might be a favorable turn. It was a ratifying vote which they desired, not a vote with the certainty of a rejection. The non-action of the Senate was at Raasloff's express instance, as proved by a contemporaneous record. Mr. Fish wrote to Mr. Sumner, March 28, 1869, a note containing only these words:—

Dear Sumner,—Raasloff does not wish any action on his treaty. He will probably see you.

The imputation of sinister silence on Mr. Sumner's part is effectually disproved by General Raasloff's contemporaneous letters. In December, 1868, probably late in the month, he arrived in Washington with a view to press the treaty. At once he began to send to Mr. Sumner notes and letters about the treaty, as well as congratulations on New Year's Day, and invitations to dine, and they were meeting from day to day. On the evening of Jan. 11, 1869, Mr. Sumner told him frankly that there was little or no chance of his success with the committee and the Senate, and sympathizing with him in the probable effect of his failure on his position at home, said: ‘I am sorry for you; you are in a tight place,’ etc.,—words which were repeated by Raasloff in a note to Sumner the next morning, and which he said had kept him awake a good portion of the night. In the same note, and in another written a few days later, he said that he was fully prepared for the worst, and had all along been prepared for it. He felt, however, constrained to push his case, and went before the committee on the 26th and 28th of the same month, and otherwise did all he could to save it, but in vain. Toward the last of March he left Washington, never to return. Just before his departure, Mr. Sumner gave him the