"It is you who are prejudiced. Why he actually asserted we would be more prosperous if there was not a slave in the United States."
"Yes, and proved his assertion," said Abner.
"Oh, you let him pull the wool over your eyes." There was a sneer in his voice. "I tell you there was neither logic nor reason in what he said. No logical conclusions can be drawn from false premises; no assertions can stand unsupported by proof."
"What did he assert that he did not prove?" asked Abner.
"What did he prove that he asserted?"
"You evade my question by asking another."
"Precisely the same plan Mr. Lincoln adopted," replied Oleah.
"You are prejudiced against Mr. Lincoln, Oleah. Now, tell me what he said that any fair-minded man in the world can not agree to?"
"He said that slavery should not wither and blight another inch of territory if he could help it."
"What objection can even a believer in slavery have to that? We have an immense scope of country where slavery is permitted; then why extend it to Territories where it is unpopular?"