Findley Patterson, the land office receiver at Junction City, Kansas Territory from May, 1858, to April, 1861, writes John Halderman with regard to problems within the Kansas Democratic Party. Recent differences between members over participation in the party's national convention at Charleston, South Carolina, had been aired in the press, and Patterson thinks this is unfortunate since "the future prosperity of our country depends upon the success of that party. Democrats should, he contends, not let relatively small policy issues overshadow the fundamental principles they share. Patterson pledges his support for the nominee of the convention, whomever it was, but favors "Judge Douglass [Stephen Douglas] . . .as we have been intimate personal, as well as political friends for several years."