Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-05-20
Carl SchurZ--.Thc Man of the
NNSf.

quote rerbafim, } that it is mistake, which
so many men of this day fall into, in sup
posing that sclfintercst and self-intcrested
motives form the handspring of great move
ments and reforms in the world; but that the
truth is exactly the reverse, viz: that, in
every great reform, revolution or progressive
movement in nation, the moving working
cause which has stirred the hearts of men to
action, and led them to the field, the scaffold,
the stake, and to exile, has been the grasping
of the peoples heart after some great princi-
ple-somc ideal, spiritual truth. This truth
is cxemplified, to-day, right among US.
1t was the fashion with many, when the
Republican Party first formed, of representing
it as opposing the spread Of slavery into the
slavery to the slave, and its foul stain upon
our national honor, but on account of its
injurious effects upon the property interests
of the new territory, and the low footing upon
which it placed white laborers, who composed
a large majority of the free State settlers. 1t
was asserted by some, and they thought they
were doing republicanism service by the
assertion, that republicanism was only
opposed to slavery so far as it affected the
business interests of the territories and the
political and social status of the non slave
holding whites. And now, there are some
who have so little faith in human nature, that
they have no confidence in the power of
principle or of truth, and distrust all appeals to
any motive but that of selfinterest, and they
suppose that they have Owed deeper below
the surface Of things than other men, when
they attribute all the power and force of the
Republican movement in this country to the
influence of selfinterest Such men have
mistaken the origin of rcpublicanism, and
they are now installing its aim and direction.
The practical effect of this mistake is shown
in the efforts in certain quarters, by men
outside of the party, who have never compre-
hended its nature or its principles, to bring
about compromises and coalitions between
the Republican Party and other wings and
sections of the opposition, who have not had
the courage yet to come out and take sides on
the great issue of the day. 1t was through
such men-mik- and water men, neither hot
nor cold, who have not dared to join either
the Federal Pro-slavery, Niggers for the
Niggerless, Democratic Party, OF the States
Rights, Free Labor, Lands for the Landless,
Republican Party-uniting with Democratic
voters, that Massachusetts, was led, the other
day, to disgrace herself, betray the Republican
cause, and turn her back on the side of Equal
Rights and Universal Suffrage, by adopting
the new Naturalization law. 1t is from such
mistaken men that the propositions to the
Republican Party for union with Southern
Know Nothing Party-a union for the sake
Of the spoils-are coming.
1t is refreshing, in the midst of such cow
ardice, such distrust of principle, such faith
lessness in the right, such an engrossng
search after the popular, and the buttered side,
to the sacrifice of principle, truth and right
ofall sorts--it is refreshing and heart-cheering
now and then to hear the voice of some great
souled man speaking out in plain words to
the people what he believes to be true, with
out troubling himself to inquire whether it be
popular or not. 1t does ones soul good to
see such a man stand up before the "dear"
and all-powerful people and tell them to their
faces where they are wrong. And we are
proud that it has fallen to the lot of the West
to furnish such man for the present occasion.
Carl Schurz, of Wisconsin, has proved him
self the hero of the day, as we'll as one of the
foremost of American statesmen, in his bold,
well-timed and mastery speech to the people
of Boston. Rightin the eyes of the numerous
and influential Gardner clique of that city, he
stripped the false covering from Know Moth
ingism, and exposed in all its intolerant, self
conceited and proscriptive ugliness, that
bastard and spurious Americanism, falsely
so-caled. And though, by coalition of the
Know Nothings and Democrats, Mr.. Schurz's
eloquent remonstrance has apparently proved
unavailing with the people of that State, yet
it is cheering to know that the Republican
leaders, the Republican Press and the Repub-
lican Party of Massachusetts, stand, on that
question, with their brethren of the West,
uncompromisingly hostile to all distinctions
in the political rights or privileges of men,
founded on the accidents of birth, condition,
education or race.
The true principle Of Republicanism that
which gives life and fire to its action that
which gives it power with the hearts of the
peoples not a hattery of their prejudices,
not an appeal to their interests, but the sim
pie, bold and fearless declaration Of the great
princi lie Of equal individual political rights,
and hostility to all monopolies, either of
political or money privileges, of the public
lands, or Of human labor, black or white
With this great principle held more sacred
than all compromises, all unions, all consti-
buttons, the Republican Party stands forth
and says to the people of this country, North
and South: "This is right, and we abide by
it, lead where it may, and 60 where you may"
And to such party the brave, the generous,
the ingenious, the noble minded the truth
full, and the honest hearts of the country,
will as infallibly gather as water flows to the
sea, or true metal flies to the loadstone.
WAR OF THE FAcTIoNs.-The Administra-
ton and Ant-Lecompton Democratic factions
Of Pennsylvania are particularly amable to-
ward each other of late. For instance, the
State Sentinel, Democratic Anti Lecomp-
ton paper published at Harrisburg, uses the
following mild language toward the Presi-
dent:
I" He is violator Of pledges, an slnwise,
unsafe and corrupt Executive, Pro- Slavery
Distlnienist, a pirate an intention, a tyraaf,