Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1859-04-14
Principle of the Late Contest in
st. Louis.

From the ST. LOUIS Democrat, April 6th.l
The election on Monday was the most
strenuous contest which the city Of Saint
Louis has experienced within our memory
Those who are but specifically acquainted
with the bearing and scope of the questions
at issue, may suppose that local considera-
tions governed The result. Without under
rating the influence of these causes, and
recognizing the individual and collective
strength and confessed superiority OF our
ticket, yet the propilious event can be az
tributed only to the salutary principles
which the Free Democracy enunciate.-l
Mayor Filley was elected last year as an
emancipatioDist-so was Comptroller Hoyt
land SO were Messrs. Got:schalk and Pa
pin. We sought neither new men nor new
principles in this election. We could not
escape the responsibility of the Free Labor
issue if we would. and we would not if we
could. Without the ins oiralion OF this
cause, the thousands who voted our ticket
were only purposeless and unreliable ma
jurity. With it they are a great living
force, whose destiny it is to achieve a revo-
lntion in Missouri, which history will con-
t;nue to celebrate when the names of Pres
idents and parties are forgotten. How
trivial is any mere partizan triumph COM
pared with thisl Senseless watchwords,
! factious combinations, personal followings,
and the machinery Of party may carry elec-
tions sometimes, but The durability of any
organization depends upon some great
| ioh to tho ho.l, of III
it is the great life principle, portion of
its own unchanging nature. Small cause
for rejoicing in the present, or for hope in
the future, would the Free Democracy find
in the event of Monday, if their aspirations
did not reach 10 the regeneration of Mis-
souri,. Were it fnality it were failure.
As the confirmation o. previous triumphs,
and the repeated attestation of the faith of
! ST. Louis, it IS fraught with sublime mean
ings. 1t offers to youth, genius and enthu-
siasm the promise of high VOCATION
What nobler civic ambition could our young
men of intelligence and patriotism enter
tain, than to elevate this State to pre-emi-
nence. The opportunities exist. Missouri
possesses territory, soil, river navigation,
and metals. The young men of St. Louis
are gifted with courage, earnestness and
capacity. Apart from their business life
they should have some purpose more invig-
Grating than the cultivation of dilettantsm.
Literature and art are refining and instruc.
tive, but even the great writer and the great
/ artist cannot dispense with the love Of
, country. Far less can those whose minds
+, are fashioned by the works of these sons o.
n genius. That robust and unselfish feeling
r is essential to the equipment Of the finished
3 man. By cherishing the wider sympathies
it develops larger capacities. The votary
r Of intellectual power would find in it I
: genial and effective agency for the indul
eence of his desires. Hero-worship is the
religion of young men, and more especially
of the young men of the West. How can
they admire Washington and Jefferson, ant
yet be Indifferent or partial to Slavery!
It The moral of this ele ction should not b,
d lost on the parties who constitute the op
!, position to National Democracy. Mutua
i toleration is the lesson it teaches-tolera
ton of the 'American" by the foreign-borr
Il citizen, and of the foreign-born citizen BY
= the American-of the conservative BY tht
radical, and of the radical by the conserva
7. tive-until the party who have no purpos,
e but the extension and perpetuation o
Slavery, are driven from power. The issu,
f. of the election on Monday discloses the Sc
e cret Of success in the State and Nation -
ID Americans combined with Free Democrats
Ie native and foreign-born, to rebuke corrup
ton, re-assert principle and consolidat,
e party. What has been done here can be
s, done on wider arena. For ourselves, VIZ
II can venture to say that no opposition yart,
:. in this State can succeed unless the Ere,
l. Democracy are recognized as one of its dis
e tinctive elements. Combination for tn,
e common good, but no suppression or dilu
tion of strong sentiments
/ LvIs5 WITHOUT Foop.--A commilte,
ivar L.,