Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1859-09-06
1he Democ, attic Mass Meeting,

hcans may well be. The audience was re-
spectacle, numbering between two and
three hundred, and filing "Remingtop's
Hall' about as full as it could well be
seated. A large part Of the audience was
composed Of Republicans. There was one
lady present, but whether she stood it
through we do not know.
The great Joe. Geiger opened the meet
ing, and made flaming Wing speech
He proved, in his wav, that the Republi-
cans were not the old Wing party, and
had nothing in common with them--that
the Wing party. was the only honest, anti
slavery praty the county even had. He
said that if they had been successful Texas
would not have been annexed, the Mis-
souri, Compromise would not have been re-
pealed, and slavery would not have been ex-
tended another inch on this continent--th hat
the Republican leaders were all Democrats
and in proof Of this, he instanced Gov.
Chase, Judges Swan, Brinkerhoof, Spald-
ing and Sutlif, and such others as Letter,
and host whose names we do not re-
member. Every one Of these, he said /,
had been Democrats all their lives up to
the time OF the organization of the Repub-
lican party, and never did, and did not
now hold to the doctrines of the old Whig
party. During all this, which occupied
by far the greater portion of his speech,
the Republicans were highly pleased, and
the Democrats held down there heads IN
utter confusion. One or two of the faith :
full, who sat near US, did not try to sup
press their curses, but denounced the
speaker as fool, and those who employed
him as no better. They said that such
speech was calculated to Kill what there
was left of Democracy in the County,
And we thought they were about right.
The speaker then pounced upon Tom.
Corwin, whom he denounced as dema-
gogue, pretending to be Republican
when he was not one. Joe. is about the
size Of small monkey, but not SO good
looking, and will amuse an audience
about as a monkey will in show. He
has as much sense rs the small amount Of
brains contained in his little Uranium can
exercise, and Is not to be blamed because
he has no more. II is his misfortune and
not his fault. And if he did not attempt
to ape what can only be accomplished by
fully developed men, his antics would be
amusing enough, but when put forth in
the mock dignity of a Statesman" they
become supremly ludicrous,
II there were any probability of the De-
mocracy carrying this county, we would
pay Joe. handsome fee to make the same
speech in every township. We don't
mean that Joe. can't retail lies with the
best of them; but, then, the falsehoods,
large and lusty as they were conceived
in the brains Of bigger villains, are so dis
Proportioned TO the evident capacity of
little Joe., that their effect is very much
like that produced Cd the British soldiers
by the sham cannon of pig tailed John Chi
naman. Go il. Joe!
Judge Ranney then took the stand, and
from his reputation, the audience had
right to expect fair and candid dis
cussion Of the principles in issue between
the parties. But we appeal to any fair
minded man, of whatever party, and are
sure no such person will say that lie
treated the subject in manner becoming
his position. He started out with the
declaration that he was not well posted in
the politics Of the day, having been on
the Bench SIX years out of the last ten,
and for the LIST four years SO engrossed in
his private business that lie had not had
time to acquaint himself with the current
politics of the time. This, If honestly ex-
pressed, ought to 60 far to excuse the
otherwise inexcusable statements made
in his speech. For his reputation as a
man of truth can only be sustained on the
theory of his utter want of information on
the subjects in Issue before the people. We
gladly give him the benefit of this plea, and
charity ought to allow 1T its due weight.
But while it may, in some degree, pallate,
it cannot wholly justify man like Judge
Ranney in making the reckless assertions
he did, without knowing their truth. He
planted himself on the Democratic plat
form, without defining it, and said their
principles were the same everywhere-the
same in Ohio and in Mississippi-in Maine
as in South Carolina. This was an adn.is-
sion hardly expected, and certainly did
not tally with his speech. Every intelIi-
gent person knows that the party in South
Carolina, Mississippi, and other cotton
and o,,ror o.ro ,y;pr Stotac stondS onuoro