Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-07-06

Of the character Of this gentleman, now the
candidate--to use the words of our Postmaste,
| good Democratic authority)--of the North
West fraction Of the North West quarter o1
the Democratic party. In our review of Mr.
Douglas character, we have spoken energetic.
ally, and used terms of condemnation which
we would not feel justified in applying to any
other American politician equally prominent,
because we honestly believe that no other
man ever presented by political party to the
American people as candidate for the Presi-
dency has equalled him in his pnscrupulous
ambition, orin his contemptuops and system
attic disregard Of all principles Of f7honor and
morality in politics, or in his daring attacks
upon the cause of humanity and freedom, or
in his perversions of the Constitution and
historical facts, or in his unwearied attempts
to seduce the American people from the path
of rectitude and the love of liberty, and to
debauch and corrupt the public morals. But,
in all that we have said of Mr.. Douglas, we
are not conscious of an attempt to exaggerate
or to magnify his errors. On the contrary,
we would not erase a line nor retract word
which we have written or said concerning
him; but, in the hour of our cool and sober
reflection, and in all candor and sincerity, we
would deliberately and solemnly reiterate
every charge that We have hitherto preferred
against him. I'D f 70 ....
We are not of that school of politicians who
believe that it is profitable, under any circum-
stances, to exaggerate facts, unduly color,
distort or withhold the truth, or to overstep
the bounds Of strict veracity, in political
discussions. A dishonest man in politics is
dishonest in everything. A lie is as base and
unjustifable in politics as in anything else.
When we made our first inexperienced and
imperfect essay as a young political writer,
before the citizens of this county, in the
columns of this paper, we laid it down as the
first axiom to govern our conduct, at all times
and under all circumstances to speak the
truth and we can say here, two years since
we first appeared before you, with clear
conscience, that we have never knowingly
violated this early pledge Of our political life.
We have never written a syllable which we
did not think fully sustained by facts, and we
now hold ourselves ready to substantiate all
that we have ever written by facts and figures
truth.
We have also strictly adhered to another
rule, which we then laid down, never to
indulge in personal and scurrilous attacks on
the private character Of our political oppo-
nents. In the canvass of '5S, and that of '59,
we had many temptations, abundant oppor-
tunity and sufficient provocation, to do so;
and, if we had initiated our Democratic
contemporaries, the Enquirer and the D1ven-
port Democrat, in this particular, we could
have used this, their favorite weapon of war
fare, against themselves, with perhaps equal
severity and more truth, if not with the same
zest and grace, as they. We expect in this
canvass to adhere also to this rule, and to
make no unfavorable illusions to the private
character of the opposite candidates, except
where that is such as to affect their fitness
for the office to which they may aspire, and
then we expect to adhere strictly to the truth,
and on no account and under, no provocation
to be betrayed into making or ccuntenancing
any charge against the personal character of
the opposing candidates, which is not strictly
and literally true in fact.
And, under this head, we will say that we
do regard Mr.. Douglas as unfit, in his personal
character, for the Office of President, and we
expect to make this appear, by the proper
showing, during this canvass. We have made,
in previous article, the following charges:
1. That he is the first prominent politician
IN this land on whose skirts the crimson stain
of lives slaughtered in civil war has rested.
2. That he is the Arch Traitor to Liberty
of the nineteenth century.
8. That he is a violator of compromises.
4. That he sought to sell the free soil of
the Territories to slavery, as bid for the
Presidency. ~':a
5. That he committed all these wrongs from
selfish motive - for his own political
aggrandizement.
This, we acknowledge, is grave and serious
indictment to be preferred against an Ameri-
can citizen; and, with full sense of its
seriousness, and the dishonesty and moral
infamy which, if true, it attaches to the
character of Mr.. Douglas, we are prepared,
and intend, in a succeeding article, to sub
stantiate each aud every one of the charges.
The RuMp Ratification Meeting.
By handbills, our citizens are informed
that there will be ratification meeting, to-
night, on the levee, in favor of Douglas and
Fitzp-no, beg pardon--Mr. Fitzpatrick's
pardon, we mean-H. V. johnson, the can