The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-07-12

in politics From my boyhood I have been
n constant voter with the Democratic party
ia all essential elections | have thought
that party to be upright and straight-for-
ward in all the principles it has adopted
So late as 1858 l voted for Mr.. Douglas and
again st my old friend Lincoln. For forty
years have looked upon the party with
pride and hailed its success with pleasure
but as Mr.. Douglas made speech in Deca-
tur in 1858, and in my hearing spoke so
pleasantly and so honorably Of the old
Wing party and of Mr.. Clay, its leader, af-
ter having for fifteen years, in discussing
general politics, when | used to love to
listen to him so well, spoke so complaining
ly and so abusively of that party and of Mr..
Clay, charging upon it and him many bad
and mean things, until, listening at him,
learned to look upon both as dangerous and
full of evil,-the thought struck me that
for the future l would verjudge ola party
or its leaders by what an opponent might
say, and this conclusion | mean to follow
the balance of my life.
How foolish it is to abuse a party because
my friend may do so, and then praise the
same party because that friend may change
and do so he may be designing-I would,
in all probability, be dupe. Ever since
MIR. Douglas made that speech in 1855, ne
has been abusing the Republicans just like
he used to abuse the old Wings. I am tired
of this kind of warfare l think it is not
right to do so and Mr.. Douglas further
said in that speech that he was in the habit
Of sometimes changing his politics. l did
not know but that it was about time for
him TO begin to excuse and cease to abuse
the Republicans and made up my mind to
let him go in time. Now, as to entirely
II;
done this; but for the life of me l can see
nothing in the Republican party that any
honest Democrat can seriously oppose 1t
is true, were they such a party as Mr.. Doug
las used to say they were, I could see OBJ
| jectionable features about it; but then is it
wise to believe everything Mr.. Douglas has
said, when he tells us he sometimes changes
| and when we have near us honest men
known 10 be honest for more than thirty
years, who deny all this and propose to tell
US the true state of the case, and to give US
the true principles of that party? | think
| not.
| Besides this, when we have for years been
| opposed in politics to IL man who has again
and again seen his party defeated, and has
| himself sometimes failed, and still seen that
man true to his coloIs, re-arming and re-en-
tering the field to try to uphold and sue
| cessfully plant his colors upon the side Of
victory, when all the time he knew he had
but to change once to win, and vet be has
never changed, think I may say never fall
tered, how are we to respect him? Such a
man have known Mr.. Lincoln for thirty
years to he. In boyhood days we toiled to-
gether; many are the days that we have
logged the heavy car on the Ohio the Illi-
nois, and the Mississippi rivers together
many are the long cold days We have jour
neyed over the Wild pruir.es aud through
the forest with gun and axe, and though it is
not pleasant to refer back to it, well do | re-
member when we set out together in the
cold winter to cut and maui rails on the
Sangamon' river, in Macon county, thirty
| wears ago, to inclose his fathers little home
and from day to day kept at work until
the whole was finished and the
homestead fenced in; we often swapped
work in this way, and yet du-
ring the many years we were connect
ed together as laborers, sometimes hatboat-
ing, sometimes hogdriving, sometimes rail-
making, and too, when it was nearly impos-
sible to get books, be was a constant read
err; | was Il listener He settled all disputes
of all the yong men in the neighborhood
and his decisions were always abided by
never knew a man so honest under all
circumstances, for his whole life. Thus as
ISOLATED with Mr.. Lincoln, learned to love
him. and when in 1853 he was a candidate
for the first time within my reach, against
my feelings, and l may say against my con-
victons, my old party ties induced me to
B vote for Mr.. Douglas my Democratic
friends all declared Lincoln was an Aboii-
zionist; heard him make speech in Deca-
tur Just before the election and could see
nothing bad in it but | was told by the
party he was wrong; | could not see how
he could be, but they said so, and | was a
Democrat and went it. My wife used to
say to me that some day Abe would come
out and be something; l thought so too, but
! could not exactly see how a man in the
lower walks of life, day labOrer, and
hOpelessly poor, would ever stand much
chance to get up very high in the world. At
last, one day at home, we heard that the Re-
publican State Convention was to be held at
Decatur, and that they were going for A be
for President.
AS soon as [ found this out, went INTO
town and told friend of Abe's that as great
and honest merit was at last to be rewarded
in the person of my friend Mr.. Liacoln, by
the Republican party, thought of the hard
and trying struggles OF his early days, and
recollecting the rails we had made together
thirty years ago, made up my mind to pre-
sent some of them to that Convention rs a
testimonial of the beginning of one of the
greatest living men of the age, believing
they would speak more in his praise thaa
any orator could, and honor true labor more
than the praise of men or the resolutions of
, Conventions. On our way to get the rails,
| told this friend of old Abe that if Abe
should be nominated for President, | would
vote for him; everybody knows what he
has been, and l rejoice that l live to give
this testimony to his goodness and honesty,
and hope | shall live to vote for him for
President of the United States next
November. Is there anything wrong in
this Who ought to refuse to vote for as
good and as great a man as he is ? I know
that in voting for him vote with the Re
publican party, and viii be considered as
adopting its principles; as | now under
stand them l see no good reason why may
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