The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1860-02-16
The Civilian and the 6 Little Giants

H Our neighbor Of the Civilian, in
his last issue, affects to believe that the
Republican party is terribly exercised at
what he assumes to be Mr.. DOUGLASS
popularity. and thereby accounts for the
attacks made upon the Senator's favorite
dogma, and upon his consistency. He
accuses the eloquent German orator and
Republican, of Wisconsin, CARL SEIZURE,
with being hired to travel the country
and demolish the Little Giant" and to
counteract, if possible. the effect of his
Harper's Magazine article. Mr.. HEDG-
Es writes the very article in question, in
order to denounce assumptions, and yet
at the outset, makes the gratuitous as
sumption that Mr.. ScHuRz is hired to 60
and demolish" the Illinois Senator
1t is needless to say to any one who has
ever read speech made by the Wiscon-
sin orator on political questions, or to any
one who will read the extract from his
Springfield speech, which we publish to-
day, that the sentiments uttered are his
honest convictions, are inevitable de-
duciions from facts; are not the plead
ings of hired politician, but the promp-
tings of heart imbued with genuine
love of liberty. and of human rights
are the ofpsrings of an intellect that not
only completely grasps the political, but
fully appreciates the moral, significance
of the question. In the light of history,
in the light of truth, in the light of JUS
tice and liberty. in the light of apure NOR
alty, he could not do less than denounce
the demagogue and the demagogue's
dogmas and tergiversations. And our
neighbor. in accusing him Of being hir
ed to demolish the miniature giant, shows
that he is much more ready to interpret
motives than to answer arguments, not
withstanding he processes much to dep
rccate such a course. It will be hard
for him to make the people believe that
as much as Mr.. DOUGLASS Harper arti
Gle has been ventilated it is still deemed
Of sufficient importance. by the Republi-
can party, or any other party. to require
such attention as to induce the hiring of
an intellect like Mr.. ScHURz's, to further
attack it. The editors own, political
friends fully disposed of it, and if Mr.
ScHuEz's words are caught up and circu-
lated by the Republican press. as the C-
rilian complains, it is only to show their
readers the different methods Of demol-
ishing the Little Giants" sophistries,
not because there is further necessity
for such demolition.
We publish it, however, because Mr..
SEIZURE has so plainly, SO clearly. so fully
demonstrated our own ideas of Mr.. DoUG-
Lass moral status. That Senator is the
only public man in the Union, and we
hope in the world, who can. with assur-
ance, rise up and declare that he recog-
nizes no moral aspect in the question of
Slavery-who expresses an Indifference
as to its suppression or its spread-who,
SIS is most expedient for himself, would
vote il up or vote it down. The liberty,
the happiness, the enlightenment, the
eternal welfare OF millions of human be-
ings. weighs as nothing to that Senator
in comparison with his own selfish
schemes and personal aggrandizement.-
And yet this mans followers profess to
believe that he can be trusted with the
interests of free labor
Our neighbor takes us to task for max,
ing what he calls an unjust assault upon
the motives OF Mr.. DOUGLAS, which he
thinks we did when we accused him of
bidding for the Presidential nomination
II is of course difficult to divine the mo-
ti,es of individuals, but if ever acts in
terpreted motives, then we were justified