The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1860-06-20
S. S. Cox after Lincoln.


cratic Meeting in Washington City.
The order loving people of this nation
who feel q pride in its capital, are looking
to see whether the spirit of law, without
which there can be no liberty, shall be
maintained at your coming election. Your
Know Nothing opponents by that rame,
have almost succum'ed under your vigor-
GUS attacks. The Republican party, en-
couraged by the division in the Demo
cratic ranks, are holding their meetings
| in your midst, determined to give some
spirit to the approaching Presidential
campaign by the political conquest of the
national capital.
| Why, let them not count too soon.--
The Baltimore Convention is yet to come,
1t may be that they will be caught, as
they have been before. I do not know
how many times they have had the Demo-
|crats killed, dead, murdered out right.
But their divisions have generally been
healed. Better let the old hickory be,
you Republican rail-splitters! (Great ap-
plause.) You amt used to that timber.
1t don't make your sort of worm eaten
rails. You see that there is crack
made by the mauls and wedges at Charles.
ton. You gather about it and chuckle
over it. Just feel it, won't you? Nice,
close-fbred, tough hickory, is it not9 You
are used to the bark; see that pretty often;
have admired the tree as it swings and
berds, bat never breaks. Now it is down,
and the cash is made; the split apparent.
And while yon are down on your knees
examining it, take care you are not caught
as the Indians we're, by putting your fI-
gers in the crack, while we knock the
wedge outI You Republicans will find
yourselves in the condition of the old
Dutchman out West, who one day, walk.
ing with his son in the woods, saw pan
ther. He thought he would slip up be-
hind it, and nab it by its hind legs, and
worry it to death by jerking it around
this way and that way. He hadn't been
very long at that before his wind gave out,
but the panther's didn't. In desperation
be cried out to his son, "Yacob, Yacob;
for Cots sake COON and help me let dis
tam banter go" [Great laughter and
applause.
The Republicans have recently at Chi.
cago perfected their organization--they
have not increased their strength in the
slave States since 1855. The pitiful sham
of slave Stnte delegates, without constit>
uents, was performed in their wigwam;
but the effort only revealed more clearly
the utter sectionslism of their party.
I hear that last night they had eight oi
the States shrouded on sheir banners
Their platform of principles is the same
as it was in 1855, with one exception
They have left one of the twin relics shiv-
ering in the open cold, but the other il
newly dressed, end like Lazarus, gone te
glory. It is lifted up into the bosom o
Abrahaml @
This party has nominated Abraham
Lincoln for President. His political his
tory has not yet been unfolded to th'
lcountry.d When this shall be done, fea
litiwill be excessively brief an6 lamentabl.
insignificant. He has two great over
ruling qualifications for President. First
in early life he split rails for living, unit
becoming disguised with this honest labo
he turned lawyer. TApplause.1 Second
while acting in this latter capacity, ant
pleading the cause of Republicanism, h
i had the honor of being defeated by Judg
Douglas Renewed applause.
These two points in his career hav
marked him as the Republican leader
Casting aside its representative men, Sew
ard, Chase, Banks and Hale, the men VIII
have already proclaimed that the plat
form contains their principles, the Repub
licans, by their usual crooked reasoning
, have found in Lincoln's defeat by Dougla
!, Ia harbinger of their success He is tn
: embodiment of all the contradictions whicl
belong to life and character; and there
!, fore is Gtly chosen to illustrate Republi
!, can politics. His biographer tells u
) that he was born and raised by Quake
parents He followed their love of peac
! and their care for the Indian by goinl
! while young man to the Black Hawl
war. never learned that he took an
scaIps In that "black" war. Certainl
0C tOOk uOuC dnOtuVE UioCh WoA tuo
; he waged against Douglas. CApplause.
He was born in slave State and showe
4 his devotion to the State of bis nativit
and the influences under which he wa
nursed by hurting missiles across the Obi
. river and by claiming to be more of a
Z Abolitionist than Seward, inasmuch as b
was four months anterior to him in tn
proclamation of the "irrepressible cor
= 6ict" a $50
. We next hear of him in the Thirtiet
q Congress. True to his character, he sus
tains his country while engaged in foreig
/ war with Mexico, by giving encourage
= ment to the enemy. He shows his patr
: otism BY voting the war to be unconsti
2 |tutioaaf and unjust, and by refusing sup
yIplies to our gallant army in the interic
!. lof . foreign land. BE is said to hav
q been an old Whig in 1848, and devote
himself to its great leader. Henry Clay, b
q heinO one Of his hufeh q re IN tho sIa n n,