Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-06-27
PARTYISM,

FRhI lOIl.
The Republican, with some of the leading
Democratic papers Of Ohio, have spoken
very freely on the propriety of burying all
partisan feeling, and avoiding in the COM
ing elections everything that had a tendency
to divide the Union men Of the North by
party lines. And from this free expression
Of opinion the people Of this county were
led to believe that the partisan was about
to be buried in the patriot; that the love of
country was about to triumph over the
desire for office, and that the wish to afford
the Government the moral, as well as
physical force, Of united public sentiment
against treason, and in favor Of sustaining
that Government, was strong enough to bear
down the recollections ofthe last bitter polit-
ical contest and make all men willing, for
the present, at least, to forget their hungerng
and thirsting after Office, and unite, as
Union men, upon the only issue that at pres
ent divides the people: the question of
loyalty or disloyalty 70 the Government-
Every man not blinded by party must be
satisfied that the people really desire this
should be the case, and that all questions to
candidates should DO avoided other than the
one that is uppermost in the thought of al
most every man, and daily and hourly asked
upon the street: care you in favor Of sus-
tanning the Government in the vigorous
prosecution of the war for the suppression
ofrebellion and the overthrow of the Vandals
that would destroy the heritage of II faith
ers, to crafty their inordnate anihition tc
rule?' And believing this to lc ,!io desire
of the people, we have on more tlaa one oc
casion expressed a willingnessto t5rogoa po
litical contest and sustain good Uncondition
al Union Men for Office at tho coming elec
ton without regard to party. We know
many who have been heretofore Democrat
and Bell men that VIC would be willing Il
sustain, as Union men, and vote for, for an.
Office in the gift of the pcople--if nomina
ted, not as Democrats and Bell men, but q
Union men, pledged to the support of tn,
Government in the prosecution Of the wa
against rebellion.
But, how has this desire of the peopl
and press, and the proposals we have made
been treated by the Office seeking, patronage
hunting clique that infests this place. an,
to some extent controls the action of tn
Democratic party? Void of patriotism
anxious only to secure the spoils Of Office 70
themselves, or thoir friends, and give ven
to their feeling of personal hatred towar,
the Republican party, they have been 70
weeks engaged in planning and connecting
schemes, to arouse tho partisan feelings o
their friends, until they imagine they hav,
everything ready for opening the campaign
when they issue CALL. with forged sigma
turos attached, filed with tho venom of tn
political Mountebank, and the usual appeal
10 the party prejudcos IF their followers
asking thom 10 meet as politicians in con
vention to nominate q county ticket; thu
early in the season, opening political cam
paign which,if persisted in, must result in
warm and bitter contest. There is, there
fore, no room to hope that these men viii
heed the overtures Of patriotism or listen h
the suggestions Of reason. They arc mad
and men In that condition seldom stop {,
reason. The only remedy for thom Is for tn
people to condemn their course, and this i
likely to be done. They have already mo
with rebuke from part Of their Contra
Committee, and, unless VIC are mistaken II
tho indications rs to tho sentiment entertain
cd by tho rank and file Of their party, they
will meet with an opposition they have moi
calculated upon in the arrangement of theil
programme. They will find that tho peo
pie are not all Office seekers, to be led by the
bait Of promised reward to forget their dut,
to the Government in this the hour of he,
trial; but that tho mass ofall parties are loya
to their Government, and willing, in orde,
TO preserve 1t, to ignore the action of self
constituted clques or Central Committees
We say let the ambition of aspirants ant
the dictations Of would-be leaders be rcbu
ked by the people. Let them take this
In their own hands, for once, and let then
frown down this effort Of politicians to di
vide the Union men Of the county by part,
lines, when the moral influence Of unteC
front is SO necessary to give force and char
acter to the Government in its war agains
the traitors. Let them act as their reason
and not their prejudice shall dictate, an,
we have no doubt but they will triumph owe
these mon, who would sell their country
peace, yea, its very existence, to procure
party victory.