The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1861-08-09
A Sortid Appeal to the Mcaner Class
or Democrats.


suade our old Democratic friends that it
was their duty, on high patriotic grounds,
to abandon their party organization, while
the Union lay PROSTATE in its perils, and to
unite with the good men of all parties for
the single purpose of its redemption and
regeneration. We believe time will show
that the great body of the old party sym.
pathise with us in such policy, and that
they will manfully join in carrying out a
movement so unselfshly patriotic. But, as
there are insects and animals that can be
baited only with offal, so there are men
whose sensibiities can be touched only
through the baser instincts of their nature.
And, in the same spirit which leads the
missionary of Christ to penetrate the dark
ness of heathenism, that good may come,
we for this once descend to their level, and
soil our columns with an appeal to them
to put on the sembance of patriotism,
though they have it not.
While you, who are Democrats always
and under all circumstances" may do the
country much evil by perpetuating the or.
ganization of your party, you cannot do
yourselves any good. Two party organiza.
tions cannot exist, side by side, except in
attitudes of opposition. 1t will be impos-
sible to maintain the Democratic organiza-
ton on any other basis than that of hostility
to the Federal Administration. The Fede-
raj Administration is periodically engaged
in efforts to save the country from perma-
nent disruption and ruin. And, whatever
your platforms may pretend, you will be
drifted, willingly or insensibly, and by the
mere force of party association, into the
vortex of opposition to the country and its
cause. And that is vortex from which
there is no escape this side of death, to any
politician. So, those poor wretches of you,
who think more of your political position
than you do of the restoration and welfare
of the Union, your best policy is to abandon
an organization thus fraught with danger
to your worthless selves, and to unite with
those who are committed to the Union
above party, and in spite of party. Doing
this, your pretence of virtue may bring you
place. The country may thus suffer the
misfortune of receiving your services in
some official way, and you will enjoy the
benefit of drawing quarterly ray for them
from the public treasury.
We make these unworthy suggestions to
you, because we know they are the only
ones that would attract your notice; and
because we desire, above all other things, to
see the people of the North, for the sake of
the North, and the Union whose cause is
the North's, united as one man in all poll.
teal movements until the war shall be
ended. You have not strength enough to
dest. oy the cause of the Union, but you
have strength enough to create an appear
ance of divided sentiment at the North, that
may weaken it.
1t is the misfortune of our political sys-
tenn that the mean mans vote counts as
much as the good mans; and that, there
fore, the mean mar must be appealed to as
we'll as the good. In obedience to this re-
cessity we make this appeal to Democrats
of the baser sort; but we spit upon them as
dogs while we do it, and we can't resist the
satisfaction of letting them know the fact.