Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-08-11
W CE S T E R:
MONDAY, AUGUST IL. 1869.


Robert Dale Owen, of Indiana, democrat
all his life. one of the foremost men IN the
democratic party, at one time member OF con-
gress from Indiana, and at another Charge
dAfaires at Naples, declares in letter to
the secretary of war that there can be no
sure and satisfactory termination of the war
against the southern rebellion until measures
are taken to exterminate slavery. He has
come slowly and cautiously to this conclusion,
and now declares it firmly with all the
strength of earnest conviction. We publish
his letter in another place. 1t was written to
secretary Stanton, an old acquaintance and
friend, in the course of private correspond
ence without any view to publication; but
several gentlemen were permitted to see it,
and through their agency copy of it was
obtained for the New York Evening Post.
The difference between genuine old demo-
Gratis and their old, long time opponents is the
difference between positive and negative.
The former are less accustomed to paltering
and halfway measures. This is due partly
to the fact that their party has usually been
III pOhNl III lilS ildiiOil; pdillJ " OlllSl
influences that have regulated their political
training. The present prospect is that the
grand assault upon that irreconcilable enemy
Of the republic, slavery, will be led by old
democrats, and not by such men as Mr.. Sew
ard, who was SO long foremost target for the
volleys of the slavery extremists. 1t is not
likely that he will complain of this. 1t is be-
coming more and more apparent every day
that many of the old democrats now think of
slavery as Mr.. Owen does, and that they will
ere long stand openly with those who demand
an utter determination of the institution, as
indispensable to the salvation and permanent
safety of the republic. The Post says:
eve are not authorized to speak for Mr..
Stanton himself nor for Judge Holt, nor for
General Dix, but if certain rumors that have
come to us are not greatly exaggerated, we
think we should not be far wrong in claiming
for them general concurrence in the reason
ings of Mr.. Owen. Be that as it may, we
know that other leading democrats, no less
eminent THAI these, have been brought, by
the experiences OF the past few months, to
arrive at the same conclusions. We know,
for instance, that such men as Daniel S.
Dickinson, Francis B. Cutting, Ex-Governor
Boutwell,, OreStes A. Brownson, General
Mitchell, General Hunter, General Lew Wal
lace, General Rousseau, Generl Dumont,
General Cochrane, and others of less note,
make no concealment of their convictions
that the war must pnt an end to slavery or
slavery will put an end to the Union. These
men were all democrats. Could the old con-
ditions of political parties be restored they
would, doubtless, be democrats again; but
they are not democrats who refuse to be
taught by events, or who, like the old Bour-
bons, never forget and never learn anything.
They see that the outbreak of a shareholders
slavery to the state, ahE tthe r gla Of
minds, not by the old party traditions or ac-
cOrding to circumstances which have forever
passed away, but by the light of existing
events"