, 1863-09-22
TILE OHIO ELECTION.

minated into monster mass meetings. The
whole population-women and children Is
well as men--turn out en- ma*se. Excite
ment runs high. Meetings are held and
speeches made in every county, township
and school district The effort Of the Cop
perheads is directed to prevent Brough,
the Union candidate, from getting q ma
jority Of the home vote. They admit that
the soldiers will 60 against Va11andigham
almost solid. But as they carried the
State last fall by 1900 majority, they hope
to rctain a majority, exclusive Of the SOL
dicls votes, in which event they intend to
deny the eonstitutionality Of the Law al
lowing the volunteers to take part in the
election, and to throw out theit ballots, il
possible. They are conducting the cam
palgn with much skill and adroitness In
their stump harangues they do not uphold
V:a11andigham's peace platform, but pre--
tend TO be for the vigorous prosecution Of
the war; but they support the "exile' on
The grounds that in him is embodied free
speech, that his election vindicatcs per-
Eonal freedom, that he is q rersecuted and
l., outraged man, an6 is a Democratic mnr-
7yT'Fho must be upheld. This Is the line
Of argument which they employ On every
stump. 1t is just specious enough to re-.
tain the support Of men whose partisan
feelings are strong, and yet who are not at
fnAF4 eornec1ty7 eryr,7x,c<t,tr%~r
The Copperhead spouters keep careful
ly out OF Fiew the crime for which the
Traitor was sent to his friends in Dixie,
= They never point out the fact that he was
engaged in fomenting sedition among the
people, in advising resistance to the draft,
IN encouraging desertion Of soldiers from
the army, and by every means IL his
power weakening the Government and
discouraging the people in their contest
viii, gigantic rebellion. The proper
way to deal with such villains would be
to Try them by drum-head court martial
and shoot them On the spot. The govern
ment Of any other nation under heaven
would summarily dispose Of such treason
mongers.
Free speech is all hight and proper in
its place, but when public safety is put in
pe1l by q IbelIous pen or licentious
tongue the higher law Of se1fprcseryation
demands that q curb be put on it. Aman
has a right to use fire to light or warm
himself, hut not to employ it to burn up
his neighbor's house. The torch may
rightfully be snatched from the incen-
tdia1ys hand and himself be arrested.
John Morgan, the horse thief guerill1
now deprived Of his personal liberty aud
i1nmucd in the Ohio penitentiarY;, is as
much victim Of arbitrary arrest, as the
sedition brecier Villandigham. He is no
more g rebel at heart He has not done the
cause Of the Union as much harm. Any
Copperhead argument adduced in favor Of
Val will apply equally IN behalf Of Morgan.
Tie right Of a. free speech" and personal
freedom" are as much stricken down in the
case of the latter as Of the former. Morgan
is as old and as good u q democrat" as Val
1sndigham, and has equal claims on the
sympathy and support Of the Ohio Cop
7'erheads. If it be necessary to vote for
Tallandigham to "vindicate free speech
and "rebuke military arrests ~ it is equally
incumbent on the Copperheads to make
Morgan their candidate for some high Of
flee and votefor him. And we have no
question that if:he were nomiuated the
Copperhead leaders would stump the 6ta*e
for him with even more zeal than they are
for the exiled traitor. =,
Notwithstanding the frantic efforts Of the
Copperheads 10 carry the; home vote Of
Ohio for Val they will signa1ly faii. Alter
making ample allowance for the strength
cohesion. the stolid ignorance Of
ihe bulk Of the Copper1eads, and the influ-
ence Of artful appeals about free speech"
and ~persona1:rights" we are confident
that Brongh viii overcome the 1000 ms
5onty gwen last fall and beat Val1andig-
hsm by fifteen to to twenty thousand. To
which tho soldiers will add not less than
forty thousand.