Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1863-10-19
MIR. YaIIandIgham and the Ohio
Democracy.

There are some Democrats who are ever
ready, we painfully confess, to compro-
mise certain principles of the faith to Sc
cure success in purity conflict. Such
men, governed by an idea OF availability,
are, as we have ever believed injurious to
the Democratic organization, and, pro-
portionately, aid and abet its opponents.
This fact was never more seriously felt
than now. Certain newspapers and poll
ticians in the country, claiming to be Dem
ocratic, are daily contributing TO the
strength of the Abolition party, by quasi
support Of the war and the present Federal
Administration aud, we apprehend, they
have chiefly occasioned the Democratic de-
feats in the recent State elections. These
bogus Democrats, since the result of our
own election, have begun to upbraid the
genuine Democracy of Ohio for having
chosen, as their Gubernatorial candidate,
the Hon. CLEMENT l.. VALLANDIGHAM.
Not appreciating the value or importance
of unadulterated Democratic principles,
they have wanted, from the beginning,
candidate whose record should not present
the unbroken and consistent opposition to
all the measures of Abolitionism which so
eminently distinguishes the entire career
of VALLANDIGHAM. In short, they wanted
candidate who would straddle the polit-
ical fence which should ever runequvocally
separate the Democratic and Abolition par
ties. Hence, these prescient democrats, "
in solving the problem of our recent de-
feat, trace it to the unpopul@,ity of the
avowed principles of VALLANDIaMAM, and,
with an air Of impudent wisdom, they say
that the party has made a great mistake
that it would have been victorious in
the late contest under the head of some
Other mana war Democrat-as the can
didate for Governor.
Evidently, these men are unconscious OF
the real character of the struggle in which
the Democracy are engaged. They erro-
neously conceive that the partyis aiming
only at the spoils of office, when, in truth,
it is battling for certain great principles,
which lie at the very foundation of tine
Government. Party success, therefore,
howsoeyer desirable, is, nevertheless, "a
secondary consideration to the strict, une-
quivocsl maintenance of those principles.
1t was with this view that the Ohio De-
mocracy, by acclamation and with unpre-
cedented enthusiasm, nominated Hon. G.
L. VALLANDIGHAM as their Gubernatorial
candidate. Determined to present an un-
mistakable issue to the country, they
chose a Representative man to lead them
in the contest. From the very beginning
of this war Mr. VALLANDIGHAM had stern
ly and consistently opposed it, as destruc-
tive of the Union and of every principle
of our free system of Government He
opposed the war as contra distinguished
from those measures of Cancellation which
are absolutely essential to the re-establish-
ment of peace and unity between the North
and South he opposed it, because he clear
ly saw that the dominant party were re-
solved to make it the occasion for carrying
out their revolutionary and diabolical Alb
olition schemes. No man in the public
service had so clearly and boldly made the
issue upon this great question as Mr.. VAL,
LANDIGHAM. He had made himself the
peculiar champion of the principles he
avowed, and the Ohio Democracy, i'm
pressed with the truth of those principles
voluntarily and deliberately chose him as
their leader
1t is true that the arbitrary arrest, trial,
condemnation and banishment of Mr.
VALLANDIGHAM marked him, with special
force, as the man for the times, and so con.
tributed to the enthusiasm with which hi,
name was received by the Democratic
State Convention; but his nomination die
not hinge upon that. A great ISSUE as W,
have said, was to be presented in opposi
ton to the destructive measures of th,
party in power, and that issue in itself re
Aected the lineaments of CLEMENT l.. VAL
LANDIGHAM. His nomination therefor
was made upon principle and the las