The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-03-26
JAMES T. LANE,
Chm State Executive Com,
What il Democracy.


Charity covers q multitude Of sins, anG SC
does Democracy. just now this is espec.
tally and noticeably the fact. Democracy is
required to cover a multitude Of political
sins and rascalities so numerous that i;
would be as easy to count the sands Of the
sea, or the stars in the sky, as to enumerate
them. If we were Democrat, We should
ofcourse employ the usual spolcgetic phrase
81 am Democrat" Bat Of particular
kind, and not Of some other.
Democracy in our day, is sort Of city Of
refuge, to which all political rascals fee for
protection, when they find it convenient and
can't get along any other way. The rebel
guerrilla and bushwhacksr, when his gang
is broken up and he can no longer carry on
successfully his murderous work, puts on
the garb of the honest farmer, and is as in.
nocent as the child unborn. So Knights Of
the Golden Circle, the peace men, the Sc
cession, fire in the rear men, when they find
the current running against them, and .
popular clamor arising against leaving New
England out in the cold, and their other trea
sonable practices and principles, all at once
are good Democrats; nothing but Demo.
Gratis; the purest and best kind, perfectly
regular and orthodox, and they hasten to
call a Democratic meeting and to form .
Democratic Club.
Now, as matter of curiosity, we should
like to know what Democracy in our day is.
Looking around the country, we find that
among the leading men and presses so great
variety OF opinions, and positions 30 incon-
s'stent and opposite, that so far from get
ting light on the subject, we are still led to
exclain, WHAT'S Democracy +
We find on the question of the rebellion,
the great question of the times, Democratic
men and Democratic newspapers, holding
and advocating Numerically opposite views,
one being for the vigorous prosecution of the
war, and the other for peace on any terms !;
one in favor of leaving New England out in
the cold, and the other opposed to so frigid
disposition Of our Yankee Sisters, and so
on to the end of the chapter, it being OBJ
servable all the time that both of these two
factions claim that they are simon pure
Democrats, both equally Orthodox.
In Chicago they have the Democratic
Tines, paper so dsloyal that even Demo
cratic commanders of Departments have
been compelled to prohibit its coming into
the army; and they have the Post decided
oat-spoken, Union paper, edited by the biog-
,aoher of Douglas, and the perfect antipodes
Of its neighbor, the Times, in every partic
ular. We might instance other Democrat.
ic papers in the country. such as the
N Y Herald on one side and the World
and Cou-assian on the other the Dubuque
Herald IN this State, on the rebel side, and
several Democratic papers who denounce the
Herald, and take opposite ground from it,
not many but there are such. Then, turn
ing to leaders, We find John Van Buren,,
James T. Brady, Gov Wright, G. G. Cole.
and host Of others, Democratic leaders,
making speeches, and advocating principles
and measures in relation to the war, which
Vallandigham, Mahoney, Dodge & Co., also
Democratic leaders, condemn and denounce
Which Of these classes are Democrats p
They certainly cannot both be such, unless
white is black, and black white.
4 On the whole, it does seem strange how |
any man with the remotest regard for con |
sistency, can fail to regard Democracy in
this light. Ordinarily. men of similarity |
Of views, and common purpose, associate
themselves together, for the attainment of a
mutual purpose but in the Democratic par
ty, there seems to be all sorts Of men, those
protesting to be for the suppression Of the
rebellion, and war for that purpose, and
those opposed to war aud in favor of peace
On any terms. Who shsll solve the difficult
", explain this Inconsistency, and let US
know what Democracy is.