The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-10-28
SPEECH OF HON. JOHN BROUGH,
At FainosviIlc, OctobcI 10, 1893.

| am not certain but / shall illustrate my
feelings 10y an aucCdotc heard many years
ago a man whp Was given to the habit
of proiine swearing on all occasions, was
one day hauling u load Of potatoes mp a
| hill when the tail board Of the wagon get
ting loose. hc found, on looking back, that
the contents oi his wagon lrad escaped and
were strcwn over the road. A friend meet
! ing him at the moment asked why hc did
| not swear over the accident. Well, hc re
! piled, simply because ] am not able tu do
/ Justice To- the occasion. am beginning to
! feel the cbb of this excitement hut it
seems otherwise with you. Perhaps owe
something to the intensity Of my feelings
ard the arduous character of my labors.
You may well rcioico in tho victory you
have won. II is an achievement Of which
you may we'll bc proud 1t is one for which
your po5tcrity will thank and glorify you,
even as you reverence and praise your
fathers for the struggle that gave You the
best government the world ever knew.
This is not Il triumph Of any man. No man
could have won il, and 10 man in the State
over mcricd such All ovation. Neither is
it a triumph of any party, as we have here
toiorc classified and understood them.
Party lines, to great extent, have been
ohlltcratcd in the contest. Masses OF both
parties have joined to swell this great
| triumph, uud tho line of division was
only between the friends of the Government
and the country on the one side, and the
opponents OF these ON the other. And why
! should not men Of all parties become thus
united? Nineteen years ago stood in this
same grove, and followed Governor Corwu
in party discussion. ! contcndcd that the
! principles of my party were best calculated
To perpctuatc the Government and promote
! the prosperity of our common country.
| The Governor contcndcd that the principles
OF his party were better adapted to the
same end. The purpose was the same.
| We were liko two parties going TO mill,
each contending that his was the smouthcst
and best road. What more natural than
| that we should say to each othcr---hcrc is Il
new element that seeks TO ovcrturn and de-
stroy this Government that we are both
| trying to preserve that is threatening to
tear down out mill suppose we lay aside
our warfare, and Join our forces to suhiu-
! gate this common cncmy2 Why, my
brother Democrat, should we have ialtcrcd
in such Il crisis? The place of the old Dem
oCrat had always been on the side of the
country III its hour of peril, and this was
no time to shrink from that duty. We
should instinctiYcly have sprung, as Il body
into the breach.
Whcn the war broke ont, tho Rcpubli-
cans held the political power in the State.
| They invited us to bury party divisions
and join in n great party to sustain the
| Government. They offered to divide with
us the posts of duty and responsibility.
| They gave us our present excellent Gov
cruor, and glorious thing for the state
they did SO. Thcy met us in the spirit OF
liberality, and have acted in good faith
| But the question was not one of Office OF
placc--it was one of principle c-and the
Democrat who failed to strike hands upon
it, necessarily admitted that there was
more of patriotism and love OF country
among his old political opponents than in
the ranks of his own party. This |, tol
ono, was not willing TO do. On neither
side have we compromised any principle
We havo simply put aside our party con
tests and Joined i'll II common cause to save
our common country. BY this union we
have achieved the great victory over which
we rejoice to-day.
confess mysclf disappointed in the re
suit Of this contest. | made my estimates
four weeks ago, and have the paper in my
pocket, but | am ashamed 10 show it,
| figured the majority then at $4,000 ou the
home vote; but it has doubled my figures
and stands to-day at nearly 10000. | was
anxious for good round majority at home
| for | was we'll satisfied if we were
| beaten ON the homo vote, the vote of the
army would he rejected. ! did not want tC
deprive our bravo soldiers of their part il
! this triumph, but rather to save them IRON
! being cast out. | wanted the people Al
home TO dig the Gravo of treason aud bury
| it, and the boys in the field to fire the iu
neral vollcy over it.
But this is not your victory unly--it is
! the victory of the whole nation. for in Ohio
we havo fought the battle of the whol,
! Union. II Ohio had been taken from tn,
loyal, and placed among the diSloyal state,
If her great civil and military power haC
! been placed ~ the hands of the sympathiZ
crS with traitors, your cause was lost
| With New York controlled by Seymour
! PcmSy ylvana in the hands of Woodward
and Ohio given over 70 the candidate now
50 badly hcatcn. there would haVc beer
nothing lcIt us hut the triumph OF the re
| bci!lUn, and the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of on
! Union. Thank God that dark cloud ha
passed. away bitter cup has not beer
pressed to our lips. We have rescued ON
homes aud our hrcsidcs from civil war
oven within our own borders In addition
of the Government, and at the same time
oilccually crushed out the spirit of faction,
opposition, which, hy procrastinatiug tn,
war, has cost year OF time, and sacrifice,
the lives of not less than scvcnty-ivo thou
sand OF our brave men. Had we been
united people at the North. this rebellion
would to-day have been at an end
Many honest and wcll.mcaning mon hay,
been dciujcd into opposition to the mean
necessary 10 crush il. For these thcr,
should le n time and opportunity for re
pcutaurc, But for the leaders who hav,
sinucd against hight and knowledge, an,
ton Tor mere partisan purposes, there cal
hc but little prayer for forgiveness. Thci
l purpose has been unholy and their hand
are red with the blood of mon sacrifice,
I through their conduct, ON many battle
| field. Let them remain among us as visibl
10 monuments OF trclSon--as marks for scOrl
e 10 point it's Slow-moviug finger at The
. have CarVed At and criticized. to the puhli
ear, the measures of the Government (
crush the rebellion, and yet, moro than an
a other means, their opposition 10 the Gov
r. crnmcnt has forced upon il the very meas
$ urcs they condemn. have found tia yer
1 fair test, that when a mau was cavilug a
i the acts of the Government, that he ha
treason in his heart aul was only scokiu
n Justification for il,
Again, this is uo uncertain victory. w
; have fought il ON the broad issues of SUI
;. tanning the Administration of the couutr
. IN the measures decmed necessary for IN