The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-09-10

/ CONTINUATION or the OemOcrAtc Admins
tration, with diminished domain, which
its Northern adherents are trying to restore
TO its original dimensions.
After nearly four years Of the terrible
consequences Of the control Of the Govern
ment by the Democratic party, its North.
| ern adherents have had the effronsery to
come together in Convention, to offer again
to take the control Of the country, which
they have plunged from such hight Of
what declaration of pehitence for the past
or Of promise for the future do they make to
excuse this unparalleled assurance? The
only expression in their platform to indi-
cate their position insregard to this terrible
Democratic war, 10 that the Government
cannot put it down by war, and, therefore,
the effort must cease, and it must submit
ton Of hostilities and by negotiation. y
This b substantially declared in the sec.
ond resolution, and it is MI that this plat
form declares ~ to the side the Democratic
party takes In this war. 1s It any differ
ent from the attitude taken by their Con-
federate lesdersfs When Mr.. Jefferson Da-
Wis declares that they will never submit to
never can be s0hjugatedI and that they will
have independence or determination, does
be declare anything essentially different
from the platform Of this Chicago Confed-
erate3C Convention, which lays it down as Z
doctrine Of the Democratic party, to be
carried out in its administration Of the
Government, that this Democratic war cam
not be put down by force, and therefore the
only alternative is an armistice and such
terms as it will grant to the Government3 :
The Confederate Democrats declare, in
the South, that they will never submit to
the Constitution and laws Of the Union in
the North, that they. can never be forced to
submit. Inone section they maintain their
declaration with arms; in the other they
advance it by this treacherous method Of
weakening the Government, and Of encour-
aging their braver and more honorable
fellows in arms. Is there any, distinction
between these Confederate Democrats of
the South and North, except between open
warfare and cowardly treachery7
The love Of the Union was on the lips Of
every Democratic cOnspiratOr, even while
he was transferring the public arms to his
gang, to be used to destroy the Union. Il
is on the tongue Of every secessionist in the
South and in the border States. So this
Chicago Confederate Platform declares .
devotion to the Union; but in war whose
avOwed purpose is to sever the Union, it
shall be used to preserve the Union. What
is this but Q submission to such terms as
the C0nfederates demand? ~
The other resolutions Of the platform con.
tain the customary charges which the De-
mocratic party has used to create disaffec-
ton in order to cripple the Government in
carrying on the war. They are based en-
tirely, 80 far as they have any base, on the
incidents Of war, and ali together do not
amount to the proportion Of asinele drop
in the vast ocean Of wrong and suffering
inflicted by this war. What is al this talk.
of arbitrary arrests and of restraint upon
liberty Of speech, compared with the MUIR
der Of single Union soldier, the bereave-
sas Fl bv sSis Is nesa 1ssod and
which has on its hands the blood Of half Q
million Of murders on both sides?
The Convention could not agree to de-
clare itself fort preservation Of the Union
a. the first condition of any peace, and BY
any means that may be found necessary.
Il had too large traitor element for that.
It did not dare to declare for s'peace on any
terms," and the Union If it could be had IL
the terms, for even the noisiest peace DEM
ocrats knew that this would defeat the
party at the elections. So il compromised
on q sneaking profession of eternal devo-
tion to the Union, and . declaration that
none but peaceable means should be used
for its preservation.
Its candidate is like its platform. Where
in is Gen. Mcclellan q representative Of
peace, except in his utter failure in war?
Where is the evidence of his statesmanship
except in the proof that he is good for moth
ing else? And what must be the war De-
mocracy which chooses for its representative
the embodiment of military failure and in
capacity? The so-called peace Democracy
wanted the eclat of military hero to ap-
peal to the popular feeling; so they chose
: military hero who never won battle nor
trusted himself under fire. The so-called
war Democracy, protesting to be for PROS
ecution o. thewar for the restoration Of the
Union, chose = General whose most vigor-
ons prosecution of the war was thought by
his own friends to be conducted with the
deliberate Intention to bring about peace
by exhausting the resources of the Govern.
ment in war without results. tss
The party support of this candidate is AZ
false a. its platform. OF. all the men who
voted and shouted for Mcclellan in that
Convention, probably not one believed him
had any ideas Of statesmsnship. II In his
military career he has acted without
treachery, he has tried to put down the re-
bellion BY force, thing which the Confed.
rate Democracy say can never be done. and
that it Is violation of the Constitution to
try to do It. He ID obnoxious to them by
his intentions, and this is in no wise mitf.
gated by his failure from incapacity.:
He was arraigned in the Convention as
obnoxious to all the charges of arbitrary
arrests and Interference with elections and
against the Administration. and no one
could deny it. Yet the Convention nomi-
mated him because the members thought
that although they despised him, he had
an element Of popularity outside the DEM
Ocratic party. and especially in the army.
The party swallowed this nauseous dose.
because they believed that outside the