Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-08-21

| N Open Letter - she Ediser 81
the nosetae.
NY DsAs SrR:-rrom the l4th Of ApSii,
1861. TO about the lst Of June, 1860, there
was var in this country, whose result va
TO decide the question Of the exlstence o'
our government The pretext for this var,
on the part Of those who wished to destroy
! the government, was the election OF the ne
publican candidate for President 10 leHO.-
In the South men Of Ill parties united %
destroy the government, while in the NORM
men Of oil parties rushed TO sustain IT. ana
with the people Of the North oil other issues
were merged in this paramount question !:
Shall the government - sustained! NO
other test Of loyalty could BY any ia.r rule
b, applied 70 anv man than this, does he
stand by the govssnment in this war =
President Lincoln did not ask IN hts Spring.
Geld letter that the dogmas Of the Kepuoi'
can party should b. endorsed, Of toet -
emancipation policy should be approved
Fight, you," said he, ITO save the on'on'
and I win help you"
Tried BY that great and good mans test,
I'll parties in the North were 30 unanimous
" loyal that nearly two millions Of men
rallied under the Union flag before drafting
in earnest became necessary, and in that
vast army difference Of political opinion
made no difference in the earnestness Of
mems devotion to their country. NO SIR
In that army ,menwho fought solely to save
the Union," fought just Is well. though the
triumph Of the Union involved the triumph
Of political principles which they could not
approve q did those who fought to free the
negro.
What part have you taken in this great
struggle which has now 80 happily, 80 glor-
iously terminated! The opening OF the
war found you post Office clerk, and an
ardent negro lover. When the President
called for more did you leave the post office
and seize musket? Not at all! You sus
tanned the government by holding on to your
portion-as . loyal post office clerk, you
were determined to continue sorting over
letters The government needed loyal men
for post Office clerks, and the situation Was
sufficiently dangerous to suit your tempera.
mcnt. Besides it was clear to your mind
that - the Democrats Of the South began
the war, why the Democrats Of the North
were under peculiar obligations TO march to
meet them, and you have always been as
willing to sacrifice Democrats on the altar Of
the country - ever Artemus Wsrd was to
sacrifice his "wife's cousins
About l5 months later you assumed con-
troll Of the Gazette. As = journalist, your
career has been profitable, perhaps, but not
brilliant. The Chicago Tribune found many
believers in the army last fall when il told
you that your lucubrations were 90 trashy
as not to be worth crcditing to any paper.
Later still, you were appointed postnas
ter at this place as . reward for your un
fiinching determination to call everybody
who did not agree with al your vagarics =
''eOpperhead," 'secessionist," "rebel
sympathixer - since which time you have
been mainly occupied in "running the
scalcs'' Ct the gamut of abuse Of everybody
whose opinions differed from yours, and in
drawing your salary Of $4,000 per annum.
This is your record,-this the amount Of
your sacrifices in the interests Of the cause
Of popular government in the tremendous
struggle which has just ended.
4 few weeks ago you went to the Repub
lican convention Of this State with won
dcrful maggot in your head. The circun
stances under which this convention met
,cers distressing. The war was ended, 1T
had been long and terrible, but it was over,
and on every field Douglas men, and
Breckinridge men, and Bell and Everett
men had shared equally with Lincoln meI
its danger and its glory. Everything we
had been lighting for had been won. The
ed, the negro had been freed, and al the
people, North and South, and said amen /;
none more heartily than the writer Of this.
But, alas the war had swept away all
the old issues which in the olden times d.
vided the people. Il Was no longer possible
to discuss the doctrine Of State rights IS it
existed five years ago.-it would now find
no defenders-the negro. ~ slave, had dis
appeared alike from politics and from the
earth, and there WAS the management oi
the $4,000, ,0O0, 900 Of public debt, and an
| unheard Of government patronage likely Ia
slip through the fingers Of your party, for
want Of an issue to present to the people.
In this critical state Of affairs you appear.
| ed on the scene and announced relief Il
hand. Gentlemen" said you, "the negro
has long been the sole stock in trade Of the
republican party, with his aid We have done
much in the past with his aid our future
10 secure. Gentlemen, tell you the negre
must vote" This is the maggot which
You conceived and brought forth IN that con
vention.
FROM the first, there wore some who pro
nounced the execrable spawn besuty-but
there were some who beheld it with utter
disgust, holding their loses while they
looked. These last were persuaded to han
die it with shrinking fingers, then a. they
grew familiar with its hideous pace, they
dandled it on their knees, said it looked
quite like his father, guessed it was ''loyal.
then hugged it to their hearts, and the vile
thing was voted part Of the republican
platform. You smilingly received the con
gratulations Of your friends apd pronounced
yourself to be IS "well ~ could be e1
pccted."
The nominee for Governor gladly accept
ed the issue. "Lo new test of loyalty y
said he, 1.-THE negro must vote! The negro
deserves the credit Of putting an end to the
rebellion, no loyal man will deny this! the
negro has right 70 vote, no 10y Il man Will
oppose it ~
The convention adjourned, and its mem
bers went home to manufacture argument.
for the new article Of their faith. Here ars
some specimens oftneir work. ''Nine-tenths
Of those who oppose negro suffrage" says
one, ''are thieves. pimps, drunkards, loaiers
With nothing but white skin to boast Of
rebel sympathixers, haters Of republican in
stitutions r. "They ore al inferior to the
negro I" shouts another, and you copy and
endorse the lar guage Of both
You copy and endorse the language Of
both, and Yet you can't be 80 stupid Is moi
to know that more than three fourths Of the
| soldiers in the hate Union army are opposed
to negro suffrage. Who is calling soldiers
names nowl You will do well to remem.
bes, sir, that the men whom you thus stig.
matiss ars men whose loyalty and devotion
| 70 republican institutions stand gloriously
approved BY test to which you were care.
ful that yours should never b submitted
During the last four years their love oi
coautry has prompted them 70 submit "a
iunumsrabls privations, and outrages, no,
the least that they have seen the negro
treated evssywhsse with more consideration
than themselves; yet, With patient endu
rance Of which you have no conception
the have tolled on until they have seen the