New Oregon plaindealer. (New Oregon, Iowa) 1859-1866, 1865-12-22
NEW OREGON HOWA ARD COUNTY. IOWA. DECEMBER % 1868
1ILL MIR JOHNSON REFUSE
FERJUR h ElMSELF.

o'lol eltneF aSSluenCa'ly dlu Tie
grantest thing ever seen in history, or
they were endowed with a wisdom al
most dlvlne. They adopted a formula
of things, which, if those called upon to
administer it, were honest and faithful
to the grand central truth Of Democra-
cvv, the country would be saved from
convulsions. and its peace and prospect
ty forever secured. Thus, if Abra-
ham Lincoln, even after his election by
sectional combination Of States, had
refused to fall back on the old European
principle Of brute force, and left the Sc
ceiling States alone; and the principle
of selfgcvernment in these States to
develop itself, all would have worked
out satisfactorily. These States would
have found that the Lincoln patty was
[ not dangerous to their peace and safe
! ty, and returned to the grand old
Union, or it would have proven incom-
oat,ble with their safety, and thus, in
truth, with the safety of the whole,
and therefore Mr.. Lincoln would have
been forced to abandon tae principles
Of his party. or the States that elected
him would unite with the seeding
S tates. Ia either event, therefore
faithfulncss to the fundamental idea O.
Democracy would have finally saved
the peace and prosperity Of the coun.
try. But this is even more sta:tling|y
true in the case Of Andrew johnson,
and if, when the Confederate States
laid down their arms, he had said:
Every State ha1 the natural aaG con-
siitutional right to govern itself, and
thei icfore there Icing now no resistance
to the Federal Government, I will
Withdraw all military force, and per
NIT the g'and tEuth af selfgossrnmeut
to fully develop itself,' Of course in
dustry and order would be rapidly res
tored, and the late "rcbel'' populations
at this moment would be busily at
work repairing the vast places, and
tn, South would be the scene ci more
active industry and production than
ever before. Yes; simple faitbfalness
to the grand truth underlying or ro-
litical system on the part Of Andrew
Johnson, would have secured perfect
peace, or'le: and indus try throughout
the broad reg. IN ~ asted and desolated
by four years of war. Butthe perfect wis
dom Of the founders Of our political sys-
tenn may be shown even more clearly
and sigoply. If Andrew johnson would
only refuse to per jure himself, and ad-
minister the Constitution just as the
Supreme Court interprets it, as alb
save one of.his own predecessors, did,
and indeed just as he himself under
stands it, though the Soath is now a 90
cial chaos, within the next ninety days
it would recover itself, and from the
Potomac to the Gulf there would be
perfect peace, order cnl industryl The
Abolition invasion Of the South is un-
paralelled in human annals; the saw
ageries Of Ghengis Kahn, and the waste
and aesolaticn of Attila, were mild in
comparison, for though tilaS "scourge Of
God" ravaged and wasted the land, he
lett the fundame ntal essentials of social
existence untouched, and when the
waves CT invasion reccded, these sprung
again into new and vigorous lie, and
q few yeors later there was scarce q
trace of the great destroyer. But Alb
olition has struck down social order,
and rendered society itself impossible,
end could it be permanently imposed
on the southern people, it would be bet
ter that the earth opened and engulfed
the entire population, from the Po-
!, tomac to the ;Gulf Of Mexico. 1t has
torn four millions Of negroes from their
normal condition, and forcing them in.
to unnatural relations with the white
people, of course has rendered human
society impossible. Production and
order are the fundamental necessitiee
Of human society, and, for the time be-
Ling, both Of these are stricken down at
thu QnnAh ILL., a~.a In -