The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1866-06-01
Reconstruction.


EDS. JEFF.-The Committee has
reported-the report was not very
noisy, but the cartridge was not Who'll.
| ly blank. All the good it can do will
be to give time. Time is what we
now want. BY the time the leople
find this report failure they will he
prepared for something better. AT
ter houndering awhile in the mud we
will be glad to get q rock to stand
upon.
Twelve months more will lay bare
"My Policy and show all honest
men that rebels cannot be trusted
with our Ship of State. That further
time will teach a large majority OF
our people, if not all, that it is vain
to temporize - that the cure for
southern oligarehy and rebellion is
Democracy. The Democracy,of New
England and the North could never
sustain either an oligarchy or are
bellion, because it is pure or nearly
so. The Southern bastard Democra
cy sustained both, because half the
people did the labor and the other
half voted. As soon MS all vote there,
their evil disease will be cured.
Then don't be mnpu,,vnO. hca,
men say we shall have to fight it over
So we shall, but not with the sword
What we want is to become as brave
in politics as in war. We want to
dare to do right because it is right ;
and we want the common sense to
trust the people with the true princi-
Piles of government in the full faith
that they will act upon them rightly
1t is time to go and tell the people
that taxation without representation
is tyranny. That allowance of q
double representation to any part oi
our people, much more to rebels, is
dangerous folly. That no power
can make injustice permanent, and
that it Is always unsafe to do wrong
If after a patient hearing. the people
decide to remand the freedmen to
substantial bondage, and to give the
southern rebel representation foi
him, and that it is safe to defy eter
nal justice, then Democracy is "play
ed out" We have only TO look out
for mild tyrant. The people will
have shown themselves incapable OF
government, and false to the funda
mental principles of Democracy.
Personally, l have no doubt on
this subject, and if we do fail, it will
be because we temporize. Look al
the Committees report and then al
the country. Why has it dropped
still born upon the country7 Its
friends with wry faces say they
guess it will do" but are glad to SEE
the thing don't breathe. Its foe:
look awhile to see how it takes witt
it's friends, and then begin to crow
Mccullough gives out the first cock
a doodle.d doc. Why ? l repeat. BE
cause there is so little given to jus
tice, and too much to vengeance
1t put the battle on false issue. Il
reminds one, and is, the counterpart
Of the first years Of the war. Wher
we forget to save our government
not its principles; wien we returned
the negro to his oppressor, and Sc
half our forces to guard rebel prop
erty even then, sensible men fell
in their souls, that we should hav,
to mend all that before we succeed
ed, but we wanted time to think
We got it, we thought, and our coun
try is frec--pechaps.
Now too, there is not a man in thu
Union ranks whose mind is capabl,
Of thought, who does not see that W,
are stumbling in the dark. Not on.
who does not feel that the true anti
dote Is true Democracy. A Democ
racy in which every man who paws
taxes and is unconvicted of Grim,
shall vote. The idea Of keeping reb
els from the ballot box, lacks all The
essentials of an idea. 1t is an alb
surdity. Such Of tbem as we charge
with and punish for crime, may o,
course be disfranchised. But who Il
to place the mark upon the former
rebel, so that his vote shall be reject.
tcd2 To disfranchiseme there are
too many practical difficulties, the at
tempt to carry it out must be abor.
tive. And why should not the negro
vote? We found him better than The
rebel to the government; why should
the government be better to the reb
el than to him? He pays tax, and
he offers his life to the Government
---the Government accepts both. A
generous mind refuses to be in debt,