Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-05-19
For Five Years They Worked To
Destroy the Union.


Recently, General GARFIELD made a
stump speech at Hagerstown, Md. In this
speech he declared that "for five years, by
every means in their power, the people OF
eleven States of this Union resolved and
endeavored to destroy this Republic and
break down all its glory they determined
to break down the Constitution and destroy
the Union, and ruin and Overturn and
overwhelm you and me and every lover OF
the Union, and rule US and carry every
thing they pleased"
Let US see in what way "the people OF
eleven States of.ithe Union" undertook to
do this. The leading men in the eleven
States referred to saw the anti-slavery ele-
ment assuming such proportions as led
them to believe that they would not have
peace in the Union so long as the institu-
ton ofslavery existed in their States, and
with view of guarding that institution,
and for the purpose Of building up grand
Confederacy, they attempted to withdraw
from the Union. To do so, "for five years"
they used "every means in their power"
Had they succeeded, we are told, it would
have destroyed this Republic and broken
down ''all its glory" 1t would have done
nothing of the sort. 1t would have curtail-
ed the dimensions of the Union, and then
would have left 1t much larger in
extent than what New England demanded
it should be under JEFFERsoN's Admins
tration. To the extent our territorial limits
would have been curtailed, would our glory
have been diminished, and would have
caused Republican politicians to be for
ever execrated, because they would not
consent to such compromise as would
have secured us against war and against
disruption.
In a political point Of view, the eleven
States referred to are out of the Union, and
are to us much more expensive than If they
were an independent Confederacy. They
are allowed no voice in the Federal Govern
ment, and we have dotted their country
over with Bureaus that are to the country
exceedingly costly. II, then, there is any
force in the language of General GARFIELD,
this Republic must be considerably de-
stroyed and its glory very much broken
down. Whois keeping it in this destroyed
and broken down condition? Not the
President certainly. Since December last,
he has striven energetically to restore 1t to
its former strength and glory. In return
for this patriotic effort, he has been
recompensed by the recognized leaders in
his party with an impeachment of his fidel-
ity to the party that "for five years" did
most flourishing business al "the uncondi-
tional Union party" The Republican lead
ers, therefore, are holding this country in
adestroyed and dishonored condition, for
no other reason than that their party may
be perpetuated in power. If they could
have had their way they would have per-
mitted the South to withdraw from the
Union. The Washington correspondent OF
the Philadelphia North American, about the
time that Fort Sumter was fired upon,
said that all in Washington, with the ex-
ception of President LINCOLN, were for
compromising or allowing the South to de-
part. The call for $4,000 men, Immediately
after Sumter was fired on was an expert
ment. 1t was not supposed that the people
would respond in the numbers and with
the enthusiasm they did. Had they not re-
sponded, the South toould haze been dllo1oed
to depart By the Republican politicians, who
would have hailed their departure as a
good riddance, believing that it would give
their party an almost perpetual control of
the Government. This is the truth as to
their feelings. The people, however, de-
termined otherwise. They determined that
the territorial limits of the Union should
be maintained, and with it our Republican
form of Government That's what they
went into the War for, and the first object
of the War having been secured, they will
in due time see to 1t, that the Republican
form of the Government is maintained.
They will not.permit body of conscience
less politicians, to promote the ends OF party
purely, to thrust ..the eleven States" out of
the Union, they fought to the death to keep
in the Union. The talk of General GARFIELD
about the Southern people ruling us, is
nothing but clap-trap, designed to delude
our people into a justification of the dis
franchisement of the Southern people, SO
that his party may rule those who are not
,dant;fiad with the ReDublicau partv.