Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-08-31

! l6DeI DultetS were uylHg Llick around US.
and our comrades we're falling on every side,
OF if captured were reserved for fate more
/ horrible than immediate death in the prison
pens Of Libby, Belle Isle and AndersonyilIe,
what mockery it would have been to tell us
1 that the sole or principal object for which
| we we're confronting danger was that the
enemies firing into our ranks might beapain
| installed in the Federal Capitol to make laws
/ for and with the aid of Northern Cnpper-
/ heads, to rule and persecute the l.Yal people
Of the whole United States! If that was so,
| we might as well have staid at home, for it
! was scarcely worth while to fight to fasten a
/ chain around our own nceks No. We
| fought TO establish the authority OF the
| Federal Government over the seeding
| States, and when this was accomplished,
and defiant treason crushed, our hope and
expectation was that loyal men should gov
ern the heritage'we had regalned But the
rebels had no sooner been vauquished in fair
warfare than the treachery of Andrew John
son, and the promises Of their Northern
allies, inspired the hope that by "a new flank
movement the lost cause might still tri-
umph, and, after losing Richmond, virtually
remove the capital Of the Confederacy to
Washington That's the plan now, as plain
as the nose on your face and there is not a
rebel in the land, Northor South, that don
chuckle over it and work hard for its sue
cess As they combine to support it, we
should unite to crush it, ii we wish to per
petuate the fruits of our victories.
The Southern States ought to get back
IN the Union some time, LnOugn, Tor n I.SnaU,
and we We no right to keep chem out
'They could get back easily enough if
they showed sincere repentance for their
treason and gave guarantee against repeti-
ton Of their war On loyal men and loyal in
terests. Let them pass the constitutional
amendment, and form loyal State govern
meuts, like'that in Tennessee, and like her
they can gain admission for their Senators
and Congressman.
Il don believe in tinkeTing at the Con
stitution. Why do you want to change it?'
Because that is the only practical way Of
making a permanent treaty of peace with
the rebel States and the only way Of adapt
ing the government Of the country to the
changed condition produced by the war.
You know that while we were In camp, Heis-
ter CIymer and the Copperheads in Penn
sylvauia tried to prevent US from voting at
ALL and the State constitution was changed
to give soldiers the right Of suffrage. II the
Federal Constitution is not amended now;
and the rebel Congressman are admitted,
each rebel soldier VIII have twice as much
control over the Federal Government as you
or l. If you are ready to submit to that,
am not
THAT rather hard | must confess. |
don' know but what it right to make that
change; but then your party asks other
changes, too.
None that are not just aud necessary.
Onlv a guarantee that the rebels shall not
II IL Il bel 40i,f
and damages; that thcig worst men shall
not be Immediately restored to power, and
that ciyil rights shall be extended to all
American citizens
J don want to help pay the rebel debt
any more than you do; aud it would not 0e
pleasant to think that the men who shot
down our companions should step into the
front seats ofpolitics too suddenly; but that
eiyil-rights clause has got a nigger in the
wood pile, and m against negro equality,
and especially against giving them the right
to vote
t'It says nothing about suffrage one way
or the other Butt provides against their
oppression. The war showed how litlle the
rebels cared for the health or lives Of white
prisoners. and they care less for the rights
Of freedmen They have So long grge! been f55 ae
it viii require sharp laws sharply administer
cd to teach shcm better. The negroes are
human beings entitled to our protection
Under any circumstances and certainly since
they acted as our faithful allies against the
cruelty Of a common enemy or all the
bugbears ever invented to frightcn fools.
negro equality is the most ridiculous The
maintenance Of your manhood don depend
upon the power Of rebel rufians to cheat
assault and murder emancipated slaves with
impunity. The mans the man for a
that, being certainly made no better by the
oppression Of his fellow men, on the hand,
as he Is 10 worse for lack of rank and for
turne, on the other. You talk about De
moeracy What a libel on the word it is to
make It the name Of party that boasts of
It's anxiety to heap undeseryed wrong and
ignominy upona down -trodden race that pro
yedits patriotism and loyalty in the darkest
hours ofnational adversely, andisnow by the
confession Of friend and foe proving its in
dustry and capacity for freedom. The sncers
and taunts hurled against it by your Demo
cratic speakers are as old as the hills Ar
istocrats haveused them forcenturies against
the laboriug masses Of the white race. and
it is only where brave, bold Radicals have
successfully combatted them, that the
masses Of any color are free -PH1adcl-
phia Press.