The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1866-08-30
PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION
Letter from Mr.. VaIIan-
b.. 9a digham. ".
DISPATCH FROM PRESIDENT
JOHNSON. ''a' %i'f

bled at noon to-day. 2 ~ =,
Mr.. Blair, of Maryland, hererose
and said: Mr.. President, am. in
structed by the Committee on Per
manent Organization to make the
following report: a'
For President-Senator Doolit-
tie, of Wisconsin.
General Dix, at the conclusion of
the reading Of the above report,
introduced Senator Doolittle, who
was received with the most enthu-
siastic applause. Mr.. Doolittle, on
taking the chair, said:' ''''
Gentlemen Of the Convention,
and fellow citizens. of the United
States [cheers. For the distin-
guished honor of being called up
on to preside over the deliberations
of this Convention, | sincerely
thank you. / could have wished
that its responsibilities had fallen
upon another; but relying upon
that courtesy and generous conf
dence which has called me to the
chair, l enter at once upon its du.
ties with a desire for the success Of
that great cause in which we are
now engaged. Among the great
events of our own day this Conven-
ton, in my opinion, will prove to
be one of the greatest, for peace
hath her victories not less re-
nowned than war. [Applause. l.
And this Convention is one of her
victories-may I not say crown
ing victorys [Cheers.] i.i
For the first time in six years a
National Convention, representing
all the States, is now assembled
Six long, weary years. AS l look
back, oh, what an interval it is of
blood, and agony and tears! Du,
ring that period we have been en-.
gagged in the most gigantic civil
war the world has ever seen, vast
ing ourresources, drenching a thou.
sand battlefelds m fraternal blood,
and carrying to fraternal graves our
fathers, our sons and our brothers
by hundreds of thousands. But,
thanks be to Almighty God, the
war is over. Cheers. Thrice
blessed peace has come, and come
to stay. Loud cheers.] Oh! my
fellow-c citizens, if the whole people
Of the United States could see
what we now witness-the North,
the South, the East and the West
joining in fraternal association as
friends and fellow-citizens, our
work would be already done.
[Cheers.] u
If they could have seen, as we
saw, Massachusetts and South Car
olina, [appladse] by their full del
egations, coming arm and arm into
this great Convention enthusias-
tic applause]; if they could have
seen this body, greater in numbers
and in weight of character and
brain than ever has assembled on
this continent under one roof, mel
ting to tears of joy and gratitude
to witness this commingling, there
would be no struggle at the polls
in the coming elections. Ap-
plause. When | remember thatit
was Massachusetts and South Car
olina that, in the Convention which
framed the Constitution, voted
against the abolition of the slave
trade; that it was Massachusetts,
in 1912, which, through some Of
her men, taught the. doctrines of
notification which South Carolina
reasserted in 1888, and in the form
of secession again reasserting in
1860; when I call to mind that
South Carolina fired the first gun
in this contest, and that the veins
of Massachusetts, poured out The
first blood in the struggle, and
when / call to mind all these
memories, and at the same time
ask the people of this country to
look in on this Convention and see
those two old States of the Union
coming here in fraternal embrace,
approaching the common altar of
a common country, ready to make
common sacrifice for the good Of
the whole, I say again, could the
whole people of the United States
witness all this, there would re.
main no further work for us to per
form. Loud cheers.] "}.7.' E.
If the people of Massachusetts,
herself could have witnessed it, not
a single member wouldbe returned
to Congress from that State [great
applause] until he had given q
most sacred pledge that he would