Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1866-10-03
Aar. GfyEmer,s speech.


the exception Of bigoted partisans who
could not see the most glaring inconsis-
tencies if presented in a party view, near
ly all were disappointed in Mr.. Clymer's
speech on Thursday last at the coalition
meeting.a There was a want OF candoF,
coupled with vein of egotlsm WHICH,
seemed TO imply that. in his own opinion
at least, nobody III Pennsylvania except
himself was fft to be Governor. HIS dis
resnacttul language towards Gen. Geafy,
obuse of Thaddeus Stevens, and his refer
ences to the d" nigger," by the by rather
n ticklish subject for Mr.. {. to refer to, J
were decidedly in bad taste, and only
served to show that he resOrted to the
demagogue's arts because he could pre-
sent no valid arguments in his favor
His attempt to defend his course during
the war was so puerile. that any man of
ordinary intelligence could have refuted
all he said by Il few pertinent questions.
Among other things he gave as q reason
for not voting for the soldiers because the
Senate. he said was not organized. In
most unfortunate references he could have
made, for that one act alone of keeping
the Senate disOrganized, during one OF the
darkest periods of the war, was enough to
consign any politician to a greater infamy
than was ever bestowed on a Hartford
Convention Federalist We will go back
with our readers to that time and see
what the condition of things were. The
Senate then stood II Union men to Is
Copperheads-for their conduct showed
they all belonged to that class-but one
Union Senator, Col. Harry White, patri-
otically answered the call for soldiers, was
taken prisoner, and confined in Libby
prison; and although President Lincoln,
under the peculiar circumstances of the
case, offered to give the rebels a General
officer in exchange, the rebel government
REFUSED, and there is good reason fOJ. be-
Heni1g this refusal aC0s an understood
0aatter bettgee,1 the COpperheads Of Penn
SyLCaHi0 and the rebels. for shortly after
the organization of the Senate, Col. White
was released. When we look at the fact
that Clymer and his associates could gain
nothing politically by his resignation.
because Col. Whites district was strongly
Union-that their course stopped all leg
iSlation called for by perilous war for
months-and that it was only entailing a
heavy and needless expense on the tax
payers, the enormity of their conduct
must be apparent TO every one Col.
White had sent his resignation to his
father, to be used only in case he could
not be exchanged; and all efforts to in
duce Clymer and his friends to organize
the Senate having failed, the resignation
was handed in and DR.. St. Clair elected
by large majority. Had MIR. CIymer
had one spark Of patriotism in his bosom,
he could have organized the Senate by
his vote any day, but instead of doing so,
he did his best 10 keep brother Senator
who had gallantly entered the army, IN q
rebei prison dS tong as he cOuid. These
are facts, of such recent occurrence and so
well known, that no soldier need be re-
minded of them. What think those gal
liant men of such a legislator, and with
what consistency can any soldier support
a man who cannot lay his finger on a
single speech, during the entire war, Civ
ing them encouragement and sympathy?
Well did Gen. Grant say of this same
Hester Clymer, that "To ASK ANY Sol
DIER to vote for such man, of at one
time known disloyalty, against another
who had served four years in the Union
army with credit to himself and benefit
to his country, WAS a GROSS INSULT"