The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-05-14
MoDERN DEMOCRACY.
It's History at the outset of the
War, During the War and
Since the War.
An Able, Truthful and Telling
Resume.
Read, Consider and Determine
upon the Following Evidence.

able US all to discharge our duty intel
ligently at the ballot box on the 24th
inst, we publish for the third time the
following extract from Hon. John
sherman's great speech to the people of
Connecticut:
It is only through party or
4 CARNATIONS that we can control public
| opinion. In order to have any appre-
ciable influence, a man In this country
must attach himself to one of the great
political parties; and at each e.ection
our citizens are called upon to give
their adhesion to one or the other of
these parties. In this country at this
time, we have two great political Or
/ gauizations. One calls itself the DEM
Ocratic party, and as Hm generally
willing to call child by the name that
its mother gives it, in speaking of that
| 1t always goes against the grain TO do
so. CLaughter.l l think there is in
the minds of all of you "a name for that
party, of which it is much more de-
serving; and, indeed, as u general rule,
| q nickname diScloses the character of
the person to whom it Is applied a great
deal better than the name given in baL-
| tism.
Bullet us call this organization the
democratic party. And now want to
\ ask you what claims for allegiance 1t
has upon any free-born American citi-
zen2 In answering this question will
not go behind the history OF the tmme-
diate past, because when this war broke
out all that preceded IL was forgotten.
will only remind you that the Amer
lean people trusted the Democratic
Party as no, party was ever trusted
anywhere belore!i 1t has been the
boast of that party that for sixty years
they administered our government; but
what was the result oftheir administra-
ton? A Shareholders rebellion, and a
gigantic war of nearly five years du-
ration. When, five years ago, an or
ganiZation sprang up in the South
ern States, which determined to wage
stroy it, where was the Democratic
party found? I dislike TO speak
of any citizen of Connecticut with
disrespect; but let me ask you
where then was 1saac TOucey, who
ED at that time high position in the
Government of the United States?
Five years ag:r, when every intelli-
gent man knew the war was imIni-
nent when the men of the South had
gathered together arms and ammuni-
ton and men, and had actually avowed
their purpose to wage war against the
Government of the United States, what
was the course of that citizen of even
the good old State of Connecticut, that
representative man of the Democratic
purity? He scattered our vessels, then
under his command, all over the world,
so that when another and wOrthier citi-
zen of your State came to administer
the affairs of the same department, the
whole navy under his command was
one vessel, with five guns-Spiked.
ILaughter.l Mr.. Toucey was only a
representative of the last Democratic
Administration that ever will govern
this country. lApplause.l Think, too,
for moment of him who was the head
of that party at that time. An old
man, broken with the cares and storms
of e-[laughterl-whos said that the |
South had no right to secede, but he
had no power to prevent secession.
They were all wrong, he said, but he
could not help it; secession was un-
constitutional, to be sure, but then 1t
was unconstitutional to put 1t down.
TLaughter.l 1t was in this maudlin
condition that the Democratic party
lay down in its grave and was buried
out of sight; when all of it that was
vital Joined the great Union party
which took for its standard the Flag of
our Country, and bore 1t in triumph
through our ever memorable war.
rCheers.1 I need not attempt to de-
scribe here the spirit that sprung to
life among us when the Flag was fired
upon at Sumter. You all know that u
ed upon the minds of the American
people; all true men of all parties felt
the blow that had been struck at the
Flag not merely as a national but also |
as a personal insult, and they swore in
the bottom oftheir hearts thatthatfnsultl
should be wiped out if It cost the blood |
of every traitor in the land. But as
soon as this spirit had partially subsi-
ded and the burden of the war had been |
actually assumed, the leaders of the
Democratic party, seeing that they had
no hope in the Union organization, be-
gan to revive the name of the old DEM |
ocratic party and organized under 1t |
what is sometimes called the Copper
head party. They still claimed the old |
name, and ,as you see, through politeness |
[ am willing to give it to them; but, as
I said before, all that was vital,in the
Democratic party Joined in the general
movement for the preservation of the 1
Government. During 1862 this party, |
with the old name, pretended to be for
war. and the party was organized upon
that basis.
But in the winter of 1923 they be-
gan to show the cloven foot, and in 1868
the Democratic Party of the United |
States was as lisloyni in organization
as the rebel army ever was at any time
during the war. To convince You of
this, need not go over the history of
any long space of time. Perhaps 1t
may be enough to remind you of what |
they did in, my own State, where they
met in party convention. and, after
passing lncendiary resolutions, nomi- /
mated for Governor OF Ohio man who /
had actually advised and organized |
forcible resistance to the Government |
at home-a man who had sought to get |
up rebellion in the State of Ohio, in |
order to aid the larger rebellion at the |
South by breaking our power TO put 1t |
down. They nominated 10 be Cover
nor of our State a man named Clement
l.. Vallandigham [Hisses.1 He was
not elected, Llaughter;l but he has been
the leader of that party from that time
to this. But that Is not all. In the 4
Summer of 1864, when the Democratic I
Party, through their chosen repFesen-
tatfves, met and elected a standard bear
er, what did theydo You the
situation of the country at that time.
Weiwere thenin the midst OF our great
struggle, and every heart beat anxious
patriotic man, from the Atlantic to the
Rio Grande. beat quicker with alter
nate hope and fear. Grant had taken
up his land march to Richmond, and /
had announced his intention to Eight
itout on that line" !" cost what 1t would; /
and hundreds. yea thousands, of the
bravest and best ofChe sons of Connec-
tfcut were with him in that contest
LGreat cheering.1 General Sherman
mountains of Georgia, surrounded on
all sides by enemies and gorges, ra-
vines, and seemingly impossible bar
rlers, with nothing tosoppese to them
or 70 rely upon for success but hun
dred Thousand brave American soldiers,
and the flag of our country which I,
waved over all. [Great cheering.l The