Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-10-25
RetributiYe .Iustice.

There is terrible sting in retributive
justice. When the judgments of passion
and malevolence come back to be executed
upon those who illuminate them; when the
insolent official is suddenly hurled from his
high place and made to occupy the seat OF
the criminal, that is retributive justice!
1t was Mr.. Wade, if we remember rightly,
who few short weeks a. go proclaimed that
no Democrat would, hereafter, be permit
ted to take his seat in either House of Con-
gre :. There was sufficient inSolence in
the declaration it9elf, but Mr.. Wade is not
man to leave unsaid anything to give
point to his speech. He declared the Dem
ocracy generation of vipers, and denoun-
ced them as unfit for association with Sum-
ner, Butler, Stevens, and the erudite Col
fax. This was putting the Democrats suf-
ficiently low down in the scale; but to see
the full force of the speech we must re-
member that Mr.. Wade had set up the ne
groes of Ohio to do the voting for the pro-
scribed Democracy. At length we have
the result of the issue. Mr.. Wade himself
is stricken down. and all his negro constit-
uency has gone down with him. What he
denounced for Others has fallen upon his
own devoted head. He and the negroes are
left out, and the Democracy come in
Sumner and Wade and Stevens and Ash
ley and Chandler and Butler have all gone
down together. What a precious brood
of martyrs the Radicals have cast into
the Republican graveyard. Now let the
humane and considerate Mr.. Holt, and the
kind hearted Stanton, give us funeral
eulogy. The former should be confined to
the character, services, and craftsmanship of
the virtuous and exalted Sumner, with
by-play reference to the conservative ma
ture of military over civil government,
the supremacy of Congress under Republi-
can rule, the gres nferio ity of the white
men, closing up with learned dissertation
showing that the rebellion has Just COM
menced. We are fond of light literature
ami really count on Brigadier-G General
Holt. Judge Advocate General of the Uni
ted States Army, to give US something won
derfully like himself in this matter. The
people are running gastray-absolutely run
ming astray. 1t will not be five years, at
their present rate of speed, before they
will come to the conclusion that trial by
jury, free press, and free speech and civ
il government are respectable and even es-
sential elements in our Democratic sys-
tenn. The Judge Advocate-General, who
is sort of cross between a lawyer and
general-not much of either-might easily
convince Congress that we are in a state of
war all this time, and it might be well for
Congress by special act to make it perpet-
usl. This would give ground for restoring
Mr.. Stanton and putting out the President.
War would 90 far to justify a total dis
regard of the Ohio elections, and we doubt
not Stanton might be induced to annul
them by clamation-appointing Wade
to his old place in the Senate. This kind
of work would be nothing new to Stanton,
who sent thousands of our people to prison,
and enabled his detectives to make some of
the most complete and profitable opera
tions or raids upon individuals inspired, of
course, by loyal regard for the great
Union cause, that has ever been performed
since the days of Latitte, the pirate. We
saw to the Republicans, you are never safe
separated from your leaders-and we bring
| the matter directly down to Stanton. You
down together. At all events let us hear
Stanton on Wade and Chandler and Ashley
and Baker, the detective, and Bakers book.
and how he kept in the War Department,
and how he came to write the veto of the
tenure of office bill..and then how he got
caught and went out of the Department.