Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1867-06-13
american Liberty.


Lincolnism, was well understood by
every school-boy in the country, if
not in Europe But latterly il has
been rendered rather meaningless, and
fits across the mind like dream.
The Salem Mass. Statesman says;
at cannot be denied that in Ameri-
can society there is, at the present
time, daily growing Importance Of
liberty This feeling is not confined
TO either of the two great parties into
which the country is divided. 1t is a
marked feature of both. 1t is engen.
dered in the minds of some by the riot
and excess of party, by witnessing
the facilities with which the multi
tudes are led into iooliah and fanatcal
schemes, by designing dcmagogues,
by witnessing the powerlessness OF
written constitutions, Of old and es-
tablished usages and principles against
the philanthropic bigotry or madness
of the hour They see, as cultivated
and thoughtful persons cannot help
seeing, how foolishly comical and
hideously ugly are most Of the gods
whom men so ignorantly worship
They are shocked at the turbulence,
the abandon, the almost vulgarity Of
popular liberty and universal suffrage,
They see the corruption of general
elections; the corruption and coarse
ineiliciency Of public officials, and ask
whether II more despotic and arbitrary
govern ment would not remedy some
of these evils.
"These, however, are not the most
inhuential-though far the wiser class
among us with leanings towards
dcspotism. There is a set Of insane
philanthropists-of one-idea men-a
class with no faith in virtue, in man,
and little faith in God, bat with great
faith in their own fanatical theories,
who would iain subvert constitutions,
liberty, if by so doing they could only
carry into effect their own fanatical
notions. They mean well and talk
much of liberty and the rights of man,
but confound personal liberty with
political privilege, and would subvert
the former to gain the latter As a
rule, these men imagine themselves in
advance OF the age, and are impatient
at the slowness of the great mass of
men in reaching their conclusions.
Having no faith in individual virtue
as saving power, they have great
faith in general legislation. Hence
they favor strong government and
advocate coersive measures. BY this
class is our government, State and
national, at the present time, con
trolled Most assuredly, liberty has
most to fear from those Of her
own household. She is in danger
of being sacrificed at her own altars
Many OF the theories of the dominant
party may be true, but the leaders
fail to recognize that there are alsc
other things equally true. The truths
of the majority, however important
they have have no right to thrust
down the throats of the minority and
the moment they do so, they establish
what they pretend so much to hate
a despotsm Liberty is the greatest
social and political good. Despotisnl
is the greatest social and political
evil, and Of all despotisms, the des
potism of the majority is the worst
The despotism of anybody is better
than the despotism of everybody. i
is time the radicals should remember
their own maxim of the irrepressibiC
conflict, that this country cannot re
main half free and half slave. They
are governing large portion Of The
country by military rule. 1t is
dangerous as well as an expensive ex
pertinent. The principle of sclfgov
ernment-of American liberty-as es
tablished by our fathers, is proclaimed
by the dominant party to be a failure
in a large section of the country. !
il can only be saved by enfranchisinl
the most ignorant Of the population
then what are its chances in the res
of our dominions Z"