Columbia democrat and star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1867, 1867-01-02


The following article which we take from
the Selinsgrove Times applies to this locality
as well, probably, as the one for which it
was intended There was very little differ
ence in the clergy throughout the whole
North during the war they were intensely
loyal and of course were given to calling
hard names. We direct their special atten-
ton to this article:
1--WE have been told that several weeks
ago one of our blood and thunder war clergy
preached,a sermon in which he deprecated
the bad practice of people calling one another
bad names, such as "abolitioaist" and cop
perhcad." Such advice is entirely too late
and useless now. He cannot intend to do
any good thereby, and can only mean to at
tempt to put himself right on the record
without regard to time. Why did he not
give this advice four and FIVE years ago, at a
time when there was a necessity for it and
when it might have done some good among
such lot of human brutes as we had here 2
To our own knowledge we do not know that
a single clergyman now residing here did
at any time during the war say one word, in
or out of the pulpit, either against the using
of bad names or the brutal and outrageous
practice of mobbing Democrats and destroy
ing Democratic printing Offices On the
contrary it is true beyond doubt that they
all endorsed these acts and, for all we know,
privately instigated them. Their very 81
lence convicts them of guilt in this particu
lar, and it is sheer nonsense for any Of them
now to try to whitewash themselves and
pretend to be the conservators of peace and
good will or even decency How true it is
we viii not pretend to say, but we know the
charge had been boldly made that this same
clergyman at that time expressed fendish
desire to haveall the ''sympathizers" in one
building and that he would ike to have the
pleasure of applying the torch. By sym
pathizers" every one knows who were meant
1t meant the honest and outspoken Dem
ocrats-those who had principle, honor and
enough sense of justice to protest and op-
pose the most unjust and the most damna-
bic war that was ever waged against any peo-
pie in any age or in any country since crea-
tons dawn. We have lively recollection
of a senseless mob that essayed to capture
this Office and dictate terms upon which we
might publish paper and conditions by
which we might live. In the crowd we saw
several clergymen-and if our memory does
not most egregiously deceive US, among
them was the individual above referred to-
Not word had these men to say. They
were among and in the very midst of the
rabble, and they put US more in mind of
wolves in sleeps clothing in search of blood
than the apostles of God dressed in the ha-
biliments of innocence, peace and purity
One of these men prided himself in being
fighting christian and himself in favor of
'war to the DEATH" Another called it
"holy war" From the lips Of such men
any sort of advice comes with bad grace,
for their blood and thunder preaching has
not yet been forgotten When the time and
occasion was here they refused to exercise
their influence in favor of either peace in
the land or good viii among neighbors
Just now there is no occasion for their SER
vices in this direction. The war is over and
bad names are not much used any more
except, perhaps, in the private circles of
Radicals"