Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-09-17
To MY Soldier Friends.

/ want to say word to my fellow SOL
diers, and that briefly. hope none of
them, who fought as long as did to fight
the South out of the Union and the Negro
in, will not join to continue the aoar. find
now and then men who get terribly afraid
the rebels will do some mischief; any men,
ton of the name sets them crazy. Now,
for the most part these fellows generally
charged the wrong way when they were
turned out of the no spitals and sent to the
front, and they remind me OF. little boy
and girl once knew. The little fellow
had killed a garter snake. and having
''bruised the serpent's head" he proposed
to leave. The little sister protested. and
wanted bub to hit the snake again. why,
he's dead, sissy" said he. mo, he isn't
see his tail wiggle-hit him again; kill
him deader." just the way with some fell
lows who brim over with courage and pat
riotism now, and want to continue the war
Let US not forget how studiously all pa
pers that gave anti-Radical views of the
war were excluded from the front, and got
bravely over the prejudices then instilled
into our minds. This is the only way we
can judge how to act now.
ALI bombastic illusions to rebels are
used now for the mere purpose of appeal
ing to old prejudices. We finished the reb-
els when we thought we did the war and
had those extra-loyal gentlemen who have
so long kept up hub-bub, been as aoell
finished, we should have had peace long
ago.
The question now is, how to pay off the
National debt At the rate of paying since
the war it will take thousand years. Can
it ever be done while the debt is kept fund
ed and all the gold produced in the West
spent to pay the hundred millions OF an
nual interest upon it? Would it not be
better to issue just enough greenbacks to
buy up all the bonds, cease paying interest
on bonds, and apply the hundred millions
to the payment. of the debt? Isn't the
Governments " promise to pay" as good as
that of any set of men who compose Ma
tional Bank? Isn't a greenback dollar
worth as much as National Bank dollar
Then why continue to pay gold interest
on the bonds on which the National
currency rests, and greenback interest to
the banker? In word, are you in favor
of the Republican idea of letting the debt
wag on as it is, or of the Democratic idea
of converting it all into a legal tender
issue, and taxing it in the hands of capital
lists? Don't get the idea that changing
bonds for. greenbacks is "repudiation," for
it isn't-not more than your taking up an
old note and giving an acceptable new one
is reputation of your individual debt
That's one question for us to decide.
Next comes the Suffrage question. When
we were in the army, we saw the Negro
pretty much as he is-neither bright in skin
or intellect. Now if we believe that we
can't get along here in Ohio without the
aid of a few more thousand Negroes to
compete with us in the labor market, then
we ought to offer the premium of suffrage
to Negro emigrants from the South.
They have (as. L think) the mistaken idea
that their peculiar friends are in the North,
and if we make voters of them we shall
have no end to their coming, nor to their
arrogance when here. Nobody puts on
'airs" so naturally as a negro. Having
had nothing to wear" in Africa but that
kind of garb, they instinctively take to
''airs" and bright colors here. Shall we in
vlte them up by our vote to crowd our
young men out West or into every menial
competition? That is another question for
us to decide.
Parties, being long in power, become
naturally corrupt and extravagant. Admit
that some Democrats are bad men; admit
that some of them have made the Demo-
cratic party appear TO occupy wrong po-
sition, as they stand pledged to-day to in
augurate rigid system of economy in
State and national affairs, if they succeed
to power, had we not better well consider
whether it would not be better to give
them a short trial? That is another ques-
ton.
Don't let any man beat himself with the
prejudices, nor let his bigoted neighbors
pooh-pooh him into an i'll and hasty con-
clusion. Hear all sides, then decide.
Politician.