Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1867-09-27

that it might hetray and surrender them. II
ac6pted Of its governments nurture 30 that
it might fatally stab the breast from which
the nurture was drawn. 1t grasped the posi-
tions Of Ministers Of State so, that the power
these gave might insure them ability, at
blow, to destroy the State. They obtained elec-
ions to the Congress to the end that in the
Congress they might cut of from the nation
all means Of life. They took the oaths to sup
port the Constitution SO that they might get an
opportunity to destroy it; and in the nations
council chamber, where they swore 10 study
the nations safety, they literally invented
and sent out the plans Of its death. And when
gone from thence, they went to their thor>
oughly meditated work with the purposes and
impliments Of devastation and cruelty such as
no. trrason ever had hefore. gInfhe garb Of
friends, sers sgents went on ths boats Of
your lake hnd Ayers killed their defenceless
passengerpy and barned them up. In every
country n chrfstehdom, where they were per
mitcd they manned and fitted pirates which
lighted the seas with your burning commerce.
Their spies were concealed in your houses, to
murder your women and children with poison
and plague and torch and knife and pistol
They did more Of piracies, murders and assas-
sinations against your people than ever black
ened before the chronicles of savages' or ty-
rants wars. The very land was filled with
living skeletons-thc victims Of their refined
methods Of starvation, and near sixty thous
sand of the victims arc dead. Their noun
tains became pregnant with the hunted patri-
from their relentless fury to the bcfriend ng
darkness of dens aud caves. Their bu,cheries
when put together in one fearful aggregate,
count up three hundred thousand. But quit
the ghastly recital Men turn from the story
of this monster treason, this stupendous wick
edness, with new ideas of the poverty Of speach
and appalled, by the proximity to THE CRIME
OF HISTORY
And when such plan was complete and
known, and when the first horrid act in its
cxecutian had been already enacted then the
their allies at the North the promis that their
work of blood should be permitted to go unmo-
Tested to its fatal end. 1t was just then that
the conspirators demanded and received from
Buchanan, their President the promise that
t their treason should not be resisted because il
was not lawful 10 defend the nations life It
was just then that Mr.. Gox, in the Congress
Of the United States, in the name of the party
he represented and lead, soiemnly pledged to
the conspirators that majority Of the men Of
the North would fight the battles of these trail
tors on Northern ground, unless the No, til
would render justice to the South. 1t was at
this same time that this same party ne. in
State Convention in Ohio, and renewed this
pledge of Cox by sending TO the rebellion the
fond and formal greeting of 100000 Demo-
c.ats, along with the assurance that these POO
600 Democrats would not even consider the
propriety of resisting the nations murder
At the same awful crisis in our affairs, this
same party sent the resolutions Of the Legis-
lature of Indiana to these assassins, which de-
clared that ii any army went from Indiana to
defend the nation, that army must pass over
the dead bodies of these Democrats!
Such was the crimes beginning. How were
these words Of promise kept to the hope?
In what now recite expect from the mass
of this party the thousands who left it and
sustained their Government all through the
war. Excepting these, then, inquire where
are found the vast physical power and moral
forces Of the great Democratic party? In the
Congress, from the beginning, they, as party.
and with few exceptions, denounced the Gov
ernments efforts to save its life as unconsti-
tutional. They refused men and they refused
money for that defense. To raise armies they
declared was unconstitutional; to volunteer
was unconstitutional: TO draft was unconsti>
tutional, to issue bonds Was Unconstitutional:
legal tenders were unconstitutional; the call
for $4,000 men was unconstitutional; and so
was that for 100000. To comfscate rebel guns
and slaves taken in battle was unconslitu>
tional: to arrest traitors engaged in burning
the only roads for our armies to reach and
saw tAc OupltNl WIS UuCOHStItutlOHat. 10
suspend the writ by which traitor judges
sought to release rebel prisoners Of war was
unconstitutional. To levy taxes to sustain
the armies was unconstitutional. To march
our armies into revolted State to meet the
advancing armies of the rebellion was uncon-
stitutional. To feed or reinforce our soldiers
who garrisoned United States forts was un.
constitutional; and to assemble or defend the
Congress Of the nation was Unconstitutional.
This is no caricature, but an inadequate state
ment Of the position taken by members Of
Congress and by the press and leaders Of this
party towards this monster wickedness then
beginning the work Of the nstion's foul mur>
der. Taking their ideas and law and logic
from the speech Of John @. Brcckinridge made
Ia the U. s. Senate just before he assumed
command Of the rebel army, these Northern
Democrats could literally find nothing relat>
ing to the rebellion that was constitutional
except the rebellion itself.
Glance At . fact or two showing how COM |
ple.e was the union Of this party at the North |
with the rebellion, and how stnpendous the /
Scale was upon which that party organized to
do the work Of their Governments overthrow.
First take the fact that they deliberately
went to work, and for years continued to or
ganize, arm and drill the secret armies known