The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-03-04
AN ELOQUENT SPEECH
By q Loyal Kentuckian.

The speech by OLIVER W. RooT,
Esq, of Newport, delivered before the
Kentucky Union State Convention, on
the 10th ult., was one of the most elo-
quent and manly of the addresses at
that meeting. We publish it as re-
ported in the Cincinnati Gazette:
Mr.. President, The day is about to
close up scene which will be remem-
bered as great in the history of Ken
lucky. The Union party, that sprung
out of the necessities of the rebellion,
still lives. It is moving forward in
moral triumph at the ballot box, equal
in power to the march of the Union
armies that moved upon the rebellion
along the whole line from the Poto-
mac. to the Rio Grand, and from
the Chesapeake Bay to the mountains
of Mexico. The principle upon
which our armies fought was, that the
loyal majority of the people of this
country should mold the destiny of
this country. The principle contend
ed for now is, that those who have
been subjugated by the arbitrament of
arms must yield obedience to the
power that mercifully permits to live
those who committed the greatest
crime that can be committed against
State.
The question was up here, the other
day, upon the anniversary of Wash
ington's birthday. 1t was proposed to
the great Democratic party-but not
that Democratic party that ruled the
Government for fifty years, under JEFF
ferson, and Madison, and Monroe,
and Jackson, and Van Buren,, but the
Democratic party as it now is
whether to have fought in the Union
army. was matter of honor or dis
honor2 1t was weighed in the bal
ance by the Convention here on that
anniversary, and decided that General
Frank Wolford, because lie fought for
the Union cause, could not receive the
nomination at the hands of that Con.
yentlon. (Applause) The Lieut..
Governor, gentleman toward whom
L feel personally kind, received the
nomination, because his utterances
were thought to have done as much
good for the so-called Southern Con-
federacy, as d. Howard Smith had done
for it in the field. His declarations to
the people were, that whenever the
troops of the United States landed
upon the soil of Virginia to enforce
the laws of the Federal Government
he would bare his righta arm, and die
upon the graves of his fathers. TIE
! Federal troops did march upon that
sacred soil. Did he die there?
! daughter The ghosts of his
fathers start from the earth to tell us
4 his body still lives and moves. The
time was when mains brains were
knocked out he died; but now he
rises to push us from our places, and
a loyal, live man like Frank Wolford
is pushed out of place by the man
who died upon the, graves of his
fathers. Laughter and cheers.
In this great revolution that i:
being accomplished in this country
we must make good the assertions
| that were spoken by our cannon ano
. uttered by the roar of our musketry
along the lines of 1,400 miles across
the co1ntry-we must make good the
assertions of those men who gave
their lives in. the defense of theil
, country. Triumph does not always
come at once. F'The mills of the
gods grind slowly but surely We
may not be successful this time, al
though ] believe we may be, on az.
count Of the detection In the oppo-