Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-09-15
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VOL. Xxx vi. .-...
y PRiNCEToN, Aug. 10, 1868

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| s,r.-,,,.;er PRINCETON, Aug. 10, 1868. ?
j The Democratic ratification meeting held
i here today was one of the largest that ever
tassembledin the county. The crowd and the
enthusiasm were immense. Under the gem
tlemanly conduct of the officers of the H.
and c. Railroad, on which road half fare
Tickets had been issued for the occasion, a
great many of the people of Evansville and
/ lother towns between that point and Prince
ton came up to the latter place; others came
Fin wagons from all parts of the district.
ibAltogether there were about nine thousand
tpresent. Mr.. George A. Green, Esq, of Vim
fcennes, acted as chairman of the meeting.
1nIthe forenoon, speeches were made by
| Hon. William E, Niblack, candidate for Con-
lgress from the First District, and Hon. Thos.
r. Cobb, of Vincennes.A f'N
An adjournment then followed, and at the
treassembling of the audience in the after
noon, it, was announced by the chairman
that the Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, =" the
\ next Governor of Indiana" had arrived,
and would address the meeting He was
I then introduced, and spoke as follows:t 2 Z
| MY FELLOw-CTTIzENs:1 I regret that am
/ in such poor condition that cannot expect
to be heard by all of this great crowd of
people to-day. Speaking to large assemblies
in the open air from day to day has very
much enfeebled my strength and impaired
my voice. But if you will give me your at
tention with such quiet as you may be able
| to preserve, will try to discuss some of the
| great questions that now attract our atten-
| tiOn; to discuss to you today what is called
| by the Radicals the " reconstruction policy"
of Congress. 1 wish to discuss also the
questions of taxation, and the financial af-
fairs of the country. These are weighty
and important questions.
| DEMAGoGICAL APPEALS. .-
| But before proceed to that part of my
argument, 1 will ask your attention briefly
while reply to some demagogical appeals
| that are made to the people by our oppon
ents, when they wish to avoid the great is
sues of the day; and the first that will
| call your attention. to is this proposition !;
| You are told here in Indiana, we are not in
| terested in the question of negro suffrage in
/ the South, and therefore it is not worth
while for you to trouble your heads about
| it. Do you think so? Do you think that
we are not interested in the question. of suf
rage wherever it is to be exercised in the
United States? Do you not know that on
! the second Tuesday in November the 800, 900
voters of Indiana, will go to the polls and
cast their ballot for President and Vice
| President and do you not know that on
\ that same day, in the Southern States, un-
| 100000 negroes will cast the same ballot for
President and Vice President2 1 do not
mean the same ballot that Indiana will cast
in regard to the men they want to elect, for
Indiana is going for Seymour and Blair,
| t(applause1 and these negroes are going right
the otker way this time Your ballot, your
white ballot in Indiana, will be covered by
| two and half colored ballots upon the
same subject; and yet you are told that
you are not interested in the question of
negro suffrage in the South.
WHAT THE WAR WAS FOR.
You are told also that soldiers should vote
as they fought. Now that is a beautiful eX-l
preston that they consider one of the smart
est things they say, and accept the PROPOSE
tion. / say the soldier should vote as he
fought; he should vote for that for which
he fought, If he fought for nothing, then
he should vote for nothing. Laughter. 1 If
he fought for something, let him vote for.
that something 1.-THE soldier, now that he
has returned home, feels that his mission in
the field was to fight for negro supremacy
over the white race, why, let him vote for
that.4 But if the retufnedzsoldier feels that
he fought for the Constitution. for the I'm
ion, for obedience to the law. for the main-
tenance of the Constitution of this country,
then let him vote to sustain that for which
he fought Do you recollect, my country
men, that in the month of July 1861 q week
after the terrible battle of Bull Run, Con-
gress passed a resolution declaring that the
war was carried on, not for the purpose of
breaking down States, but for the purpose
of preserving the Union and maintaining
the Constitution with all the dignity, rights
and equality Of the States unimpaired and
when that end was accomplished the war
must cease. That resolution was passed by
Congress almost unanimously-there were
but two dissenting votes-that the war was
to maintain the Union with all the rights,
dignity and equality of the several States
unimpaired, and that became written upon
the banner that went in front of the regi-
ment; that was the sentiment that was
heard at the mouth of the cannon upon
every battlefield that was the sentiment
that was ratified along the line in the mus
kerry upon every ybattle-field-the Constitu-
ton, the Union, with all the rights, dignity
and equality of the States unimpaired.
What glorious cause / How grand that
the soldiers should come out into the field
and fight to maintain that Union and pre-
serve that Constitution that the grand men
of the Revolution made and established for
us !! They came out in the cause of the
nations greatness, unity and power.
That was grand cause. No grander BAN
ner ever floated out in the air But when
you descend from that and say that the SOL
dieIs fought not for this-noJ for States with
rights unimpaired, not for the Constitution,
with all of its provisions, but that the SOL
diers fought this five years of bloody strife
to set the negro, over and above the white
man, you do fall low indeed. Is that the
cause in which you soldiers fought F? Choose.
then, soldier, where you go. The Democrats
say this Union was preserved in the war,
with all the rights, dignity and equality of
the States unimpaired, and that no political
policy shall be established in this country
which shall break up this Union or make
Union of unequal States. How do you
stand, my soldier friend, upon that great
issue2 -- v- -. e.--s-.f =
i RESTORING REBELS TO POWER.
The next ad captanduns argument that is
made to the people-not to their Judgment,
not to reason-is this: that the Democrats
wish to restore !" red-banded rebels to
power. That is the next appeal that is made
to you. After we show to you that.we are
right upon the subject of finance, that we
are right upon the subject of taxation, that
we are right upon the subject of bonds, that
we are right upon the subject of National
banks, and you approve it all, some fellow
says: What right have they to talk; these
democrats wish to restore red-handed rebels
10 power" and they think they have ans
wered the whole argument by saying that
Even upon that they are wrong, they are
false. What rebel has any Democrat re-
stored to political power? -...
In 1862 a law was passed by Congress that
no man should take seat in Congress, or
hold any office under the Government of the
United States, who had any connection with
the rebellion. And that is the law to day.
Who has departed from that2 Who has
proposed to depart from that But they
say that we have departed from it in the
New York Convention; that we allowed
Wade Hampton and Forrest to come into
that Convention. don't wish to deny that.
am glad they were there [Applause,]
Wade Hampton fought through the rebel
lion like a brave man, gentleman and
soldier, and respected him. Forrest was a
bold commander, but l will tell you why
they are particularly mad at Forrest. They