The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1868-03-06
The High Crime--The Real Crimi-
nails.

WERE the President as guilty as he |
IS guiltless, says the World, there are |
men at Washington gultier than he,
and greater crime is doing than any |
he is accused of. Impeachment is but
the blind of these greater criminals to
hide this greater crime. 1t behooves
the people of the United States to keep
their attention fastened on this great
crime-the crime of the Republican
party and the Rump Congress-the
crime of disunion. Every other crime
of theirs is less than this, or is adjuvant
to this the greatest of their crimes.
Their usurpation Of the powers of the
Executive; their usurpation of the
powers OF the Judiciary their attemp-
ted occupancy of the Executive chair
by the impeachment process; their
squanderings of the public treasure;
their wholesale frauds upou the reve-
nue.; their continuance of the whisky
tax at two dollars so as to get few
millions of money for carrying the No
vember elections by suffering the whis-
ky-thieves and the bribed revenue OFF,
GERS to plunder the people of fifty mil
lions their usurpation of the rights
of States to control the suff rage and
their prostitution Of the powers thus
usurped to abridge white suffrage and
confer the ballot by wholesale upon ig-
norant blacks these indeed are crimes,
but they are no less than, or tributary
to, their greater crime.
Four years of successful war they
| prostituted to party purposes. Three
years of complete peace they have
prostituted to party purposes. Disuni-
on still exists, despite successful war,
despite entire peace. Party ascendancy
is still their sole purpose, and their
| plan is to maintain 1t by negro suprem-
acy worked through military des-
potism over ten States. Grant has con-
sented to be their tool in working the
military despotism, but he is only the
General of the Armies of the United
States. A successful despotism Is not
assured unless they can control the
Commander-in-C Chief. Hence they i'm
peach the President who was the choice
of the people, to replace him by anoth
er who has been rejected by the people
Wade will be their plant tool. JOHN
son will not.
Disuniun prolonged to keep the Re-
publican party in power negro supre.
macy worked by Military Despotism
to keep the Republican party in power
after disunion becomes impossible
these are the high crimes of the Repub.
lican party, these the misdemeanors OF
the Rump. These high crimes and
misdemeanors of their own they now
seek to abet, yet draw attention from,
by their sensational impeachment OF
the President of the United States.
Their charges against President John
son are trash. 1t is scandalous effront-
cry to utter or to urge them. They de-
serve not the dignity of fiat denial. 1t
is an insult to the understanding ofany
man to demand their disproof. The
obstinate defender of the Constitution
they impugn as its violator. Their
Charges are trash, as their schemes are
| glass.
Not he is the criminal. They are the
traitors. The Rump Congress are usur-
pers and revolutionists. They band to-
gether and hoot their scandalous and
impudent lie in the face of the nation,
against the Chief Magistrate whose
crime for them has been that he has
upheld and obeyed the Supreme Law
that he has refused to conspire with
them in disobedience and disu nion, in
usurpation and treason.
Let the people keep their eyes on the
real traitors and the great crime. Let
them watch the genuine criminals as
they go through their solemn mockery
of impeaching him who refused his con-
sent to every step of their crime. Let
them fasten their gaze on the usurp ers,
the traitors the disunionists who make
Of this solemn procedure of an injured
nation the instrument of their ha te
against the steadfast upholder Of tn e
nations laws. Mark the revolutionists
Of the Rump as they insult the face Of
day with the pretence of a concern for
the laws which in their lands have
been nothing but the record of a party
caucus and the register of party plans
for the Constitution which is every
where rent with the trampling of their
brutal heels.
Let the sensation-sp ectacle of great
Impeachment so on. Let traitors be
the ministers of justice, let usurpers af-
feet regard for the divisions of power
in the structure they have undermined,
let rev0lutionists uphold the Ark of the
Covenant, let faithful Chief Magis-
trate stand in the dock and Chief JUS
tice preside who is ambitious of his
chair; let the amazing mockery go on,
but refuse to be deceived by the dis
guises OF their role. On citizens (!
and forget not for day the real crimi-
mails and their high crimes.