The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-08-01
The Revolutionary Stuge-The Factions and
the People.

the People.
Hard as it is to make war, it is harder to
make peace; and the difficulties that confront
a nation when it is called upon to assert its
honor or defend its life, to raise money, organ
ize armies and find generals, are insignificant
by comparison with those it finds in its way
when it tries to settle conditions for restoring
the proper balance of society. This is the ex-
perience Of all ages. See how grandly Greece
made war and pushed her successes in it till
the most gigantic contemporary realm was be-
meath her feet; and before she could make
peace she was beneath the feet of others
Rome had the same history, for the leaders of
faction always endeavored to make peace in
accordance with their own extreme views and
this made every peace the cause of new war,
till Rome fell exhausted. But little of the
honor that is in every chapter of the French
revolution is due to the accomplishment of the
legitimate objects of that great struggle; for
the monarchy was cast down, the foundation
of the republic laid and its united enemies
beaten without appalling excuses; but these
resulted from the effort to make peace, the
attempt to reorganize society-always in ac-
cordance with the political views of this or
that faction. In the history of the great rebel
lion in England we see the same fact. The ma
ton put down tyrant with comparative ease !;
but the trouble came when the question arose
which of the factions should control in the
new system. In all these revolutionary crises
the real danger to people and government
begins after the people and the government
have secured their real triumph; for then
comes the hour of faction and the struggle in
which the popular perception of right and
wrong is confused and lost in vile scramble
for power and Office between selfish pre-
tenders.
And this is our danger now. We stand
between the factions. On one hand we have
the radicals, guilty of every crime that can
stain the history of q party; guilty Of the
meanest chicanery in calling the national vic
tory theirs and perverting il to their party
purposes; guilty Of outraging humanity Itself
in the disorganization of Southern society and
Of the most diabolical hypocrisy in pretending
that their use of the negro Is for the sake Of
equal rights; guilty of indescribable dis
honesty in violating that great pledge Of the
nation that the war was not waged against the
integrity Of the States and was only to secure
the Union. Such Is one factions party
whose morality, moderation and purpose are
Htly typifed by such exemplars as Butler,
Stevens and Sumner IL would be a stolid.
servile and broken down people among whom
q party in such hands would not awaken
reaction. Reaction, therefore, is earnest, and
the people repudiate the pretence of these
leaders to settle the future peace Of the nation
in accordance with the extreme views their
diseased intellects take Of our position. Blu,
whittier will the reaction carry us2 Into the
hands Of faction equally to be feared; into
the hands Of the democrats, who promise By
authority to reopen the questions that begar
the wG-to unssttle what ives settled b. Ii,