The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1868-10-02
Fort Smith Barhecue.

| w nave tTlnd NaIiFtuc, lhc sNlllr ~
Saturday last was'a miscrsl,le failure
Speaker. w5rcpEescht from Little Rock.
Helena and many other points through
out the State, but the enthusiasm was
confined 10 the colored troops, whose
appetite, were keen and whose apprccia-
ton of the roasted beef was remarkable
We learn that the speakers INDUCED iu
many originals and forciblc arguments
in order 20 convince the spcckled crowd
of the entire propriety Of decIing Grant
and Colfax; such as "rcbel. traitor"
''copperhead,' . '.sccesh," etc. These
arc perhaps entirely new weapons in the
logical annory of such creatures as
Brooks, Of Phillips, Kinds, IIadlcy, Rice
ct I'd onae genus They are, of course,
new 70 men who forget all their good in
stmcts and continually incline 10 evil.
Men whose damning records would crush
to earth deccncy and responsibility. II
should cause the check Of every decent
Radical to be mantlcd with the blush Of
shame to reflect upon the character of
men brought from aiar to cnlightcn the
party in the Northwest. There was
Brooks whose uncnviablc notoricty cain
ed 10y his cornfold adventure. finds,
the chambermaid hero. IIadley of no
worthy fame. . ... TIA.
Montgomery whose pallid cheeks were
uneefelnoniously slapped by an officer in
the army, on this trip \ beautiful SET of
statesmen, coming amongst us to enlighten
Us IN our duties to the country-to en-.
force the holy doctrine of fidelity TO the
Oonstitution-and TO impress upop Ms
the fact that the southern people are al.
together unfit for selfgoyermment and
that their hearts are desperately ,eicked
We learn that Congressman Kinds. was
terribly dcmoraIized, because the Couyen-
ton at Fort Smithrefused to counsnance
practical miscegenation by nominating
hlm for Congress, For this the Conven-
ton deserves credit FOR another thinc
they do not deserve credit. Boles show.
ed his mscuipulousness by drawing pay
from the peoples purse for two offices
during the same period of time and the
Convention endorsed this view of the
"whole duty of man. by rewardng him
with the nomination. Fleeing the peo-
pie is legitimateE within their line of bus.
mess while the disgusting conduct Of
Kinds is not peculiarly so. We presume
the grand fzzle, called a barbecue, was
the attcrpiece to the Convention-and
a laughable one it must have been. Some
white men, mostly from Crawford, and
some four or FIVE hundred negroes. most.
Iy from everywhere, composed the
crowd. The haranguc of CornGeld
Brooks was a regular pcr-ncendiarv
affair. Recalling bitter memories and SD
pealing to the worst passions of the ne
grocs Attrimting TO the leaders of the
South in 1860 many of the outrageous
and treasonaj,le declarations Of che 1,pat-
feat aboiftfonists OF the Wendell Phillips !
stripe. For instance he charged the
Southern leaders with duplicity in inn.
ploring the North to grant to the people
of the South equality under the Constitu-
tion of the United States that the Con.
stituton was all they desired, and as an
evidence ofthis duplicity they pronounc-
ed the Constitution a league with death
and covenant with hell" ANY one, not
Iamentaldy ignorant, well knows the au.
thor Of this blasphcmous declaration. III
is but one of the brood of mcendiary say.
ing Of an infatuated fragment of the once
respectable Republican party Speaking
to unedueated men, the cadaverous look
inc hero ofthc cornfcld might well charge
this upou~Southcrn men and hope for full
credence No doubt many of his audi
tors are fully convinced that the rebel
leaders are the men who had no respect
for the Federal Constitution. Such de-
chalmers never inform their audiences of
the marked similarity existing between
the Federal and former Confederate Con
stitutions The rejecting members of
the party were, no doubt, greatly chagrin
ed AT, the miserae failure. The entire
district can only get up II one horse bar.
beeue. These men represent the "prop.
erty Of the State"
a..