Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1868-10-16

QenVeteo Dy yechuJtetSohaA, ~ Laieyetse,
Indiana:
/ come here for still another purpose.
II was not TO make political speech. II
10 unnecessary. You know right well, as
you read the newspapers, what my opin- |
Ions are on the great questions of tho day. |
have felt that self.respect and propriety
forbid my eftefing the political arena, TO
analyke, discuss and criticiae the principles
and policy Of those arrayed against us
l will not deny that l have longed thus TO
speak In this campaign, but Ihave felt that
when persons are selected for the two
Highest offices in the nation, as they are
indeed the highest In the world, that a
sense Of proprietY Should restrain them
from bitter or personal attacks or critl-
cismh on the position and character Of op.
posing candidates Whatever, therefore,
others may do, must be faithful to my
own conyictioNs, and avoid such course.
In regard to the principles, policy, plat
form and letters-or the Democratic candi-
date and party, my lira are sealed.
But there is!one subject on which my
lips are not, and never can be, sealed, until
they are sealed in death, and that is the
glorious record made by this noble, pat
riotic Republican party. That record will
stand forever, written In letters OF living
truth and light on the most brilliant pages
Of our country's history. OF this record
can feel and say as you can, let .posterity
read this, and let posterity judge. Oh,
what record II is When this country
was raoked TO Its very centre, by the shock
Of contending armies; when the degener-
ate sons Of the country raised their re-
bellious hands against our flag; when
men proved themselves unworthy of their
birth, and sought to trample In the dust
that banner OF beauty and glory; when
they sought 20 make Il the winding sheet
of the worlds hopes-there was one party
among whose numbers not single man
was unfaithful to the Constitution and flag,
and that was the Republican party.
Where, ask, would have been the coun-
try to-day If there had been no Republl-
can partyH You would not have had
country left TO bo proud of Our country
lives, because we dared to stand up and
say the last man and the last dollar shall
20, IL necessary, TO put down this internal
conspiracy. We knew this war would
build up a large public debt, and we knew
that tax laws must be passed to pay 1t.
We knew these things were unpopular
but we said this is necessary for the saliva
tion of our dear land, and must he done.
Your Representative and / said If IL drives
us into private life we will vote for these
tax bills, for only by these can our banner
be kept flying in the field.
l don't speak to-day to gain votes II
would be unnecessary, If / was disposed
to do 30. The result of the election is
Just as certain as If the votes were al
ready counted out in November. Great
applause. When tho time came, In the
progress Of the war, that conscription was
necessary, we knew how unpopular Il
draft must be; but our soldiers were
dying from sickness in hospitals, and
being shot down by rebel bullets and we
found this was the only way TO keep our
ranks full. We had but one motive, and |
that was TO save our country and your |
Representative and said that though the |
act drive us into private life, our vote |
shall be recorded in favor of any and |
every law necessary to crush the rebellion. |
We took the responsibility and the coun- |
try was saved, and you rejoice over that |
salvation to-day and do not regret that the
essential means were used. We had to
levy internal taxes TO pay the public debt,
but we are reducing the taxes every year,
and they will be further reduced every
year, until we will tax luxuries and inn
ported articles only. The time will soon
come when this will be sufficient to meet
the wants Of the Government.
That is not all, but IL is enough TO
crown with eternal glory and honor those
who dared to stand In the gap; to risk all
for the salvation of the country. But that
is not all. Oh, no. Let us look still fur
ther at the record of this party. You
know how, for years and years, we hid our
faces in shame because of that
greatest Of all disgraces, American
slavery. When that institution, the sum
of all villainies, had plunged the country
into a terrible civil war, after three years
of forbearance, Mr. Lincoln issued his
proclamation declaring If the Southern
people continued to murder Union sol
diers hundred days more, he would |
strike the institution with the battle AK of |
the war power, and shatter II from turret |
TO foundation stone. We stood by him |
unswervingly in that exciting contest Do
you not remember how faithfully every
one of you Republicans stood by our no
BILE and martyred standard-bearer Do
you not remember how we were de-
nounced for il, and had invective and
calumny hcaped upon us without stint
how we were called fanatics and negro
worshipers, and accused of making war
to free the negroes, and not To save the
Unionf In Congress, on the stump,
through the press, our enemies
endeavored TO overwhelm us
with the torrent of calumny.
But, inspired by the same devotion TO lib.
srty and Union which inspired our fathers
in the Revolution, you persevered, un.
awed, unchecked by the tempest of in
vective that ragged around you upon every
side at last you triumphed. You blotted |
out the stain from the national escutcheon,
and, at last, you could stand up in the |
great Republic and proclaim, from the |
hundred harbors of Maine to that far-dis |
tant Pacific State whose foam is amber |
and whose sand is gold, throughout the |
domain of this vast Republic, that there |
was not single man who could stand up |
and call himself master, nor call another |
man his slave.
This, fellow Republicans, was your |
work, and of this you should be proud, as
one of the noblestj legacies you can trans
init to your children. In this great act of
justice and liberty you have been honored
by the world, and / sincerely believe APP
proved by Almighty God. Where are
the men now who pointed the finger of
scorn at you, and who filed their morths
with revilings at you because you dared
TO strike at slaveryS Not tongue of
these men dare to wag now; they are as
silent as the tomb, every one of them.
You and shall pass away, but what we
have accomplished shall live in all future
history, and brighten under the eyes of
posterity. As age af(er age rolls away,
your children's children will rise up 70
call you blessed, because, in1he midst of
civil war, you dared to strike down this
cursed institution Of slavery; because,
despite the ISLANDERS that were heaped
upon you, you banished slavery forever
nom this fair Republic of ours.
Do you wonder that my heart throbs
with unutterable pleasure when think of
this, our glorious work But we have
sun another honor in connection with
this work. We had a noble President,
faithful TO duty, faithful to the country,
mitnful 70 the Constitution, and faithful
against the rebellion. You well remem-
Der how all the elements of party bitter
ness were let loose upon him; how Sian
DER and abuse and calumny were heaped
upon him and finally hoxv 10 fatI ,,iarco1