The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-07-03


| victory on tented fields
The war fought with bullets Is ended; but "
are now on the eve Of the final battle Of the re
bsllion which Is to be fought with ballots
Rights Of victory remain after victory Is achiev
Cd, else an army would never b disarmed. Il
secure those rights is the object ard aim Of tn
party Of men lei by Ulysses s. Grant We Cal
not AK Of the country's enemies indemnity 70
the past. Where shall we begin' Soldiers
can anything else than q saved, secure and per
msnent Republic indemnify you for your peril
and lAbors, Shall We talk Of reuarding thu
widowed mother for her loss by less than thai
| for which her household became vseantf In
demnity We never can have. but the great Re-
publican party demand security for the future
and the people demand il, well knowing that I
security comes, II the country Is 10 be saved, u
cAs never be by delivering il over into the hands
Of thos who for Ave years sought to destroy II.
What soldier doubts which flag to follow, OF
where his standards are placed in this final
strife, We have always thought that he was
no true man whose moral and political con-
vlctions Of right were not founded upon
something more permanent than changeabl,
winds and tides. We have indeed been poor in
patriotism and pride, II we have fought q
bloody war to the lame conclusion Of mer,
trial and verdict Of strength-poor indeed, II
out Of the crucible Of our sorrovs, we gather thu
same dross which the Gre ought to have con-
sumed. Nations are not born perfect, and ours
was no exception to the rule. The fact that in
ternicine war has existed Is proof that there
were discoriant elements which must be laid
and we cannot comprehend that statesmanshiI
that scatters the fruits Of hard-earned victory
and seeks to restore only the old order Of things
nothing learned, nothing gained, and no I'D.
vancement made in the great problem Of human
rights and privileges. We have fought to vic.
tory with the hesven-inspircd notices upon oul
banners-Equal rights to all men, and to oil {
fair chance in the race Of life; and although
some may fall out by the way, the people Of
this land viii not falter in the march to obtain
rposc from their long unrest and secure q last
ing peace These principles represent the SOW
ercign will Of the people, that people who could
suffer all things. could endure all things, could
believe all things. only this they could not be
Ieve and could not endure, that Freedom should
perish from the earth. They represent the
sovereign authority Of the country, and 30
long as we shall keep that authority untaintcd
by the blush Of treason, untarnished by the breath
Of di,loyalty, the sanctuary Of liberty and the
secret temple consscrsted to our common faith.
wherever the chosen race and the sons Of the
Republic worship Freedom, they viii turn their
faccs toward US.
We will vote as we fought, whether on the
battlefield. or struggling here to keep down
anarchy and treason at home, and send aid and
comfort to the boys in blue.
Pellow-ctirens, IL you doubt as TO yourcourse
in this campaign, recall to your minds the Re
publican principles Of the brave who once made
the Joy and pride Of your homes-the dead who
have never ehangcd. Citizen soldiers! Beat
the reyeille once more Sound the bugleas in
the old time Like the archangcl's trump, let II
reach the far-off graves by the mountain and
the river and the sea. Ride down along the line
and there scan the old remembered faces Of
the comrades Of your tents, as they stand In
grim review. With the garlsnds unwithercd
that you laid upon their graves 50 recently will
you tell them that they died in vain win you
look into the caverns Of those eyes, and tell them
that the States rights party, whose pernicious
teachings made this war, and who were In great
measure timid. wrong, unpatriotc, and inclined
To desert them during its BLACKLIST, hardest,
fsrcest, most glorious agony, are all right to
day, and that you and the dead are all wrong
Win you with one hand cover their graves with
flowers, and by ballot in the other against their
old leader, abandon for them and yourselves all
your part In the grand inal achievement, a. Dc
mocrscy has done, and tell them that the ovation
we paid them was little melodrama that we
Thought proper to play, Or. dear gallant men
OF Maine brothers In heart and arms will
You Rot bring back the old smile on the
proud. III, pale, and the dying lips, and shout
Victory in their ears. Aye! Victory! For what
can defeat usi We have all the triumphant
principles. and by the grace Of the guardian an
gels of the Lord we hold by tics Of steel the only
men who can sweep the great, strong, warm,
honest, patriotic heart Of the American people
from the sea westward 10 the mountains, and
ffom the mountains still westward to the sea.
wherever the incorrurtible Sherman marched,
wherever Thomas resisted. wherever Sheridan
swept like the thunlerbolt Of Col, wherever the
Grand Ulysses Of the war de6ed, there, citizens
of Maine. you have buried in the soil your host
ages-the dear light and joy Of our orphaned,
widowed, childless homes, pledges Of mistaken
fidelity to the PRINCIPLES Of real democracy, the
equal rights Of mankind.