The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1869-02-12
The New seaator-HIs Opinions.


We give below some extracts from a
letter addressed by Mr.. CARPENTER to the
Milwaukee Nens in 1868, and published
in tLat paper of September 6, in that year.
The letter was called out by denial on its
part that Mr.. CARPENTER was then in
good faith acting for the good of the de-
mocracy of this state:
Mr.. EDITOR Returning from two
weeks absence, friend has called my at
tention to late number Of your paper, in
which | am denounced as "ienegade
| democrat of three years standing. When
you penned this courteous and argument
i've sentence you was either asserting what
you knew nothing about, or you knew the
statement was wholly untrue. You are
entitled to the more charitable alternative,
and | ask you to publish this reply:
| take democracy to be something more
than the occasional support of the ticket,
| to be democrat mao must believe the
things that make democrat, and steadily
labor to give his faith practical effect in
the administration of our national and
| rights of man and In this country has a.
| sober second thought of the people that
is always right, and in the record of this
sober second thong 10 the angry eff
fusions of the passing hour--we find our
| faith Who ever deserts this faith is a
renegade. But, by refusing to support a
particular ticket, one may be a renegade
or not, as the nomination represents or
misrepresents the principles Of the party !;
tor 1T is to principles, not men, that one
owes allegiance, X
2. AS to supporting party nominations.
| L never voted but once, except in Wiscon>
sin, and that was for Lucius b. Peck, reg
uiar democratic nominee for congress from
my native district. | came here in 1913,
and made my maiden speech in defence of
| Cass and the doctrines of his Nicholson
| etter. From that time till the assault up
on Fort Sumpter by armed treason, [ sup
ported every democratic nomination tor
| national or state office, with voice, vote,
and money, and to this hour | have never
supported or voted wing, free soil, repub
ican, fusion, union, or peoples ticket.
| When the rebellion came, L was willing TO
| follow the counsels Of Douglas, and bury
party till the country should be rescued
from danger. This would not have made
me renegade to party. You labor at
your editorial duties six days. observing
the Sabbath, you abstain from labor on the
seventh day, but you are not for that rea-
son renegade from your editorial charac-
ter on Sunday-you simply waive it for a
day. So during this var we coud have
| dropped party without being dereict to it.
But he republicans would not permit this.
In this congressional district they refused
to go INTO union convention but would
| and did have party convention and can
dldate. Ut course the co operation of
democrats was impossible The so>called
union and republican state convention of
1861 were so mmlngled-succeeding each
other with just enough change of scene to
give the necessary stage effect-that their
nominations could only be regarded as a
| successful party trick. A different line of
policy would have united all loyal men in
one organization. 1t is now too late. Par
ties NUT exist, and it becomes the duty of
democrats to do all in their power to keep
Their own party In harmony with its prin.
cples, loyal to the government, by whomso,
ever administered, to the end OF the war
These views, SO far as they relate to Mr.
CARPENTER principles, show that be
had little thought Of becoming a partisan
republican,