Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-08-25
Address Of the Republican
Conversational Conn mtttee.

!AuOEGSS VI tAC ENOksuDAANuAs
Congressional Committee.
TO the Republicans Of the United
States: The Executive and Legisla-
tive Departments of the National
Government and two-thirds of the
State Governments have been COM
mitted to your keeping. Such power
carries with it grave responsibilities.
The people, as is their right, will
hold you to strict Accountability for
the exercise of this great trust. Elec-
tons are soon to be held for the
National House Of Representatives.
These elections will determine the
political complexion of the popular
branch of Congress. They will, too,
determine the political character OF
several State Governments. And
these results will be accepted as the
verdict of the people upon the ideas,
principles and policies Of the Repub-
lican party, and upon the measures
and character of the National Admin
istration. To these responsibilities,
and to the gravity of these issues,
your thoughtful consideration is
invoked.
In the present juncture it behooves
the Republican party not to forget
its origin, nor its history. Amid the
difficulties that beset it, and the re-
sponsibilities and labor, which the
needs of the country in the new and
untried condition of affairs imposes,
it should remember that it was born
of the nations necessities, and thus
far it has grandly met the exigencies
for which it was formed. Having
passed triumphantly through three
great eras of its history, it is now
summoned to enter upon its fourth.
Gathering, therefore, inspiration from
past successes, it should grapple
hopefully and with unshrinking con-
fidence with the duties of the present
and near future.
Recurring to their origin, Republi.
cans will remember, when the land
was the theater of stern and ire
pressible conflict between the demons
of Slavery and caste and the spirit OF
liberty and equality, when the slave
power held great interests and pow
erful organizations in its grasp and
ruled the nation with imperial sway,
that the founders of the party in.
structed by passing events, with con.
victions deepened and zeal quickened
by the teachings Of history and OF
holy writ and inspired by the death
less words of the patriots, statesmen,
and heroes Of our earlier time, rose
tothe exigencies of the hour, opposed
the naughty ambitions, the madden
ing passions, the cruel prejudicies,
and the disorganizing theories of the
dominating majority, and, although
long overborne by numbers, still
struggled on amid jeers, insults,
mobs, blows, and assassinations, till
under the lead Of Abraham Lincoln
they achieved success and grasped
the scepter of political power.
Entering upon its second era, APP
palling responsibilities at once arose.
The slave masters, in the pride and
arrogance of power, instantly plunged
the nation into the fire and blood OF
civil war. But the Republican party
rose with the crisis. 1t raised money
In unstinted measure, organized vast
armies, created powerful navies,
fought bloody battles, crushed the
most gigantic rebellion of all record
ed history, and saved nations life.
1t was then, amid the clash Of arms,
that the Republican party saw that
Slavery was the relentless and un-
appeasable foe of the country, was
the Inspiration, the heart and soul Of
that civil war, and that its death
would be the humiliation Of the
Rebellion, the unity Of the Republic,
and the development Of free institu-
tons. Against cowardly fears, selfish
instincts, and unreasoning passions
and preudices, it pronounced the
doom Of that hideous and horrid
system Of human bondage, though it
was upheld by the aggregated inter-
ests Of three thousand millions of
dollars, hedged about by the accumu-
lated passions and prejudices, prides
and ambitions Of seven generations,