Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1870-08-31
THE DEMOCRATS AND THE GERMANS.

unjust and impolitc was the hasty, pas
sionate sympathy of that party with the
heartless and weak-minded despot who
now holds over the French people an un-
principled rulers rod-a rod obtained by
fraud and crime.
The Democrats of the South, especially,
have been bold and prompt to manifest
such sympathy. They thought that Ma
poleon's dreams of conquest would be
speedily realized, and saw in their pictures
of this heartless war only brilliant victories
and new glories for the tricolor of Napo-
leon. The German nation and the Ger
man citizens of this country, in the late
rebellion, gave their sympathies and their
strong arms and stout hearts to the cause
of their adopted land. For this they, of
course, incurred forever the hatred of the
proud Southrons, who will never forget or
forgive the men who humbled their power
and pride. When this war was forced up
on the German nation by the intrigues and
ambition of Napoleon, the Democratic par
ty of this country saw an opportunity to
wreak vengeance upon the Dutch who
had helped fill the Yankee army and rob
us of our independence" Without stop
ping for one moment to consider the issues
involved, and disregarding wholly the feel
ings of our German citizens, the Demo
cratic press assailed with vigor and bitter
ness "A people whose only otfense was TO
rise up in their majesty and power to de-
fend their own homes and the honor of
their fatherland.
There were different influences in the
different sections of the country to
induce the Democracy to this course.
In the South the main reason was the
hatred of its weather. classes provoked by
the loyalty of the Germans to their govern
ment during the rebellion. Mixed with
this, was the contempt of false and weak
aristocracy for the genuine worth of the
industrious, frugal and prosperous Ger
man.
In the North the immense Irish vote al
ways solid and certain for the Democratic
party, impelled by its religious sympathies
was passionate and administrative in its
sympathies for France. In their zeal to pam
der to the prejudices of this element the
Democratic press ignored the principles
| involved in the war and made a heartless
| and unjust war upon the German people
and their leaders.
| If there is one sentiment above all others
dearer to every German it is his undying
affection and passion for fatherland. They
| lltNp tDllt W llilN me
| thousands ever since its glorious institu-
! tons became fully known. They have
come here to enjoy personal privileges
| which they could not have over the sea
and 10 improve the grand opportunities for
accommodating wealth and attaining To po-
| sitiOns OF honor and trust which this coun-
| try offers to the honest and industrious of
every cline. They have by their labor
| and integrity added more to the wealth and
| frln Of ham the nppnla pf
other one foreign nation. They have pop-
| utaled the vast plaiHS of the west and dot
| ted them with thriving villages and grow
| ing cities. They have cultivated our waste
places and made them bloom and yield
| the fruits of the harvest. They have en-
Outraged and sustained our schools, and
| built up our religious associations. They
have in thousand ways enriched and
protected our homes, and in the dark hour
| of our nations trial they stood a. heroical-
| ly and untalteringly by the flag they had
| sworn to support as any of our own faith
| full Americans.
While they have done all this in their
| new homes, they have never forgotten the
associations and the dear ones they left i'm
| Fatherland. 1t j. the home of their child
| hood, and its flag yet shields and claims
allegiance from thousands bound to them
by ties Of blood, of religion, and patriot
| ism. The cause of Germany is their cause.
| The honor Of Germany is a. dear TO them
! as to those marching shoulder to shoulder
| in her victorious armies. They rejoice
over her victories, and would mourn at
her reverses. They have hearts to feel in
suits and taunts flung at her rulers and
glorious cause, and particularly now when
the fate of their friends and the honor Of
their own Germany trembles i'm the bal
ance-hangs upon the uncertainties of
war-they appreciate the sympathy Of
friends as keenly as they feel the taunts
and Civilizations of their enemies.
| II IL natural, therefore, that they should
know who are their friends and mark their
enemies. This division Is, with but few
exceptions, marked by political lines. We
| need not designate upon which side the
Democrats of Tennessee are found Their
| record is fixed. We have no desire to drag
into the political arena i'm this country the
issues OF the war between France and Ger
many, but we cannot avoid it il we would
! The Democracy have chosen 10 press the
issue, and we are not now surprised to find
they already see their great mistake. The
| Press and Hcrdid has boosted that its poli-
| cy in newspaper management il to "drift
! along" But even its sympathes cannot
/ be mistaken, and the great work of the
coming months will be TO explain away
the record its party has made. mhe men
who, in their haste, insulted the Dutch, "
thinking only of French victories. are
now the men cultivating - the Germans.
/ The Republican Marty has iu "A thousaud