The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1871-07-04

wish 10 have few words of friendly
counsel with the:young men WHO have
conc of age since the delirium5 of war
swept over eur land in 1861 Young
men, 4 @rcaf res fousi riiity is upon you s
!asa little While your fathers will pass
aw:iy,. and tie Guardianship p -of Liberty
will be yours Then prepare to perform
your duty by studying well the grave
questions of the day. Many of you
were boys from eleven to fifteen years
of age when tic great confederate war
began, ahid a,fthatyou heard then, and
much that yoh have heard since, has
been calculated 10 impress upon your
minds the idea that the federal govern
mcEt-the Union as we love to call it
was Older than the States-7in fact was
the creator Of the States. The contra
lry is true, The States had an indcpcn-
dent, sovereign existence before the Tn
:on WIS formed. Indeed, the very word
union signifies the combination or con-
| federation Of what before existed scpa,
rately. The States were Independent
governments. They agreed to form q
united or general government for GER
tain purposes which they specified in a
written constitution They, the States
conferred upon the Union, in writing
certain powers of a general character to
he used for the general benefit of The
| 1Tlf nd f,,r hn I
And all political powers not thus dele
gated, were retained by the States or
the people. The States form the bul..
wark of the liberty of the citizen. 1t is
Tie State court which vindicates you,
when your rights have been violated 10y
a neighbor 1t is the federal court which
drags you to Cincinnati or Cleveland if
4 tax spy charges you with having vio
lated the excise law When you marry
it is under the laws of your State; and
when you are blessed with children they
are educated under State laws. The
States preserved tile Union. despite all
the blundcrs of the federal administra-
ton Had this been a centralized gov
ernment it would have been rent asun-
der as by the shock of an earthquake,
and two distinct nationalities wonld
have been formed Whence came the
soldiers who fought our battles?-
From the States BY whom were they
organized and differed? BY the States.
When panic reigned at Washington,
whence came the high words Of hope
and courage, TO reman those who were
about to abandon the capital Of the
Republic? From the States. Had there
been no States then, we would have no
country worthy of being called a coun-
try now. 1t was the existence of the
States, the vitality of the States, the in
dependence of the States: which saved
us from the horrible calamity which has
afflicted France anarchy to be followed
by despotism.
My brave young friends, this country
is your hcritage-protecti IFS institutions
for they alone stand between you and
serfdom. Mr.. Sumner promises you an
Imperial Republic, which means an I'M
pelial Empire. To create an empire out
of free States, is to make slaves out of
freemen. Are your wrists ready for the
manacles Arc you ready to cover in
the dust like whipped spaniels and call
: some nan on horseback mas teri
Grant and the bad men around him
intend to subvert your liberties! AL
ready he has sent armed columns Of
regular troops to New York and Phila-
delphia to interfere in the elections
AT his own request he has been, clothed
: with greater power than is possessed by
the Queen of England or the Emperor
of Germany. Athis mere will he can
close your courts, proclaim martial law,
+, suspend the writ of habeas corpus and
take possession of the ballot box. Du
ring the late session of Congress a bill
: nearly passed, authorizing the President
TO call out volunteers. Volunteers for
what Peace dwells everywhere. Why
then authorize the President to call for
volunteers? To arm one portion of the
people against the other. BY the mad
stupidity of party to smother patriotism
and with the hands of freemen strangle
liberty,
You say, Grant achieved great vic
tories" SO he did, and l would not
dim one Ray of glory won for him by
the courage of our soldiers. Grant is
t brave" So was Cesar. "Grant is sim
F., pie in his manners" The tyrant Ca
ligula gained his name by wearing the
coarse shoes of his private soldiers, and
Tiberius and Nero were regarded as the
friends of the people, until they got
astride the shoulders of Rome, when
the Devil who was concealed in their
! hearts, unmaskcd his deformity.
I, Young men, arouse to duty. Your
liberties are in peril! Morton and But
Ter are confidential advisers of the Pres
I ident! VIII you follow their lead :? Do
YOU wish to perpetuate their power P
( If not, unite with us in the slogan OF
i REroRM Let us demand equality of
/ rights, and equality of burdens! Let
us appeal to the people, and save our
country by driving the opprossors and
, plunderers from power.
"A CIeam of Steel in the Back
.ae ~ GrOund."
The Milwaukee Sentinel, Republi
can sheet that prefers Grant to Greeley
! for President, states the reason for his
i, choice in language that is the very en-
bodiment of modern sham Republican
ism. The Sentinel says: @1H9ITHa
(which will be our safest leader, the
q hero of Vicksburg or the farmer OF
i Chappaqua? A CLEAN of steel in the
: background will be more reassurine
than the hazy vision of field Of
gourds." na
That is from sham Republican Sheet
;. and represents truly the political idca
of modern Republicanism-the gleam
. ing steel in the background. 1t has