Rock Island Argus., 1871-08-08
pailp argus,
TuosdAy, August 8. ls7i.
Radical Pretensions a. the Party
of Liberty ana Popular Rights In
America.
RrOm ths sund.y MsrouEy.

Radical Pretensions a. the Party
of Liberty and Popular Rights In
America.
From the Sunday Mercury.
It is very amusing to notice the efforts the
Radical press are nov putting forth threugh-
out the y aited States 10 claim tor It's party |
. regard for civil liberty Aad the rights OF
the people. Liberty Aad popular rights are |
terms Of peculiar import when used by the |
demagogass OF RAdloalism, implying when |
aualy zsd merely the liberty and right to vote |
the Radical ticket on election day, and sup
port the Radical party ct ell times: Since
the late wGv there has been no liberty south
OF Mason aud Dixon's line apart from this
idea, and even to-day in those states still
subject TO Radical control there is no liberty
TO oppose RAdioAlism. The great uprising
Of last fall 10 Missouri, where the brave
GrAtz Brown and the eloquent Carl Sohurz
came 20 the front, they did so TO enfrAnchise
10000 white citizens who had been deprived
of the liberty to vote simply because they
would not support RSdIeslisn. And |
throughout the states of the south there yet
remain hundreds of thousands of citizens
who are denied the right of suffrage because
Of their deter mination to exercise the Goo-
given right Of voting 90 they please As
fast as these disfrAnohIsed ones repent Of
their errors and agree TO vote Radical Eick-
cts, congress removes thelE disA abilities, and
they are restored to liberty and the enjoy
meut Of their brithright Had the Demo-
cratic party proceeded on this Radical idea
OF liberty aud popular rights the present
Radical party could never have come into
existence. The very fact of Radical accession
TO power in 1860, through the overthrow of
the DemoorGtio party which had previously
held dominion, 10 . standing monument Of
the tolerance of the Democracy. A Demo
cratic government, in this land or IN any
other, never disfrAnehised 3 citizen, nor
sought to Abridge populAr liberty.
10 some of the states of New EoglAud,
where the Radical party is in power, not on
ly iS the idea above illustrated prevalent,
but the term liberty is further abridged Ac-
cording to the Puritan notion. they only en-
joying full liberty who elect to forego the sale
or use of intoxicating liquors, wine, beer or
cider as beverage And this ideA, though
more generally exemplined there than else>
where, is by no means confined to New
England, but wherever this Radical party
gets into power its first i'm pulse iS to pass q
prohibitOry liquor law. Did any one ever
hear Of q ptohibtory liquor law that origin
Ated with Democratic legislature? On
the contrary, the Democratic party has al
ways been noted for literally constituting the
word liberty and the term popular rights Is
torbidIng the passage of such laws RAdi-
calism originated the idea Of closing the
lager beer gardens and other places of re
teeshmeRt on Sunday, and would deny to
leborlng men who work six days in the
week the privilege Of enjoying the seventh
with their families in the open air and on
the green suArd But the Democracy in
this sIAte neutrhlized all this and the lib
erIy to-day enjoyed by the hundreds OF
thousands Of Workingmen of this metropo
lis to 90 where they please, do what they
pleRse--proyided only they commit on crime
aud refresh themselves as they please, is
due to the Democratic party.
The Radical idea Of liberty, As preached
to-day, woGid give to the president, or any
body else, the right TO swing around any
circle he or they might choose yet i! lie
ony few years since Andrew johnson,
then president, while IN the exercise Of this
liberty, WAS nsssiled by Radical mob IN
Indianapolis, and his right to parade, with
those who accompanied him, was successful i
ly resisted. There is 10 disfrABchisomsnt
Ia Indiana, and every white male citizen OF
proper age has right to vote. Yet no lon
ger ago than in j 564 certain Democrats at
tempted to vots there, aud were driven from
the polls by Radical mob. The Radical
idea OF liberty, II will be seen, does not in.
c!ude the liberty 10 vote Is you please, but
only to vote the Radical ticket. For assert
ing the right OF asse N bage, g congregation
OF peaceful christian wOrshipers in one OF the
southwest counties of Missouri WAS violent
ly dispersed BY armed Radical mob snd
their preacher slain on the highway. About
the same time q considerable Eumoer OF
inoffensive clergymen 10 the same state,
4iity of nothing worse than exercising that
freedom OF speech which was and 10 now
one Of the watch words OF the Radical Party,
we're arrested and imprisoned By the officers
Of the law. Had they been Radicals they
could have enjoyed full liberty.
Thus does kGdicGllsm every " here aud 81
all times, though always making loud boasts
of its championship OF liberty and popular
rights, restrict the exercise of those ius,ieu.
able privileges to all but the sdherenIs OF
its own party Il burned people suspected
OF WitchcrAfI less than hundred years ago
within q score Of years It has sacked Ano
peculiar theological creed within ten years
It has denied 70 citizens OF New York free
dom of speech, and has muzzled the press
Of this city within two years it has sought
BY arbitrary congressional Legislation to dis
franchise foreign born citizens who had been
nasurAlized and to the utmost extent il
dared, has obstruosed the road TO nAturali-
cation for all foreigners, subiecting them 10
unnecessary delays aud embArrHSsmeuts in
reaching citizenship. And now we hear it
pFating Of It's love Of liberty and champion
ship Of popular rights, and seeking by every
Gun ring device and honeyed expression 10
tempt the foreign born and liberty loving
population of this country TO join its ranks
and strengthen il in its crusade against
what there is left Of freedom in the land.
The only party Of universal liberty, in the
broadcast and fullest sense of that term, now
existing in this country ia the Democratic
party. To that organization liberty has a
meaning that the narrow bigotry and into
lerance Of RadicAlism utterly incspaeitates
il for approaching. 1t is g liberty to ali
men. Of every kindred, race, or nation, and
untrAmeled in its application by partisan
bounds, or the restrictions Of creeds nation.
Rltv or color. IL is the fullest freedom OF
speech, freedom Of action, freedom Of en-
ioyment in ell the affairs Of life, compAtible
with the public safety and the good order OF
The whole community. When this liberty is
AssAiled the Democracy will defend it, and
does defend it, no matter whether its assAil-
anita be friends or foes, or whether those
denied its exercise be few and insignificant
or q myriad and influential. 1t was Dem
ocrUtio administration that marshaled the
whole power Of the general government, and
sent q formidable naval expedition to the
Mediterranean to rescue Martin Ko,za, An
humble foreign born citizen from the clutch