Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1871-09-06

Democrats to mo "Weovil or Anti
Weevil"-that was the question.
was threatened with prosecution
by the Federal authorities. But still
the wecvii.proof wheat was carried
over Licking, Pickaway, and Franklin
by tho score. The campaign waxed
hot in September. A Democrat had
bolted, and was to run against me-
Ho was a fluent lawyer, and quite
ready to arraign me on Lecompton
and the English bill, Indeed, in oul
first ."joint high" discussion, he did
arraign me. But the gravamen Of
bis charge was that l had violated the
postal laws in sending out among the
farmers bogus kind of wheat. He
harangued the people to show that il
was not wcevil it was full ol
cheat, wocyil, aud all sorts or uuvlcar
things. Ny sacks were ransackcd
my wheat sifted 1t was ground be.
tween the upper and neither milestone
of popular opprobrium. The cam.
paign grew hot and hotter. became
alarmed. Posters were stuck on trees,
sheds, and tavern sign post, in all the
townships and towns:
"wEEvIL! wEEvIL! DOWN WITH THE
wEEvIL CANDIDATE {"
Handbills were circulated, charging
me with an insidious desire to ruin
the agriculture of an honest, hard
working people. Central Committees
issued private circulars and statistical
tables, explaining tho delctcrious in.
huence of the weevil upon the farming
interest. The staff Of life was called
in as a crutch to help my competitor.
Orators harangned great crowds, in
school houses and in town-halls, on
the delcterious nature of tho Congress
man and weevil. The first was an
enemy to free Kansas, and the second
to fair agriculture. Tho best talent
Of Ohio, then full of elocutionary &c.
MUS, was evoked to show the connec
tion between Lccompton and wheat
-weevil and the English bill.
My friends were in dispair. Our
County Central Committees were de.
moraIized. Hasty meetings were call.
ed. Men unused to despair-old Jack.
son hickorics, never uprootcd in our
Democratic forest by any avcrse blasts
shook their heads wisely, like Bur.
leigbs thoir young and sanguine can
didatc had spoiled the campaign. 1t
was bad enough TO be between Doug.
las and Buchanan, and to take the
fire of both, and the Republicans also;
but weevi weevil was too much.
/ tried TO explain. Bah! l tried to
mention, in weak way, that my pa.
tcrnal relative had tried it, and-Bah
l mentioned, on one occasion only,
that | was distinterestcd friend Of
that farming interest which had once
elected me, and whose continued suf.
frage and crops were dear TO my
heart Bah what in tho namo OF
Jackson, and so forth, was our candi.
date about when 10 broke the postal
laws 10 send his Internal wheat over
tho districtS If II were good wheat
even-if it were wcevil- -proof-how
could the fact bc proved until after
the election, next year! Heavens =
That had not occurred to me.
All over the district, where my wee.
vii had gone, my sacks were emptied,
and bitter, vindictive partisan oppo-
nents had filled the emptied sacks
with the scrapings of their barns, their
barrels, their boxes and their bags
Aflidavits were procured by my friends,
which stated that on dark and rainy
night two Radicals were seen going
TO barn with lantern, where they
emptied my invaluable seed wheat
upon the floor and filed the sacks
with the awfulcst offal My wheat,
which was proofstrong as holy writ,
was dishonored by trifles light as air.
It was shown up to prcjudiced and
gaping voters as "cheat." 1t was
worse than chaff l will not say what
these bitter partisans mixed with my
unadulterated seed. recall specially
one orator. His name absorbed a
quarter of the alphabet, and he made
the weevil question paramount. Was
there any spot from Fallsburg to New
Holland, running over two hundred
miles of arabic land--from the hazel
bushes of Red Brush to the corn fields
of that classic soil where Logan did
not speak what Jefferson reported
was there one man, woman or child
who had not heard the voice Of that
orator dcnouncing the weevil fraud /?
But | look back with delight TO
those friends who exercised their faith
in my agricultural rectitude. Faith
is good in the dark As the election
day approached, this faith became
more necessary. Nothing would do
but / must meet my opponent, in de-
bate, on tho wccvil question. !
agreed to do IL. II was my salvation.
Before the day of debate, Governor
Corwin was sent for. The campaign
was in bis vein. Hc seemed to apprc-
ciate its points. Ho was a devotcc Of
that
-"toddess iair ana frcc,
In Heaven yelcpt Euphrosync-
by men hcart-easing Mirth."
He came. He bad been Governor,
benator, Secretary of the Treasury ;
Sut, most of all, he had hcen, and yet
was, The rarcst of all the Buckeye hu-
mor;sts and orators.
First he went; 10 Circlcville. "What
shall | speak aboutS" said he to the
committee. That body in full chorus
responded, "Wecvil. Our member is
dodging tho Lccompton Issue he ig-
norcs the English bill, he seeks to dc.
fraud honest agriculture, by seeking
rotes through Wcevil. Governor,
hold him up to tho scorn Of an indig.
nant community" Cornwall liked
the issue. lie told me afterwards that
he enjoyed that campaign.
'Fellow.citizcns,' he began, your
member has voted on both sides OF
the Lccompton question. Ho desires
you TO forget how he dislikcd Bu-
chanan and deserted Douglas. lie
would persuade you that he is for free
Kaosas. and Tint IL tho neoplc can't