Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-09-20


the number of lives sacrificed and
treasure expended, 50 now, by their
counteaance and encouragement TO
lawlessness and crime, they are add
ing to the miseries and sorrows of the
loyal men and women of the South
ern States.
/ have now mentioned some of the
achievements of the Republican party
since il came into power. It has or
ganized an army and crushed a rebel
iiOn-adopted a plan OF finance by
which the Government and war were
carried on-abolished slavery and
made the country free forever-secur-
ed equal rights and privileges to all
the people in every State and Terrific
~ Of the Union-redueed the burden
Of taxation-7lessened public expendi-
tures-improved the public credit
paid the interest and a portion Of
the principal of the national debt
wisely, adjusted our international
affairs, and it has passed and is now
enforcing laws for the protection Of
the States lately in rebellion.
This IS the work Of ten years. do
not pretend that no errors have been
committed. These momentous ques-
tons were precipitated upon the
country suddenly-they were new.
The Government had to grapple with
them at once. do affirm, however,
that take the series of measures as a
whole they challenge the admiration
and are affirmed by the deliberate
judgment of the civilized world. BY
and through their rbenefieent Influence
the Republic has gone forward in
power and majesty until il stands To-
day in the fore front Of the nations.
THE CRIMES OF THE DEMOCRACY.
Now let US turn to our opponents.-
What has the Democratic party been
doing all this while? During all our
years of darkness and sorrow, when
the nation was struggling for its life
when the blood of the nations chill
dren was poured out like watef-When
doubt, fear and terror brooded over
all the land-what was il doing?
What blessed thing it would be lifts
record for ten years could be blOtted
out forever. 1t opposed every one of
the great measures to which I have
alluded. Its whole power has been
spent in resisting forward movements.
1t opposed the raising of an army to
suppress the rebellion-opposed the
borrowing of money to pay the army
opposed the emancipation proelama-
ton opposed the constitutional
amendments opposed liberty and
equal rights voted in Congress
against the settlement of the Alabama
claims-voted against all efforts to
suppress disorder and violence in the
South. 1t defended slavery and en-
eouraged treason. 1t tried to destroy
our credit. With the desperation of .
dying man it has cIung to the barbar-
isms and corruptiens Of the ages, and
a. one after another OF these has been
wrenched from its grasp, it seizes hold
Of some remaining relic until the
flood tide Of popular progress sweeps
that also away. -.~ -.. -...
THE NEW DEPARTURE.
Its position in Ohio to-day is peeu-
liar and pitiable. Having met with
repeated and overwhelming defeats !;
having protested against all the great
forward and reformatory movements
of the age, now, when liberty, equali-
ty and citizenship are established, it
comes halting and limping along, in
the wake of the Republican party,
and publicly admits that upon all
these great questions, and during all
these years, the Republican party has
been right and the Democratic party
wrong.
Ny Democratic friend, the world
moves and you move with it, in spite
Of yourself. I cannot but regret that
your party did not become convinced
of its error sooner. How many thOus-
ands OF lives might have been pre-
served? ? How many millions Of treas
ure might have been saved? How
much sorrow might have been pre-
vented? -a------.-, ...,--...
Perhaps, however. I am in error, in
asserting that the Democracy have
changed their position Within a
year their party have declared that
the three Constitutional amendments
were revolutionary and void but at
the late State Convention they change
their position and declare that they
recognize as accomplished facts the
three amendments to the Constitution
recently declared adopted, and regard
the same as no longer political issues
before the country, and pledge them
selves to the faithful execution and
enforcement of the Constitution, as it
now is, so as to secure equal rights to
all persons under 1t without distinct
ion Of race, color or condition."
Having stubbornlg fought against
the amendments and denounced them
in unmeasured terms. they now in
dorse them. It was "hard to kick
against the pricks." The resolutions,
however, seem to have been drawn,
so to speak, under protest.
Now, were these resolutions adopt
ed because they approve the pTinci-
pies Of the amendments and are glad
that they now form q part of the na-
tiOnal constitution, or because they
knew that defeat was certain, unless
they turned squarely about and took
a new departure? If the convention
could have been assured of victory
upon the old platform, would they
have adopted the new one? Was it,
or was it not, device to gain power
in the State? If it was-if this change
was made from compulsion and not
from principle, then the party de-
serves the seorn and contempt of every
honest man in the land for attempting
to obtain power by fraud and false
pretenses.
We have a little testimony upon
this point. Col. John NJ. Ccnnell, of
Lancaster, a leading Democrat in
Ohio, in reply to aletter Of Senator
Thurman, requesting him to engage
in the State canvass, uses the follow
ing language: a.-.T HaI
1.-THE voters of our party are not
uniformed of the false position the
party is placed in. They know we
are going before the people this fall
with at least two untruths glaring
conspieuously on our front. First,
they know that Colonel MeCook was
not nominated for Governor, and that
his principal competitor led him on
the first ballot, when the unaccounta-
BILE mistake or fraud occurred in the
announcement of the vote which
scores of delegates knew to be false
and they will soon learn how shocked
were the friends Of our de fdcto eandi-
date for Governor, who belieyed him
to be too high-tOned and sensitive to
stand to his present disagreeable
position, when they discovered that
he permitted his Immediate partisans
to simply say in regard to the fraud or
in the nomination, that they
could only hope that it would not get !
out" .,,.'-.,
''This, however, is small matter
compared to the falsehoOds expressed I