Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1871-07-13
SPEECH OF
Gen. J. 4. GARFIELD
Columbus, June 2lst, 1871.

Below we print the speech of Gen.
J. A. Garfield, delivered at the Re
publican Ratification Meeting, in
Columbus, June 21st, 1871, which
for want of room and other matter,
has been delayed until this late day
FELLOW CITIZENS: There is not
room here on this platform, and
there is not room down there, and
there is not room around this State
House, and there is hardly room en-
ough in Ohio for the Republican
party and the work it has to do this
fall. There are so many of you
that 1 fear you will overdo it, and
any man that expects to speak to
you tonight must be able to speak
to the State. l never have seen a
time in the recent history of the
Republican party so full of hope, so
full of reasons for congratulations,
as on this night. What spectacle
do you here present. Look above
you, look around you, and think On
the stability and glory of our insti-
tutions, resembling the very glory
and stability of the heavens above
us. Tonight the whole universe
sweeps on in its calm peace, every
star keeping its appointed round,
every light cleaning in the eternal
armament, and yet all regulated
and governed by law and all sphered
and perfect in its order. So it is
with this glorious Republic of ours.
These stars, these States, this glo-
rious constellation of States that
our fathers hurled out into the
worlds history, to shine forever and
evermore, and each one perfect
sphere, are all bound together as
one grand, universal, all-beautiful
and glorious form of government.
And we here, in the State of Ohio,
one of the noblest, brightest and
highest luminaries of the system,
are met by our representative peo-
pie to night, to rejoice together that
we are a great, glorious and free
people, loving our State and loving
the Union above all else. And who
has brought US this glory? Who
has preserved this wonderful bal
ance of our system? Who has held
together all the planetary worlds
that go to make up this glorious
system? 1t is that party that has
given its first love to the Union, and
its second love to the State, and
which has said that the Union shall
be perpetuated and the State shall
be free. There is a better thought
than that in it, my friends. We are
able, now, almost for the first time
in the history of mankind, to say
that in all this innumerable COM
pany that stand around these pill
lars tonight, there are no classes.
We are all one class-or class is not
the word. There is no horizontal
stratification of society here, like the
rocks of the earth that hold one
class down forevermore, and let no
other come up to the surface to stay
there forever. Our stratifcation of
society is not like that, but we are
rather like the great ocean, where
every individual drop is free to
move, and where from the greatest
depths of the mighty deep any drop
may come up to glitter on the sur
face of the highest wave that rolls.
Cries of "Good. Goodw. and
Cheers. Not one man so humble,
not one man so poor, not one little |
boy born to such povery, but that,
with true heart and clear brain,
and a stout arm, he may rise to the
very top. And where else on the
whole face Of the habitable globe |
can you find another spot, save in
our own favorable land, where that
thing can be said to be true2. Why,
sir, a few months ago distinguished
Englishman said to me that after
twenty five years of observation he
was compelled to say that he had
never known, in all England, mere
farm laborer to rise above his class. |
What u tremendous statement that
was to make. He had never known
one, and to such q man, when he
saw the instance of Abraham Lin
coin coming up out of the very
depths, and rising to be the popular
star of the peoples party, the cen.
ter of the worlds desire. he looked