Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-09-19
Extracts from a Recent Speech by
George w. Curtiss.

In his first campaign speech, delivered
at Ashfield, Mass, last month, Mr.. Cur
tiss said
know when an honest mans party de-
serts its principles the honest man deserts
the party. But know, too, when there are
two great organized parties, one or the other
a few gentlemen, on the eve of a Presiden-
tial election, to form new third party.
They may take parlor at the Glenham
Hotel, and if the Democratic party comes to
that room it takes possession of the room,
and for its own purposes; not for any other.
When the spider and the fly project an alli-
ance, it makes little difference whether the
fly walks into the parlor of the spider or the
spider walks into the parlor of the fly. 1t is
an alliance of consumption. There can be
but one party, and that is the party of the
spider. Those men that went to Cincinnati
went as Republicans. Then followed the
Democratic party In convention, called ac-
cording to its usages, following the forms of
that party, and they took the Cincinnati
platform and candidates, but they took them
as Democrats, not as Republicans, not as
members of a third party, but they took
them as Democrats. Georgia paper which
l read last night was headed, "National
Democratic ticket: For President, Horace
Greeley" That is the party with which we
have to deal. All the machinery and all the
force-with some exceptions-that will be
brought to bear for the election of Mr..
Greeley will be of that party. Now, an ad-
the party which brings it into power.
Gentlemen may say that they are not
Democrats-never were Democrats They
may say: "You do not call Horace
Greeley Democrat. He is a Republican
of the Republicans. Are we doing wrong
in supporting him ?" They may say
R,,t
said in England long ago, 'the heads of
parties, like the heads of serpents, are
moved and governed by the tail" The head
of the Democratic party may have been
fashioned in Cincinnati, but if you would
know how the whole party must move, look
The spider has walked into the parlor of the
fly, but if that little Liberal Republican fly
should venture to buzz his small desires,
there would be sharp decided answer:
"Shoo fly, don't bother me-" That alliance
will be an Inflated one for the fly.
Now which of these two parties, in your
Judgment, is the more likely to keep its
word? You see, my fellow-citizens, I am
going to rake in the ashes. l believe 1 can
not cast my vote wisely in 1872 without re-
membering how and why l cast my vote in
1868, in 1864, and 1860. When I speak of the
Democratic party, you will understand 1 am
not speaking of individuals. Every Demo
crat has Republican friends whom he honors
and respects; and every Republican has
Democratic friends in whom he trusts.
When say the French people are volatile
people, do not say Guizot is harlequin.
When speak of the Democratic party /
speak of historical facts, not impeaching the
motives or actions of individuals. The Dem
ocratic party for the last generation had
been the mere slave of slavery. To serve
slavery the Democratic party robbed the
mails, trampled on the right of free speech,
and upon the right of petition; and when
the Democratic party in the South began to
hint at secession and mutter rebellion, the
great body of the Democratic party espous-
ed the doctrine of State sovereignty. What
ever was done in the South by the real
leaders of the party had the full and hearty
support of the party throughout the coun-
try. And SO it was when Lincoln was elected
and the rebellion was begun. We find the
last Democratic President wringing his
hands in impotent despair, while the tears
ran from his eyes, and whimpering, '9The
Union had no right to dissolve; but, o dear !
it had no right to help itself" The last
Democratic Secretary of War sent material
Secretary of the Navy left our coast without
protection, and the last Democratic Secre-
tary of the Treasury knocked the bottom out
before he fled. During the four terrible,
cruel years of the war-which was only a
natural consequence and natural growth of
the teachings of the Democratic party-dur-
ing the four years of the war, by every means
known to men, that party resisted the prose-
cution of the war. l am raking in the ashes:
/ do not forget it. 1t resisted every measure
that was brought forward to save the
Government, liberty and civilization upon
this continent. 1t had no part in the glory
of emancipation. Then came the struggle
of reconstruction. Struggle-why? Because
of the position Of the Democracy. Every
measure that was proposed in the interest of
reconstruction, that was essential to carry
out the principles of liberty and justice, was
sturdily resisted by that party; and while
that question was pending, the party hurried
to its convention and declared that every
thing that had been done was unconstitu-
tional, and sought to overturn all the wal
had accomplished. l am still raking in the
ashes of the past.
But the people of the United States, the
loyal majority, organized as the Republican
party, have not only succeeded in putin g
into the reconstruction acts the principles
which conquered the war, but have so ad-
ministered the Government that the name
of the United States was never SO respected
and honored, the world over, as it is now.
This being so, the Democratic party sees it
is so, and hurries to its Convention at Balti-
more with the most suspicious haste, folds
its arms, smooths its brow, muffies its
tongue, and whispers as blanaly as it can,
"Well, we see that you've got the better of
us we cannot exactly help ourselves
hurrah for the darkey; now give us the gov
eminent !' 1t becomes every man in the
United States to rake in the ashes to see if
he can find any spark of live coal that m ay
be blown up again into new confagration.
l ask you if you can trust the party. All
these things are the history of twelve years.
All these things have been accomplished
within the lifetime of every boy that hears
me. The leaders of the party to-day are the
m wi m al T how
shown you what the party has done; do you
believe it wholly repentant? Are these
men to whom the guardianship of equal
rights and the government of the new Union
can be entrusted? Is the man who yesterday
held that the black man was of an inferior
race, and his place that of slave, the one to
entrust with the care of the black mans
liberty? is the man who yesterday declared
that the national faith should be violated,
the man to make to-day the guardian of the
nations honor? Is the man who declared
yesterday that all the war debt had done was
unconstitutional, the man to intrust to-day
with the enforcement of the Constitution?
Would you have trusted Tory of the Revo-
luton with the government which followed? ?
But when l ask you these questions some
OF you may reply by saying, "Yes, but we
think Horace Greeley will make an excellent
President" Well, now, if, when the first Ad-
ministration- of the Union had been put into
operation, General Washington had been
waited upon by the Tories of the Revolution,
still fully organized, and just on the eve of
the first election, they had said to Washing
ton: "We have decided we were in the
wrong. We have decided we are Just as
good as the Wings, and wish you to be our
candidate"( have read history in vain if
General Washington would not have said to
those men: Gentlemen, if these are your
opinions, why are you thus armed? If you
are repentant, why are you still organized +?
If you agree that the Wings are right, why
DO you not join the Wings ?" This, be-
lieve, would have been General Washington's S
response. But if am wrong if instead he
had accepted the nomination of those men,
George Washington though he was, the sons
of liberty would have defeated him, as the
descendants of the sons OF liberty will de-
feat Horace Greeley in November.
You will ask me another question Are
parties eternal? Are we to always go on
fighting? How are we to make any politi-
cal progress if we refuse to take the hand of
those we have sometimes opposed? Saint
Paul repented; and why not the Democratic
party? If the whole Jewish people had sud-
denly declared that they also had received a
great light, and had all avowed their conver-
sion, and set up to be the original primitive
Christians, think, had we lived in that day,
we would have waited for some signs OF