The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1872-10-12

on our soil for II rebellion that ceased
seven and a half years ago-no party,
no men of any party but this, the very
party that held a great military parade
here this week in order to further separ-
ate and divide the hearts Of the Ameri-
can people from each other. TCheers. I
They hold essential to their triumph
that hatred should continue, that dis
trust, suspicion, and alienation should
continue. Do what you will, do what
you may, they are determined not to
to be satisfied. Now fellow-citizens, it
is not enough that those who fought
against the Union should be prescribed;
those of us who stood for it are equally
denounced if we do not happen to agree
with them in our present policies.
| [Cheers.l Here stands one who is
charged by them with being Il secession
ist. IGreat Laughter. Could that be
true, fellOW-citiZcns: Look the facts
| in the face.
this conspiracy for secession began to
advance itself, we Republicans were
told by our own men, and told still
more by those out of the circle, "Nou
must back out of your Kepublicanism !;
you must surrender your opposition to
the extension of slavery, or consent to
a great civil war" This, they said,
was the only observation-disclosures
and devastation over the whole country
or you shall surrender the principles
| OH which you have just carried the
election. l was one of those who said,
| "NO! there is no such aiternativc.'
denied that the Southern peoplc--thc
great majority of thcm-werc against
the Union. Idcmand that there should
be 4 fair, open, free discussion before
unterritied, uncOnstraincd vote, and if
they approved, if the people of the
South said they wanted disunion, l
would consent to it. [Cheers.] l knew
they would not. l knew that the
Southern people, that the great majori-
ty must have voted, as they actually
did that winter, not for secession, but
for cIinging to the Union. lChecrs.]
And now to-day, if the nation was to
be imperilled and there were just two
modes of saving ito trust to the
chances of Il free vote Of tho Southern
people, would very greatly prefer to
take the latter chance rather than the
former. TChcers Fellow-citizcns, they
do greatly misunderstood or malign
this American people, when they as
sumo that before there had been any
clash Of arms the people in the South,
any more than the people i'll the North
desired disunion. |Chccrs.l In its in
ception, in its origin, the great masses
of those who consented to this secession
movement meant nothing by it but to
back down the North and make us con-
sent to the extension of slavery. That
was their purpose, and that purpose I
did my best to resist and defeat.
TCheers.1
We'll, the war is ended. l think it
ought to be ended. f. a voice-s'Oh, let
us have pcacc.'1 We had IL great, Il
terrible, bloody, Il destructive civil war.
Our success was perfect. Tho defeat
of the adversary was more complete
than any defeat recorded in history.
They have suffered much; they have
conceded all. Cannot we afford to be
magnanimous at least: [Chccrs.l But
fellow-citizrns, thcySay that the South
crn people may vote. Some of them
may ; but the instant they vote the cry
is raised, "YOu must vote the other
way" Is that an election, or is it only
the fashion of war in another aspect?
Eellowcitizens, you belong to one OF
the great hives of American industry.
l plead here for peace and reconciliation
for the interests especially of this busy,
prosperous, energetic people. Cheers.
How l have sympathized with Pitts
burg, how j nave rejOlceu III her pros
perity, how l have wondered and adj
mircd her magnificent growth, you
surely do know. s~NO place on this con
tinent has been dcarcr than PittSburg.
There has been no spot in whose pros
perity 1 have more heartily rcjoiccd,
and this is because l believe her pros
pcrity was firmly linked and bound
together with the prosperity and growth
of our whole country. Now | appeal
to her business men, appeal to her
merchants, ] appeal to her nanuEic-
turers, to stop this war. 1t has gone on
long enough. a voice in the crowd
at stopped itself yesterday" Laugh
ter You cannot afford to teach part
of your country to hate you. Your
greatness is identical with theirs. Pco-
pie of Pittsburg, l ask you to take a
generous part in this work Of rcconcii-
ing your countrymcn to each other.
+ Applause. l ask you to take the hand
held out by your Southern brethren in
their adoption of the Cincinnati plat
form by those who were our enemies
but are again our fcliOw-countrymcn.
! ask you to grasp that hand and say,
IL