Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1872-09-05
George William Curtis on the
Campaign.

making some speeches in Massachusetts,
upon the campaign, in which he has
ably discussed the qualifications of the
two parties and the two candidates fol-
President We make a few extracts
from his speech. --t'.t 9-.j is
-. THE PARTY 10 BE TRUSTED.
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.
believe I cannot cast my vote wisely
in 1872 without remembering how and
why cast my vote in 1868, in 1854, in
1850. When speak of the Democratic
party, you win understand I am not
speaking of individuals. Every DEM
ocrat has Republican friends whom he
honors and RESPECTS; and every Repub-
lican has Democratic friends in whom
he trusts. When say the French peo-
pie are volatile people, lido not say
Guizot is harlequin. When Ispeak
OF the Democratic party Ispeak of his
torical facts, not impeaching the mo-
tiyes or actions of individuals. The
Democratic party for the last genera
ton had been the mere slave of slavery.
To serve slavery the Democratic party
robbed the mails, trampled on the
right of freespeech and upon the right
of petition; and when the Democratic
party in the South began to hint at Sc
cessicn and mutter rebellion, the great
body of the Democratic party espoused
the doctrine of State sovereignty. =
] am raking in the ashes; / do not for
gent. 1t resisted every measure that
was brought forward to save the Gov
ernnient, liberty and civilization upon
this continent. It had no part in. the.
glory of emancipation. Then came the
struggle Of reconstruction. Struggle
why2 Because Of the position of the
Democracy. Every measure that was
proposed In the interest of reconstrue-
ton, 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 de-
clared that everything that bad been
done was unconstitutional, and sought
TO oYerturn all that had been accomp-
Iished. I am still .raking in the ashes
of the past. ...e
But the people of the United States,
the loyal majority, organized as the
party, have not only sue
ceeded in putting into the reconstruc-
ton acts the principles which conquer
ed in the war. but have so administer
ed the Government that the name OF
the United States was never 80 respect
ed and honored, the world over, as 1t is
now. This being so, the Democratic
party. sees 1T Is so, and; ihurries to its
Convention at Baltimore with most
suspicious haste, folds its arms, smooths
lis Brow, n1ufles its tongue, and whis-
pers as blandly as It can, "We4, we see
that you've got the better Of US; we
cannot exactly help ourselves; hurrah
for the darkey; nowgive US the Cow
Tnment." It becomes every man in
The United States to rake In the ashes
to gee if he can find any spark Of q live
,oal that may be blown up again into a
new eonfagrntiou. I ask you if you
an 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
5o-day are The same men who did all
5hese things. 1 have shown you what
,he party has done; do you believe it
wholly repentant? Are these the men
% whom the guardianship of equal
lights and the government of the new
Union can be trusted
You viii ask, are parties eternal? Are
We to always go on lighting? How are
We ever to make any political progress
+ we refuse to take the hand of those
We have sometimes opposed? Saint
Paul repented, and why not the Demo-
,ratic party? If the whole Jewish
people had suddenly declared that they
llso had received a great light, and had
III avowed their conversion and BET up
,obe the. original primitive Christians.
think had we lived in that day we
would have waited for some signs Of
before giving them the hand
If fellowship. Will any man tell me
What are the signs of conversion In the
Democratic party p The last opportun-
ty that was offered was in Washington,
It the last session of Congress- The
supplementary Civil Rights bill was
Introduced, and, in the; debate upon
hat subject, the party spoke as one
nan. They took the same old Demo-
ratio ground, the same old spirit Of
latred to the coiored man, All the
iame old slavery virus came frothing
,ut in the speeches of the best men of
hat party seventeen times. Monday
.fter Monday they STAYED off and voted
against the bill, whichwas simply the
of equal rights. THY voted
against it two or three times after the
Convention, and, with their
lips still red with saying "No," hurried
off to Baltimore and cried "eqnal rights
10 all menR g;s:s Eed ssiga!i po7i
PRESIDENT GRANTS ADMfN1sTRATToS
What is the record of this admins
tration? Taking the frst great Point
which any government is bound to OBJ
serve, has the Republican party guard