Rock Island Argus., 1872-07-16

10Th tickets in the field? Gentlemen these
re questions which you are TO decide here;
bat you will decide wisely, cannot doubt
or can any one doubt who looks over this
,ody of men, representing as they do, 5000,
100 Of citizens, and who feels, as every one
lere must feel, the high and patriotic pur-
,oSe which inspires you.
Gentlemen, what means this great and
Using movement which you everywhere see? !
What means this proposed union of three
Millions Of DemocrA,ic'RepublicAns with
million, it may be, OF Republicans? What
means this union upon common platform,
aud this proposed union upon the same can
union so sudden, so compact, so 4
earnest as to surprise its friends and to
confound its enemies? Applause. Which
comes as the wind come which, to oorro"
n figure, overwhelms the ordinary currents
of public opinion, as the great storms always
run ooup,er 10 the surface currentsT What
means ali this? There are some things, I
gentlemen, il does not mean. lt means no ;
abandonment of what is true, OF what IS
;,,t of what is good in human government.
I AnpIause Il means no union OF dead
npon dead issues, but union OF living
mon the living issues OF the present. Ap-
piause1 Tt means no union for the spolls
Of office applause but il means a union
Of men with the same faith upon the great
and paramount issues of the present hour
n frank, manly, honorable, and equal union
Of men who have the sAgacity 70 see, and |
the moral courage to accept, the situation.
ICries Of Good ~ GOOD e. and loud cheer |
ing Ii means q union of men who have
the sagAcity to see what is past, and to deal
with the issues OF the present, aud for the
future to do their duty 10 their country, their !
God aud their fellow men. Applause.
The issue Of to-day is not Ihe repeal OF the
Missouri Compromise, nor the question OF
Slavery in the Territories, upon which alone
the Republican party was organized in 1856.
Il is uot upon that which followed, when the
Lecompton Consultation for Kansas divided
the Democratic party in twain and elected
Abraham Lincoln 10 the Presidency IN 1860,
Ii is not the question OF secession, nor Of
war TO put down rebellion nor the abolition
1 Of Slavery in the States by military order,
| or by constitutional amendment, upon which
Mr.. Lincoln was reelected in 1861; nor
ret is il the question Of reconstrucuon, or
Of the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendment
nor the question OF negro suffrage; nor OF
the establishment by Federal power Of uni
versAl suffrage as = condition precedent to
the States Of the South having any rights, or
any existence even, as States 10 the OnIon.
Ii is none Of these questions that is now IN
issue. All these have been issues IN the
pasg-Rrsat issues, sufficient ia themselves
10 create aud to dissolve political parties ;
because ideas are stronger than men or
parties. But they are al past issues. They
+ nave been fought out and fought 10 the end
? in the forum or on the field, and they are
, no more 10 issue to day than the Mexican
war, or the war Of the Rebellion. APP
plAuse. We could not reopen them If we
would, aud they falsely misrepresens our
purposes who say that We would reopen
them il we could. Loud cheering.
|, This great union, therefore, means no
step backward Cheers. Forward is
the word. Loud cheering. And, first o
al, il means to-day for ell the other States
OF the South what it has already done in
Missouri. Cheers. Instead Of pro
scriptive test-oaths, suspension
Of habess corpus, aud the military desPoi-
ism, IL means personal freedom tor the indi-
vidusl and Republican government for all.
l Loud applause Instead Of supremacy,
upheld by prescription and the bayonet, It
means equal rights to al men, white as well
black. Loud applause. Instead Of Ihiev-
ing governments, organized to plunder sub
| iugaied States, il IN cans the domination once
? more OF intelligence and integrIy instead
! Of strife, hate, and robbery, it means Justice
liberty, peace, loyalty and goodwill. Aud
? gentlemen, for our whole country, East
|, West, North and South It means, instead Of
) q wsr President, trained only in military
? school, aud whose whole character has
been formed in the ideas, arts, habits and
despotiSm Of military life--iusteRd Of this
} it means peace President cheers trained
| in the ideas, arts, blessings aud republican
simplicity Of peace and universal freedom
, loud cheers /; Of peace not enchalnad, OF
, liberty not under arrest awaiting trial, SEN
ience, and execution by drum.head court
martial, but that liberty aud that peace
which the Constitution secures by placing
, the civil law above the sword loud appls lsuse
+ by preserving in full Vigor the sacred vriJ
OF hAbeRs corpus, and by the right Of IriSI
. by jury. Applause
Il means another thing, and perhaps the
most important of them alI--it means to
/ arrest the Capitalization of power in the
Federal Government. Loud cheering II
means to assert the vital principle OF our
, republican system, 10 which it lives, and
. moves, and has its very being, that constiIu-
tions are made by the people 10 their sover-
e eign capacity for the express purpose oI
!. defining aud limiting the powers Of gov
: ernment applause powers Of all govern
3 ment, state or national. II means that We
4 are determined that Presidents and Govern
4 ors, Congress aud State Legislatures, anC
+ every Department OF the Government, sbal
y obey the Constitution. Prolonged ap
' plSuse, Il means also genuine Civ
1 Service reform, beginning with the Pres
I dental Office. Applause 1t means tc
3 pat 40 aud forever to certain practices which
have grown up with this Administration
which have driven 90 many Of the Abesl
r Republicans TO Join this Liberal movement
and which have deeply wounded the hearts
T Of all Republicans, ss well as Democrats,
in this country Applause practices which
never existed under under any other Ad-
ministrRtion which are but too we'll known
, to all the world, and which our nation 8
good reputation will be best consulted by
} no. even naming. Cheers Il means
{ also, 20 give strength aud stability to our
/. financial affairs and our national credit By
. bringing honesty and economy and fidelity
e to every position, Federal State, and mu.
q nicipal. where public moneys are collected
( Cheers IL means, also, the honest pay.
= ment OF all our obligations. Renewed
q applause IL means to give higher tone
4 aud greater vigor 20 the administration o
o our foreign and domestic affairs, so as tl
Il command the respect and the confidence o
4 our own people and OF all the civilized world
!, IL means TO place IN the highest Offices oi
q our Government men Of whom all the world
:. wall say, They are honest and they are
capable" Applause. Gentlemen, have
!, thus briefly stated the situiiion, the duties
- and the purpose which bring IA here.
!. great responsibility rests upon this Conven
J. tion. IL its action shall be such land
4 doubt not it will be- as to put an end to the
# misrule which for the last few years hal
a afflicted our beloved country, this generation
and generations to come after US, will re
q member with pride and gratitude the Con
= vsntion at Baltimore OF the 9th of July
A 1872.
I.uI