Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-10-23
GREELEY ON THE STUMP
His Contradictions on the Subject
Of secession,
Is Such a VacilIating Man Fit for the
Presidency

F. From Harper'5 Weekly.
Mr.. Greeley's speeches IN Pennsylva-
MIA, Ohio, and Indiana will not help
his cause. He is an experienced politi-
clan, and he understands the art Of po-
litical platform but no man can escape
himself. and the public opinion of Mr..
+ Greeley's fitness for the office he seeks
can not be changed by these speeches.
Gbey show that upon the most vital
political question of the war he is
either not in accord with the principles
that prevailed in the struggle or that
he does not know what he does think.
These are his words at Pittsburg. AL
! luding to the beginning of secession, he
says:
Il denied that the great majority of the
! Southern people were against the Union. |
/ demanded that there should be an Open free
discussion, that Southern people might have
an honest, unterrifed, unconstralned vote,
and, If they approved, if the people of the
South said they wanted disunion, would con-
sent to 1t. ew they would not"
And he continues:
"And now, to day, if the nation were to be
imperiled, and there was Just two modes of
! saving ito trust the chances of civil war or
i the chances OF tree vote Of the Southern
people, would very greatly prefer to take
the latter Chance rather than the former
! The first statement is exactly that of
/ Davis and the secession leaders. Their
/ States, they said, solemnly voted to Sc
cede. Mr.. Greeley's opinion, that if
/ there had been an open and free cleo
tlOn they would not have done so, is a
mere uneory. 1t is very clear that the
dominant opinion of the seeding States
was in favor of session.
eff the people of the South said
they wanted disunlon, [ would consent
to 1t. " is the man who says that the
man to be made President of the United
States in 1872? In his message as
( Mayor of the city of New York, in
1861, Fernando Wood suggested, upon
! similar grounds, that the city might
/ find it wise to secede from the State.
1t is doctrine which is subversive of
all political society. What is "the
South" except an opinion? There is
no section of the country properly
known as such, and to speak as Mr.
Greeley does, as if it expressed GER
tam district, is to talk nonsense The
theory is as true of ''the North" and
of g the East, j." and "the West" and
/ " Northwest" and &C the Centre" as of
"the South" Then the remark be
comes declaration that if the people
OF any part Of the country said they
wanted disunion, he would consent to
It, Very well; State is part of the
country. Ii the doctrine is true of six
States, 1T is true of one. And it is
therefore plain statement that if
majority OF the voters-for they only,
In political sense, are the people-in
any state vote for secession, Mr.. Horace
Greeley is in favor of it; for at Pitts
burg he did not say that he had chang
ed his opinion. And saying this, he
f1outs the soldiers of the Union, and
pratties about clasping hands over a
bloody chasm.
He proceeds to say that if there were
but two modes of saving the Union, he
should prefer to save 1t by a vote to
saving 1T by war. Who wouldn't?
Who prefers a war to a vote? Who
ever did prefer it? Did any body pre-
fer 1t In 1860 or 81? He expresses the
opinion that If a vote had been taken
at that time in the seeding States,
they would not have seeded. But if
he is mistaken, how then? If a ma
jorlty vote to secede, then what
Would Mr.. Greeley take the result as
proof that the vote was not Hfree. y or
would he let the State go? Now mark
the evasion, mark what certainly seems
like dupllc1ty. He first says that if
"the people"-that is, the majority
said they wanted disunion, he would
consent to it. But he then adds. if
there were but two modes of saving the
Union, vote or war, I should prefer
a vote. Yet if the vote were for seces-
sion, 1t would not, of course, be rnode
OF saving the Union, and therefore he
would resort to war. Tha, is to say,
having declared that if a State voted to
secede he would consent, he further
declares that secession would not save
the Union, when he had ascertained
that the people wished to secede, he
would make war to force them to re-
ma1a. How heartily the cIear-headed
ant consistent secess1onists must de-
spll their blundering apologist
1t Mr.. Greeley's views in his Pitts
burg speech are correct, there is no
/ Union. The whole nation is at the
mercy of any handful of melcontents.
/ II the vote of ''the people of the
South" may dissolve the Union, so
/ may the vote of any State, and of any
county IN any State. This speech W s,
i OF course, most carefully considered.
/ 1t was intended TO show his position
/ upon an essential question, and there
is no doubt Of the significance of the
] words Mr. Greeley used. But at Gin
c1nnatl he recalled everything he had
/ sand { lf h1c Io4 L
| did not think the States would have Sc
ceded had they had fair election was
/ OF no Importance, because he had con-
/ ceded that the secession of q State
nigh be determined by a vote.
But the moment his speech was printed
/ every body saw what we are now say
ing and therefore, an evening or two
afterWard, he called the inevitable in
| depreciation of his remarks misrepre,
sentat1on er perversion. He said:
! Those remarks which made last evening
/ nave peen mi represented, have been, l think,
! perverted INTO an expression Of present be-
! lief, q present conviction, that any state has
| a night to dissolve this Union at it's own good
pleasure; Fellow-citizens, | utterly repudate
| ana condemn that sentiment. I do not be-
Heve that one State, er that ten States, or that
| even majority of all the States, have moral.
/ legal or Constitutional right to dissolve our
/ Union"
What then, does Mr.. Greeley mean
by saying that if to day there were two
modes OF saving the Union, war or vot-
ing, he would appeal to ''vote of the
Southern people2 If one State. or ten
/ States, or ''the South, or g the South
ern people" have not a right to dissolve
the Union, why should we have a vote
upon it Ii Mr.. Greeley's speeches
have helped him, we very much mis-
take both the patriotism and the per-
ceptlon OF the people whom he ad-
! dressed
SOME one wickedly says tkat the rsa-
son why very young girls usually take
the prizes at fairs for making good
bread, is because their mothers make
] If for them yUbiIo tho OI1ar cCirlS thin L