New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-09-12

embodiment of the whole brood of moderI
isms, all of them pernicous, most of then
repudiated, many of them putrid.
Our country is new, young, vigorous, pro
gressive, powerful, great, and growing; il
is all this, because the genius of our people
is practical and matter of fact. And yet, il
is gravely propo,ed to take this fantastic
bundle OF isms. this stumbling theorist. this
paragraph writing sciolist. this ungaiuly
scare crow statesman. this dotated old woman
politician, who has outl;ved her day and
generation. to set her up as the type of the
bold, dashing American man, and to make
him the President of the foremost nation of
the earth, empowered to administer its Gov
eminent, to command its armies, to direct
its navies, to conduct its foreign relations
and to impress the world by his own quail
ties with its vigor, its power, and its pres
tige. 1t is not possible that an act of popu-
lar caprice and folly, so ridiculously incon.
gruous with all that is fit and appropriate,
will ever be committed, rs the making of
such man as Horace Greeley the President
of our great country.
Horace Greeley began his public life as a
bitter anti mason: preaching a crusade
against that ancient and benevolent broth
erhood. He was socialist in the faith of
Fourier and Owen. He has had much to do
with woman's rights and free love pretend
ing sometimes to combat them, but always
giving them bland and amable eounte-
nance. Though protested vegetarian, eat
ing no meat; and Boosting tenn oerance man,
eschewing whisky. He is liberal spirit.
ualist, The patron and host of spirit-rappers
and clairvoyants He has been esteemed a
free thinker in religion, and Know Nothing
in politics, and was both, if man is to be
judged by the company he has kept In
short, his name is synonym of unsound-
ness, absurdity, and craziness on all social
and political questions.
ALWAYS NARROW POLIrICIAN-XEvEa A
LIBERAL. STATESMAN.
But it is more directly with his views as
politician that we have to do. His career
as partisan has been such as must preclude
from supporting him, every man of self
respect who now processes the National
Republican faith, or who was ever Demo
crat of the old Andrew Jackson persuasion.
The leading idea of the day in which we
live, is the greatness and glory of the Amer
lean Union. To this absorbing idea all
policies must henceforth bend, and all can
didates for popular favor must bow and
square their records There is that in the
expanding destiny of America, which can
soace the Southern man for the failure of
his Confederacy, and in contemplating which
he can rejoice at the extinction of slavery
and the temporary subjugation of his coun.
try. But if there is anything that can qualify
is the fact that, in the vagaries of scheming
vo1,tioiopo such Hnraoo
can be thought of as the President of our
great Republic. What enlarged measures
of public policy designed to expand,
strengthen, enrich. ennoble, and exalt the
American Union, has been proposed in the
last half century, of which Horace Greeley
has not been the noisy and factious adver-
sary?
HE WAS AN ABoLITIoNIsT lNCENDIARY.
His career up to 1861 was devoted to the
disruption ofthe American Union. He sowed
the seeds of misunderstanding and hostility
toward the South in the Nothern mind, more
than any other man. and all other men. lie
filled the Southern heart with alarm by sys.
tematically traducing our character and in
citing our slaves to discomfort and insurrec.
ton. Slave BREEDERS" 3" slave holders
wal" "human chattels," were few of the
PM VI HS COiildSe tf1dG went lutO tne
vocabulary of epithets which was contrived
to prevent the possibility of peaceful con-
tinuance of the Union. Over and over
again was his Tribune seized in our post
offices as fire. brand of instruction. Over
and over again was the present candidate of
the Southern chivalry for the Presidency
presented by our Grand Juries as a ferment.
er of servile outbreak, that most dreadful
calamity which can befall community.
WHAT DROVE HIM SOUTHWARK IN 1867.
refrain from dwelling on this black chap
ter of his history. Not l, nor you are his
chief accuser for these attempts against the
peace of the South and upon the fidelity of
the colored people. 1t is his own con.
science. 1t was his remorse at the brutal
wrongs he had done US that brought him to
Richmond at the close Of the war as q sup
plant for mercy. HIS subscription to bail.
bonds and his profiered amnesty were expe.
dents by which he vainly sought to pur.
chase of an outraged people, forgiveness and
oblivion. If had been jefferson Davis, |
would have died the death of twenty trail
tors | would have seen the heavens rolled
away and the earth crumbled under foot be
fore | would have suffered that name TO be
subscribed to any bond for my liberation.
HE WAS FOR DlssoLvING THE UNION IN 1861.
I see, in all this conduct Of Horace Gree
ley no proof of his fidelity to the Union. and
no ground of claim to the confidence of ma.
tional men. At the beginning of secession.
he was the open and Jealous advocate of
dissolution having suddenly became a man
OF peace, preterring an amicable separation
to war of subjugation, However accepta
hta that I,ov oh h. hon c.
ern shareholders, it involved base deser.
tion-by Horace Greeley-of the cause of
the colored people. After spending the best
years of his life in filling shareholders with
evaporation toward the slaves, Mr.. Gree
ley was willing TO turn these people over to
the unrestricted power of their enraged mas.
tiers, desiring that the Union miqht be dis
sotred, IN order that slare,y might peace fully
continue.
HE ADVOCATED ALL THE AMENDMENTS AND re-
CONSTRUCTION ACTS.
While he has been liberal CT empty words
to the South in favor Of amnesty-courting
the favor of prescription leaders by round
abuse of carpet baggers-he has been the ad-
vocate. if not the author of all those meas
ures Of which the Southern people have
either rightfully or wrongfully complained
Through the whole catalogue of constitu.
tional amendments and reconstruction acts,
including the impeachment of Andrew John.
sen-like Saul at the stoning of ST. Stephen
he held the clothes of the immediate &C.
tors in the tragedy. If you single out the
policy of con6scating our private property
Horace Greeley was clamorous for that. If
you come down>to the Ku-Klux act, to the
the Civil Rights act. to the enforcement act
he was urgent for them sll. TIE s'renu.
Gus advocacy Of any measures by the Tribune,
while its fidelity to the Republican cause was
unquestioned, generally insured the passage
Of the measure. The failure of Mr.. Gree
ley to carry general amnesty through Con
gress, was because he has used it as per.
sonal hobby and not advocated it as prac.