The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-08-09
golitieal.

THE CAMPAlGN.
+ + + A DEMOCRAT ON The SITUATIl
TX SPEECH CT
!: HON. B. F. PARKS,
,e ,e Delivered mt Joliet, IIs.. safurdn
~ July l3, Is73.
q Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen
II am entirely conscious of the pee
'f liarity of my position tonight. 1t
e not position OF my own seeking
. Years ago l had the honor of NEE
: ing some of the Democracy of Joli
at Houses Grove. / there made
r Democratic speech with which the
9 we're pleased, and for which WIS
4 complimented. They were kin
J. enough to invite re to this city fou
g years ago for the purpose of address
q ing the Democracy On the issues il
r volved in that campaign.
When / made those speeches
, thought the ideas I enunciated wer
i true-I think they are true to-day
/ made them for Democratic me
! and Democratic measures. / the
! ! detailed to you the results of Rad
. cal Republicanism / told you tha
I as the peculiarly dangerous exponen
: OF Radical Republicanism, Horac
!; Greeley stood solitary and alone
+ You cheered me on these occasions
you said was right.
Ito day / am here again befor
you. Ihavs2o reason to change tn
opinions ! uttered or previous occa
sions. When i was last he1s,I hell
up before you as an enemy of this
country-ss an enemy to its peace
and prosperity, and its every interest
Horace Greeley, and claimed that
his name ought not to be presented
to the American as an exponent oil
the views of the Democracy. You
! we're kind enough, on that occasion,
to cheer me and applaud what said.
Four years have passed since then.
am here again, still the same man
as before. / am here for the pur.
pose of saying that as long as there
is Democratic party, composed OF
Democratic men, and representing
Democratic measures, my heart
swelling with enthusiasm at the re
collection Of its past glories, l stand
before you tonight, having the same
convictions, holding the same princi
pies, faithful to the same ideas l en-
tertained four years ago.
Joliet and Aurora have a commu.
nifty of interest /; they are both man
uiacturing towns. have resided in
Aurora for twenty-five years, and
have always been Democrat. l
have answered every bugle call. and
have attended every mass meeting in
thoselong years. 1 have stood there,
all that time, upon the bleakest
watch-tower of that party in this
great State, and have been denounced,
banished, prescribed and scoffed OF,
and yet thought l was right, and l
believed that it was neither manly
nor honest to desert the party, so
long as it was true to itself. NY
indentures were with the Democratic
ship, and taken for a Democratic
voyage; but when they declare her
unseaworthy, and turn her over to
the underwriters for the insurance,
by every principle OF maritime law
and of common sense the sailor is
released from all obligations, and he
may look over the ships in port and
take which ever he pleases. When,
in January last, / was approached
upon the question of deserting the
party, and surrendering everything
we had struggled for-every princi-
pie that we had entertained and
cherished in the long course of our
lives-I told them my indentures
were with the Democratic ship, and
that as long as the mainmast stood
and the ssiIs were spread for Dem
ocratic voyage, would be faithful to
her. As Democrat, born in q wes-
tern home, they have right to COM
mand my fealty, SO long as they are
faithful to the trust reposed In them
but when they say to me that this
thing is all gone; that the whole
scheme of Democracy is ended; that
every principle for which We have
struggled, and everything which we
have said in years past is lie; that
our whole being is fraud /; then l
say to them l cannot 60 with you in
a contingency of that kind. When
principles and men are abandoned
when, with 100000 OF Democratic
voters in this country, the brain, The
heart and the conscience of the party
is gone, and there is no man worthy
to carry your standard-no man un-
der whose banner you can march
honor gone-manhood gone-princi
Piles discarded; if that is your con
dition o, Democrats, surely you
ought to die! II among the 5000
900 Democratic voters on thi, conti-
nent there is no man worthy TO re
ceive your votes-no man worthy
of your suffrages-that you must
throw aside every principle of your
life, that you must cast away your
hate, your love, your very shame.
and in agony of soul, take to your
hearts your lifelong enemy-the
man you have always abhorred, de-
tested and scorEed-then / say
cannot 60 with you.
In Wing times il there was princi-
pie to carry, peculiarly obnoxious
to the Democratic party, Horace
Greeley held that principle in the
extreme. II at any time there was
any measure brought forward dan
gerous to the liberties Of this people,
Horace Greeley wes its earnest advo-
cate. II there was anything propos-
ed by the Republican party peculiar
ly obnoxious to you, Horace Gree
ley was its strong supporter. II
there was anything in the constitution
that was unsuitable to the uses OF his
party, Horace Greeley was the first
10 want it set aside. Ii there was
ever any principle that you cherished
since your party was organized,
Horace Greeley was your antagonist
in that principle. / lean assert, with
out fear of contradiction, then, that
as far as principle is concerned, not
a single one held by you and me in
common. In Democratic times, when
We had q good man we kept him.
We elected Jefferson twice, Madison
twice Monroe and jackson, both
twice, loud cheers.) And when
We came to the imbeciles and do
nothings, the old bachelors and worn
out politicians like Buchanan, we lei
them slide after one term, and nom
mated some one else. say then, in
every principle you have advocated
before the American people-youl
avowed and lifelong enemy has been
Horace Greeley. Looking at it ir
this light, where is the man who daref
ask Democrats to vote for Horace
Greeley as the embodiment of theiI
ideas2
Let Us look little further. He
: has not only been our antagonist
upon every question of principle
but he has gone beyond the bounds