Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1873-09-11
THURMAN'S SPEECH AT
WAVERIY

prominent Republicans. Its review,
therefore, is honestly and fairly given,
and cannot be attributed to partizan
prejudice:
The proportion of Democratic to Re-
publican voters in Ohio Is about as 40
to 5l-fortynine hundredths being
Democrats. AS an advocate of propor- |
tional representation the State Journal
has not been disposed to hold it a Ca
lamity that the State of Ohio should be |
represented in the U. S. Senate by one |
dignified and able statesman from each |
of the great parties. There were GER
tainly plenty of Republican statesmen
of that order whom We should have
been glad to see in the Senate; bat ius- |
tice seemed to demand that fOrtynine
| thundredths of the voters should not be
ldisfrauchiSed in order that tiftyone
hundredths should hold all the power.
An able, fair, honest statesman in the
deposition would be rather a blessing
than calamity.
An unfair, prejudiced, narrow-min-
ded partisan, using his position as al
means of iDfiaming the people with
demagogical misrepresentation, is not
desirable, there or elsewhere. 1t will
be day to be marked with q white
stone, when the election of such men
to Office in America shall become an i'm
possibility forever.
These observations, in their general
character, will not he disapproved by
any large part of the voters of either
party, in the State. In their special
application we shall doubtless find
more objectors.
We mean to say then, that the Wav.
erly speech of Allen G. Thurman shows
that he is not such an able, fair, or hon.
est member of the opposition as to be
a blessing to the State of Ohio, in his
capacity of opposition Senator. We
have been both panied and astonished
to find him more partisan than states
man; to find that he is not above cater
ing for the taste of the lowest vulgar;
that he is not too highminded or hon.
orable to misrepresent his fellow Sena-
tors, in the bOpe of securing partisan
ad Vantlge.
We had hoped to hear from Senator
Thurman a statesmanlike view of the
state of the Nation, with wise sugges-
ltiUns for the relief of grievances. We
had hoped to see him sink the partisan
in the gfander character of statesman
|, and discuss considerations of public
policy as man having comprehensive
land far reaching views of the national
needs and exigencies. Instead of that,
we find him laboring painfully to dam
age the Republican party by mere par
tisan Misrepresentation; we find him
completely ignoring the share of his
own party in the business for which he
seeks ito hold the Republican party
solely responsible; we find, in short, a
, mere partisan harangue, of the lowest
, type, in which there is neither fairness,
decency nor sense.
Ii MIR. Thurman had given us fair
and candid review of the demOraliza-
, ton which just now affiicts not only
, the civil service but the whole body of
society, and had suggested a remedy
for this epidemic of dishonesty and
bad faith, he would have done the State
) some service. Instead of that he bends
I, his whole mind to the work Of making
: the Republican party responsible for
' the work of the rOgueS who have de-
. ceived it and forfeited its confidence,
and who can never again hope to OBJ
tain public employment through the
{ Republican party, any more than the
Al NdSoACl IOPO W
employment through the stockholders
r of The bank he has defrauded, Mr..
: Thurman not only is unfair enough to
t seek to make parry matter out of in
, dividual dishonesty, through which
: the party is the greatest sufferer, but
he goes further, and cOnceals or denies
: the completely of his own party, which
exists in precisely the same manner
yrifb fhaf of tho hl;o,p IN n
: to greater degree as to one of the jobs
overhauled by him. To hear Mr..
Thurman, without any other source OF
the Republican party is wholly respon.
e sible for all the corruption and dishOn-
e esty eXtant. We do not exaggerate the
f unfairpess of Mr.. Thurman, as any one
may see by reading his speech. He rep
9 resents that the Republican PAL ty is the
source of all lcorruption, that the Demo.
Il cratic party has no complicitywh whatever
n with any of it, and that the only hope
!. of sound administration and an honest
n civil service is through the return to
: power of the pure and holy Democrat.
ic party!
0 The claptrap is paraded by the col.
] umn, with the most ingenious sugges.
r tions of matters calculated to still
:, further damage the Republican party,
and the most adroit suppressions anG
g evasions of precisely like matters cal
culated to damage the Democratic
party.
It We are not careful to defend the re
j. cord of any defaulter or thief, who ha:
> deceived the Republican party, and by
: means of such deceit gained office. We
|. demand that all such, as we'll as the
l. 0efaulters of private corporations, CO
If partnerships, churches, banks, and bus
mess houses of all kinds, shall be pun.
ished. One would suppose from Thur
:. mans speech that all the defaultine
bank officels, trustees of church funds
railway swindlers, ''knock-down" con
n ductors, and all the rest, are Republi
( cans in good standing, and the Repub
, Ilican party as such is responsible fOr al
> the peculation and bad faith growing
out of the maniac haste to be rich
y which now prevails in all classes o.
n society. Mr.. Thurman would hold the
L stream responsible for the impurities
OF the fountain, in order to fix respon
y lsibility for all evils upon the politica
Is party in the ascendant.
IL We have no more respect for a Re
l. publican thief than Democratic thief
'e we have no more respect for Repub.
,r lican slangwhanger who seeks to make
le party capital out of unfair persoual mis-
h representations than we have for Sena
I" tor Thurman i'm the same role for hi,
D party. 1t is always and forever con
! temptible to attempt to secure the pros
perity of party through such fou
means.
We ara fharafore fnrcod fo the con
7" clusion that it will be no calamity t.
" the people of Ohio if Senator Thurman
J. shall be retired from the public service
l. at the close of his present term, and re
manded to that strictly partisan service
: which he seems to hold above that O
: the public.