The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1874-09-17
j. l.. SHEEAN.
Isis Confessions nnd 1rOnlisc.--
The .sWnr Record" nm ln.
pleasant topic which Is Finally
Disposed Ot--g10sy do yOu Like
ID.

4 Mr. Sheean, the Democratic nomi
nee for Congress in this district. has
found 1t necessary to explain his anti,
war record. The performance took
place at Center Junction, Jones
county, last week Tuesday, and
seems to have been gotten up ex-
prcssly to dispose of the 'scopper-
! head part ot the campaign. That
the topic was no p'aassuu one is
evident from the brevily of the
/ speech, and the promise OF the orator
not To allude 10 II agai, IL the pres.
ent canvass. He is satisfied with the
manner in which the subject was
treated. whether ANYBODY else il or
not, and having rolled the burden Of
his own dark record fl ~ his shout
ders he proposes hereafter to address
himself 10 the more agreeable task Of
picking flaws in the conduct of his
opponents
/ II may nc discreet in Mr.. Sheean
not 10 alfude io the subject again,
but possibly il would have been more
discreet if he hal not touched il ~
all We give the material portions
of the apologetlc speech all we have
room for-clsewhrre. There is no
attempt AT denial--that would have
been useless. The evidence is clear
and distinct, and 50 he makes merit
Of frankly confessing the offence, IN
the hope q, unconditional pardon.
Shcean stands charged. That he
WAS traitor IL the ioyal cause, ia
the darkest DAYS Of the shareholders
rebellion. lie admits that he attend
ed the "peace meeting held a
Anamosa that he .'wrote" the raso-
Iutions which he there presented;
and he asserts thai he did so because
the resolutions expressed his ''honest
sentiments Furthermore he says
he has "np al,oiogy 10 ofer ~ erten-
notion"-he did II deliberately and
glories in it to-day-and il is fair
inference that he would repeat his
conduct under like circumstances.
And one Of the resolutions which
Mr. Sheean accepts as his own was
this:
Resoired. "l'hat the late conscrip-
tion act Is u ilagrant outrage upon
the States and upon the people, the
crowuii4y act ul the drsp tism ex-
hibited over us; tha, it cannot and
should moi i enfor, ed: that we have
already sicrt,ced too much life and
| treasurs III this fruilless war, and wlli
not give enc man or one dollar for
its further prosecution
These were Mr.. Shean's sentiments
on the day of the peace meeting at
Anamosa, March, 9th, 1868, when
he was helping to stir up sedition
against he general government.
That was 'he darkest period of the
war, after the Potomac army had
suffered repeated defeats. and three
months before the fall of Nickburg
and the New York .iots. Intense
anxiety pervadad the North. and the
government Was calling for more men
to fill up th. ieeimatca ranks Of our
armies At this tinlc, when iirmness
was most needed, when loyal men
began t. despair, when ten thousand
Rachels Nefe weeping for children
who were not, when only faith, cour-
age and devotion to principle could
bridge the dark abyss which seemed
to be yawning, Mr.. J. l.. Sheean in
vited the sediiious elements Of his
vicinity into a meeting, aud hurlino
defiance At the government, with the
noble Lincoln at its head. poured
forth the croaking that they would
not give lone man or one dollar
more to uphold the stars and stripes.
How many such patriots would have
been nect ssary t. paralvHe the arm
Of the heroic Grant before NickSburg,
or to have prevented the trusty Mead
from arrestlng the audaclous Lee a;
Gettysburg. How many fathers
wives husbands, and how many Sis
ters brothers. because the Northern
armies were not promptly strength
ened, through the traItprpus croak-
ings Of the Sheeans, IN Iowa, and
elsewhere: Yet, with the memory
of the blood thus nerdlassIy spilled,
and hc treasure thus worse than
wasted. fresh in the minds oi the
people, these enppe,heads ask to
represent The loyal men Of Iowa in
Com2re> :, with the assertion upon
then Ii ) hat they "hasr no apology
10 rilcr extcnuatlon' OF their po-
litical crimes.
Bat Mr. Shecan does hot stop with
the confession II his offence: he
saws hat he supported Greeley in
~. on the Cincinnati Ilatform; tina,
he Was one ol the Wee Presidents of
the Democratic Convention which
fused with the Liberals at Des
MONIES, the same year; that he en-
dor, ed the parform then, aud will
stand by the constitutional amend
mems now. II is only necessary to
reply that Democrats never could be
trusted on questions affecting the
negro. They never stood up against
their Southern masters, hut always
licked the Gus, from their feet. They
opp sed the war; they opposed negro
troops; they opposed emancipation;
they opposed the amerdmen's. They
made IA truce with the Grceleyitcs in
~, hut that did not change their
principles. They have since re-
uounced that platform in nearly every
State. In Iowa, ''antimonopoly' is
only cover until the next Presiden-
tia contest Mr.. Sheean is tie same
pro-slavery, State rights, ant-negro
Democrat that he ever was; and if
elected to Congress he would follow
the party leaders on all questions af-
fecting the amendments and equal
rights at the South. His promises,
therefore, have 10 value, aud should
deceive no one. He failed to stand
by the flag in its hour of peril; he
was untrue to the nation in its strug-
gle for existence; he raised traitor,
Gus hand and voice when the govern
ment called for troops; and he is not