Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-09-17
Political.

so-a@5 eAs Cdu NI OOuntv convention
to be held on the 9th day Of October next
and we venture the prediction that no
more Important political meeting will be
held in Mower County during the next
five years. This nation is on the eve Of
one of the most critical periods of its his
tory. Emerging as it did, nearly ten years
ago, victoriously from struggle which
severely taxed its resources and its pow.
or, the administration adopted gener.
Gus, rather than just policy, of recon-
struction. Instead Of hanging the chief
conspirators and leaders CT the rebellion,
they were only disfranchised for a few
years and then amnesticd., Instead Of
confiscatiag the property of wealthy re-
bells and reducing the Iebellio:3 States to
territorial coriition; the utmost pains
was taken to preserve their ante-bellum
rights, ard to restore them fully to every
-cyjacket in the land. Rather than pre-
serve the asccndcncy maintained by five
years Of war, tire military power was
withdrawn, and the government of the
rcbellious States left in the hands of trail
tors. All these are now regarded as terri
BILE mistakes. BY every principle Of jas
tice, jeff. Davis was condemned to an ig-
noninious death. No viler traitor ever
SAW the light. He deserved to die, and
the nation was entitled to the beneficial
effect which his strangulation would have
produced upon his contrcycs. Immense
sums of money had been expended in
putting down the rebellion, and the gov
ernment should have reimbursed itself
out of the estates OF those who caused
and prolonged the war. Such an act
would have relieved the loyal masses of
an unjust burden, and it would have
stood the test of history. The whole
mass of Southern people who participa-
ted willingly in the rebellion, should
have been disfranchistd pcrpetua!ly. It
should have been the purpose of the gov.
crnment to prevent the possibility of an
other civil war, regardless of the consc-
quences to the guilty parties. They cx-
pectcd death, some Of them, others, con-
fiscation an! disability: and still others,
"stracisp: from the esteem and regard of
all good citizens; they knew themselves
to be deserving all this, and had they receiv
Cd it, they would have respected the author
ity which inflicted the penalties. AS it
is, they laugh at our lcnicncy and boast
at their immunity from the consequences
of their crimes. They claim indemnity
for loss Of property, and set at defiance
the Constitution and laws Of the land, in
every particular where they conflict with
custom or prejudices against color; and
to day there are ten thousand people under
arms in the South, in defiance Of civil
government. Fraternal blood is again
drenching the plains Of rebeldom a sac.
rificc to the fiendish spirit which resists
wholesome restraint. In the North there
always has been, and is now, large class
of people in active sympathy with the
disloyal portion of the South. To-day,
they are disguised under the name OF
Liberal Republicans, and in their new
role are PROSECUTING for the "Lost Cause
For MI this the old Democratic
party is directly responsible, and
every Republican should go to the polls
on next election day, determined to vote
against treason in every form. We
have local questions needing attention,
but they are necessarily subordinate to
the one grand question Of national su.
prcmacy and stability. Whatever polit,
ical privileges we may enjoy, come to us
through the legitimate functions of the
government, and if we suffer today, it is
because the prime source of prosperity
hasbecome obstructedand the munificence
of the government has been turned aside
from its natural channel. If a cancerous
humor testers in the blood until the loath
some disease manifests itself upon the
surface of the body, the victim need not
hope for relief from an application of the
scalpel and the caustic. The virus must
be eliminated from the life current or the
body will die; and so it is with the great
social body which we call government
Its fountains must be purified or corrup.
ton will flow through every artery. The
work must be done within the body poll
tic, not upon it; dissection and dismcm
berment, atfording neither a permanent
cure nor present relief will result in the
destruction of all that We seek to perpet
uate. Thus we say to Republicans, those
who believe in the justice and the wis
dom Of Republicanism, hold fast to thu
truth and give it an active and earnest
defense.
That Alleged Libel.
Nearly one year ago, one D. s. B. Mol
lison, known as the father of the Liberia
movement in this County, wrote a com