Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1875-01-14
1 Sc l..

4
the Democratic party, the Federal Con.
stitution confers upon me no power to
coerce q sovereign State. As q con-
sequence he interposed no act to sup.
press the reasonable preparations that
for months preceded the close Of his
administration. His party looked on
also in acceptance of their presidents
theory. They had been defeated at
the pole for the next President. and
they therefore treated self.governmeA,
IS thing Of the past, nullity--they
were chagrined aud msd-they wei.
coined treason q q solace to their
wounded feelings and to crafty their
spirit of revenge.
When President Lincoln stole bic
way into Washington .nco0 to prevent
assassination at his first step on slave
soil, he had to act a. he did promptly
to save the nations capitol.
Hero, before We proceed further, lot
us record with the fondest pleasure
and most grateful feelings that as Lin.
coin bowed his head to receive the
oath OF Office and read his inaugural
address, stephen A. Douglass stood
by him with encouraging words, and
that the latter afterwards threw down
the glove of defiance TO rebels, and
further that be was followed by tens
Of Thousands Of Democrats Ill
lover the country In his defense Of the
| Union.
| When Lincoln cent reinforcemeuts
to belesgured Fl. Sumpter. . national
fort for scacoast defense, South Car
olina treated it as an set of war, and
which act Dr.. Garnett, in his address
at the re.bnrial of rebel dead, recently,
commended within sight of the Ma.
tional Capitol. At this act of Pres.
ident Lincoln, Democracy North
denounced It as unconstitutional, q
tyrannical subsection of their friends
in the South, an unwarranted act OF
an usurper.
Again, when Lincoln issued his
proclamation calling for seyenty.flve
thousand men to defend Washington,
democracy denounced 1t In the most
unmeasured and vindictive terms, and
shouted through the press, upon the
rostrums in public meetings. and upon
the streets, that President Lincoln was
subverting the liberties of the people,
and ruling with the rod of the veriest
despot the world ever saw. So, again,
was II when the greenback System was
devised to supply the sinews of de-
Tense; and so it continued during the
whole history Of the rebellion. It 10
unnecessary to recount that past his.
tory, it is fresh in the minds of our
people. After the war, too, it il well
remembered, ss the the assassin sped
the fatal bullet through the brain of
Lincoln, and cried aSic Temper 7yran.
aus Pa natural sequel Of all demo.
cratic teaching during the war-thou-
sands of democrats In the North
openly or secretly rejoiced at the act.
Of the daring assassin. After the re.
bellion, came the democratic attempt
at reputation and the Ku K1ur.
When, in por,ions of the South, Ku
Klux murders were numbered by the
thousands, democracy North charged.
that the reports were manufactured,
and supplemented the old appellation'
of "Lincoln Hireliugs," applied to
soldiers, by tho sppellstion 'tCarpet.
baggers," applied to every man from
the North who had the audAcity to
settle south Of Mason and Dixon's
line. Democracy did everything in
its power to shield ths Ku Klux, aud
matters proceeded from bad 10 worse,
until whole sections Of the South, en-
braoing several counties, were subject.
ed to a reign Of terror, and both whites
aud blacks broashed only = the nsrsy
Of cut-throats, who we're invariably
democrats. Reconstruction was then
not fully pertected-ths people of the
United States had not had solemn pro-
LESSONS, made by democratic e0nven.
tons, that they accepted the amend.
ments made TO ~ Constitution lin
fine, that in the future they intended
to behave themselves, and President
Grant cent United States officials and
the army south, and these I'm Klux
outrages, where they were 60 numer.
GUS, at least, were chopped, and hun.
dreds Of the perpetrators arrested, aud
scores Of them convicted and impris.
oned. We believe . very few of those
convicted yet remain In prison, though
most of them have been pardoned
through the extreme clemency this
government has exercised toward the
people of the South since their terrible
rebellion.
| Such was then the action of the
democratic psrty-it is we'll to look .
little further:
lS1As5.
| Ku Klux, under that name, has
| passed away, but is revived under the
name "White Leagus"-the name
alone. though not suggestive Of the
4 devil as is the name Ku Klux, 10 still
distinctive menace to the black race
| of the ,South-a declaration Of white
supremacy and degradation Of the
blacks. No man, il he DO honest
and intelligent, will deny but that
this White League in keeping
with tho Unrest it bears in it,
namc, has perpetrated scores upon
scores of outrages and murders which
cast a. great blot upon the American
name as. ever transpired. We need
only to refer to the Coushatta and
yicksburg msssacres and tho Penn
revolution.
/, mt TnussOoAu,n - Ahn ts%o M