Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1876-03-25
Correspondence INDEPENDENT C AZETTE.
Letter from Bert. Darlington.


Letter from Bert. Darlington.
WuITEFIELD, N. H., rch 20, 1876.
Mr. Editor
Well, election has come and zone, and |
we have settled down to a brief armisticc
before taking up our cudgels in the Presi- |
dental campaign. What COMPOUNDED fools
we common folks are, to strut through |
this tough work, day lie, with Il bclliger- /
ent chip on our shoulder, or, to be set |
foot to foot with our meighbor, in the fiery
breath of political anger, just for the sake !
of turning one set of thieves out Of Office |
and putting another set in. What is the |
victory to us, anyway? Its ours to do the
fighting, to stand in the storm and flame
of the BATTLE pay the bills, and, when the |
day is lost or won, to begin throwing up
battlements for the next campaign, while |
the commanders are fattening on the
spoils. Our political goose is cooked in
Washington, stripped of legs, wings and
0reast-meat, and then forwarded to Con-
cord, where it passes through such gas
tronomic ordeal, that when it reaches the
people, there is nothing left but the "bill'
and the short side of the wiSh-bone. This
mits it, and still we go on, year after year,
bearing the brunt and burden of a con-
flict which seems to be always against our
best interests. l have called our rulers
thieves. Its hard name, but take their
own word for it, aud if the ms are not
thieves, the outs are liars, and if the
outs are not liars, the ms are thieves.
Each party draws line through the cen
tire of our politics, mounts the stump and
tells us that all the angels ore on one side
of that line, and all the devils on the
other, and we, poor, simple, creatures,
throw our old hats into the air, swear to
it and fight tor it, Our typical stump
orator warns into his subject by telling
us that "o our glorious political fabric rests
upon the free will of The people," Is it
true? Is it not fact that most men are
virtually owned by somebody? Is it not
|
and voted by the rich man; the little man
by the big man and the employed by the
employer? / know there are thousands of
exceptions, but, as a rule, the strong con-
troll the weak, and although this is uom-
inalGy ga government of the people, by
the p2oplc and for the people," our desti-
MES are moulded by the cunning hands of
a few politicians, and we are fighting to
deepen and perpetuate the delusion. Ten
years from to-day, or sooner, large ma
jority of the freedmen will vote the Demo-
cratic ticket. RcpublicaniSm is their choice
but democracy is their destiny. Why will
these men turn their Scared and Whelted
backs upon the party that struck the
chains of slavery from their wrists?
tide of wealth, employment and kindred
forces, which is to-day, settling down
against them like the rush OF mighty
river to tempt, force and persuade them
into an unwilling submission for where
voter'5 bread and butter are, there will
his ballot be also. Negro republicaniSm
in the South, is destined to topplc over,
! like all other card castles in history, that
have been built up against the .torm of
human selstihneSs; and old cuff and the
pickaninnieS must relapse into their old
dark corner of the planters pocket-book.
In the natural order of things they must
belong to their old masters, in the same
sense that we belong to ours, and then we
shall no longer have to complain that the
black man is politically superior to the
white, as he certainly has been since we
put the ballot in his hand, if superiority is
measured by political independence.
Oar election passed off with a degree
of peace and good behavior unprecedent-
ed in our history. Rum is under the ban
Of law, gospel and morality in Whiteile!d,
closed by voting against the appointment
of liquor agent for the ensuing year and
directing the Sclectmen to close the pres
ent agency. The leading men of all par
ties seem bound to back the authorities
in putting down rum, and the time is com
ing when Whitefeld will stand in the
front Of temperance reform and surround
our old rumsellers with an atmosphere OF
purity that they cannot breathe and live.
Well, the Democrats got fearfully
thrashed, the other day, didn't they? I'm
sorry for you, but our politics have reach
ed point where somebody ought to be
thrashcd, and that Providence which
"temperS the wind to the shorn lamb has
laid the lash upon the back OF q victim
whose main strength lies in the thickness
of It's skin. So, off with your jackets,
gentlemen You will feel better after it is
all oyer, and you know you have to be
"whaled" about so often to keep you in
line with the country. Meanwhile, you
are welcome to the fearful commisera-
tion of
Thine,
BERT. DARLINGTON.
From Washington.