Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-03-01

halls Of those beautiful buildings that
your enterprise, your energy, and your
skill have erected for the common
glory, not Of Pennsylvania, but OF the
union of our States, and you will see
great evidences Of wealth, not only Of
foreign countries, but OF our own
Great advances in material sciences
and great progress in arts, comforts,
and luxury-all will bc there, and yon
will do all this IN commcmoration Of n
day ons hundred years ago, and this
shall bo 1876. You may be proud,
you may be rich, you may be strong,
but unless you have one thing, had
rather 90 back to the barcfooted, homo
spun men that won for yon the chance
to gain your wealth. II the spirit OF
1776 shall not be in the breasts of the
men who walk through these halls,
then ! say that your progress has been
backward and not forward. [Contin-
ucd chccrng.I The genius and the
wisdom Of the men who formed this
government has seemed TO me, in one
respect, TO be superior to any who pre-
cedcd them in the tide of time. They
have left their descendants u peace
ful means Of revolution and they
have given to the people of this
country the opportunity, at fro-
qucntly recurring periods, Of giving
expression 10 the faith within them by
the votes they cast at the ballot-box.
The proof Of that was seen and BY me
felt most deeply, in 1874. | had been
defeated so often and foied in every
attempt had made to bring what |
thought was better state of things
about TO check the advance Of power
! had seen insolencc in Office 20 trium-
phant had seen corruption riding
rough-shod over honest men; had
seen States stricken down, without
law, and | had stood by helpless to re-
lieve them, but thank God, never silent
for want of protest [applausel that
whom the election Of 1874 came on
confess to you that ! was surprised.
And while, If say 10 you, it is none
of our business as TO how the issue
shall terminatc-bocause the true man
can only ask which is his side in the
fight; and, when he knows that, he
has got to follow it without regard to
whether he is successful or not, and
that is power beyond us to deter
mine-still, when that election took
place, | appeal to the feeling Of every
man here whether he was not amazed
and astounded and what could be done
by the peaceful agencies Of the Con-
stitution of our government in wholly
taking power from still organized
band or party arrayed Tor the destrnc-
ton Of our country. When you saw
the House Of Representatives of 1872
sending back but sixty odd members
of its number, and scarce man among
them who had been foe to constitu.
tional liberty, did you not feel that
there was within the provisions of the
power made for us in the wisdom of
our ancestors means of peaceful rev.
olution, if the people only saw fit to
exercise it2 And so we have it still.
Thank God, we have il still Ii has
been taken from Louisiana, and it is
sought TO be taken from Mississippi,
but we in Pennsylvania, aud in the
other States have it still, and, il we
choose, or If the people Of this country
choose, in the face Of what they see, to
neglect this chance, then we must
simply submit ourselves to what will
be popular verdict, although that
verdict may consign those who give it,
as well as us who protest it against it,
to unhappiness, to despair, and even
| cannot say slavery to an American
people-but to an absence of their
government. And so, gentlemen. next
year we have our chance. Next year
the people of this country can declare
whether in the language of your toast,
the sovereignty of the States, and the
majesty of the people shall be repeated
in your Federal Congress, and whether
the man who is TO be the President of
the United States in 1876 shall be a
man not OF iron will, but n man whose
will bends before the Constitution of
his country and the liberty of his fcl-
low citizens. lGrcat applause.