Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1876-05-04

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The Voice Of a Soldier.

The political carr paign can hardly be
said to have opened yet, but sufficient
has been developed to show the course
of action and the line of argument that
will be adopted by the Democratic par
ty. Thus early in the campaign they
have developed the fact that we are
again to be treated to the same whole
sale defamation of public men, and the
reckless SANDER that characterized the
last campaign.
Thus papers, even this early, TEEN
with charges of corruption, bribery and
jobbery in high places of the party in
power, and our entire congress, at least
the democratic portion of it, have re-
solved into a smelling committee to
nose out and expose the frauds of the
Republican party. As yet their drag
net has found but little, but the lack of
facts is plentifully supplied by magma
ton, and the Democratic press is cram
med with wholesale charges that have
no foundation in fact, and filled with
wild canards against the purest and
best of our public men. Now this thing
wont do gentlemen. You cannot ride
into power in this country yet upon any
such wave of falsehoOd. What facts
you find are legitimate weapons, but
confine yourselves to them, and don't
think that you can go in, because some
fewmen in the Republican party are cor
rupt. You must show that the Demo
cratic party is purer and better; you
must do something yourselves, to show
us that the triumphs of your party
would give us better and a purer adj
ministration. There are great public
questions we would have you show
your hands on. The tariff is to be re-
formed; the currency question calls
loudly for some decision that will en-
able the business of the country to set
tie down into confidence and prosperity;
needful reforms are to be inaugurated,
but what, in this direction, has the ma
jority in congress accomp llshed? Moth
lug, and what is more they have already
shown they can do nothing. Upon
every subject but one, they are a con-
fused mob, without policy upon any
thing. The only thing upon which
they are united is in deadly hate for the
party that saved the nation from past
treason. and hate for every man that
in any way in the past sustained and
upheld the national existence.
With Ben Hill uttering his ISLANDERS
and hurting his threats into the faces of
the loyal men of the nation, and sixty
soldiers Of the confederacy, on the floor
uttering their unrepented treason, with
their northern allies cheering to the
echo, the house presents spectacle
that may well make such of us as fought
to sustain the nation, pause and doubt
Would you have believed it five years
ago, certainly not ten, that the centen-
NAL year of our history would have seen
these men where they now stand? Is
the American nation indeed unworthy
the efforts made to save it? Is it in
deed unworthy the patriot dead, who
blood and the lives so freely given, Civ
en- for such.apostates as these? That in
profound peace they would dare give
away the victory so hardly won?
We had hoped the democratic party
had repented of their past course, and
were willing to let the issues of the war
sleep in the grave, where lay so many
of the brave and true, but it is not to
be and we find ourselves again confron-
ted with the questions we deemed set
tied for all time. 1t needs but a little
success to galvaniZe all the old issues.
and but general Democratic victory,
to find the nation again divided into
two hostile camps, with gunpowder for
arguments and bayonets for reasoners.
Do judge this party too harshly? /
think not the past shows To what lengths
men will go for party, and the men who
lead that party to-day, are the same old
leaders who led it into civil war in the
past. Are they willing to strike hands
and work for the best interests of our
common country? We have yet to see
any disposition to do so. On the con-
trary every day shows that the party is
dominated now as in the past, by the
southern section. What these men
seek and hope for, few of them occa-
siopally tell us. Their northern allies
follow them now, and would follow
them again, as they did in 1861, to the
very verge of revolution, and some even
into it, VALPARAISO
Chicago, April, 1876.