Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-07-15
GROSS MISREPRESENTATION.

We clip from the Lexington heSlsIel'
of Thursday morning last,the following:
Gone of the speakers ut the democratic re-
form ratification meeting Monday niSht' maoe
use of language emlnently democratic. Ailer
recapitulating the many virtues, iron a oehio-
cratic stand -polnt), of the ''reform' Illaen' ne
to abuse republicans. we VIII sns
a few samples of this mans epithets. he saiu
were 'whore-mongers'' 'tnpefes'
seamblers. , .whisky-sots,' etc. Then ne coun-
seIed what should be done with such people.
He said. sthey ought to be gibbeted on the peaks
of the highest mountains, driven from door 10
door, like the lepers OF old, ostracised from 80
ciety, prosecuted in every shape anu mahner'
prescribed in every way possible. anu II 'hes
succeed in electing their ticket this 1alls ne
wanted the democrats in this neighoornooo 10
make it too hot for any radical to Hve here"
The following is a verbatim report OF
what the speaker referred to said:
ssWe shall see no permanent peace in TINS
country, and no real prosperity until we learn'o
ssubdue our passions Civil discerd WILL run
any people, as it has well nigh ruined US. lhe
true path to peace, and concord, and q restoreo
union. does not lie through the stormy gate Oh
sectional strife. That road leads down 10 ue
bloody sea of civil war. 1t travsrses dark 1or-
ests infested with thieves, and robbers, anu Car
pet-baggers, and dogs, and sorcerers. anu
whore-mongers, and murderers, and idolators'
and whosoever maketh and loveth u lie.' IL
was this pestilent spirit that sundered the bonus
of the union; and but for this, the north anu
south would have become rec0nciled In one year
after the close of the war, and to-day the people
of all sections would dwell together IN UNITY
If YOU would restore the %fraternsl relations OF the
states as they existed In past times, this Demon
of Discord must be cast out. The war that you
wage upon it must be q war OF determination.
Give it no shelter from the pitiless storm. Give
it no raAI-sur the soles OF its feet. Let 1t be
hooted, and secuted, and driven nom door 10
door, as you wsuId drive o disgusting leper
from your midst. Let it be gibbeted on the
mountain top of its own bad deeds; and when
all traces of life are extinct. let 1t be buried in a
grave Of abhored memory amidst the general
rejoicings of mankind"
The theory here put forward is, that
sectional strife" tends to destroy the
peace and prosperity of the nation; and
that it breaks up the foundations of pub
lie strength, and draws after it, as its
necessary adiuncts, s%'thieves. and rob-
bers and carpet-baggers." And to this
list the speaker added the dark roll of
bad characters referred to by St. John,
in the Book of the Apocalypse, namely:
.sdogs, and sorcerers, and whoremong-
ers, and murderers, and idolators, and
| whatsoever loveth and maketh a lie"
| That sectional strife" has, in fact, pro-
duced this horrid brood of bad charac-
tiers in this country during the last six
teen years, no m man will deny. 1t
produced secession, and civil war, and
the national debt, and heavy taxes. and
the cleaving paralysis of hard times. 1t
was this ''pestilent spirit" that the
speaker denounced. 1t was this de-
mon of ssdiscord'' that he said should be
"driven from door to door as you would
drive a disgusting leper from your
midst" And, finally, it was this same
.'demon'' that he said should be "gib-
beted on the mountain top of its own
bad deeds" By what process of rea-
soning the gifted editor of the ''Regis-
ter" applies the foregoing expressions to
his party friends, is a psychological CO.
nundrum which we leave for the curious
to solve. The Registers closing state.
ment to the effect that the speaker
said che wanted the democrats
in this neighborhood to make ii
too hot for any radical to Hve here,'
is a silly and stupid invention of the ed
itor's fertile imagination. No such Ian.
guage was used by any speaker on the
occasion referred to. In Diminishing this
garbled and distorted account Of what
was said ky' " democratic ero"hor,a+ +L-
ratification meeting, on Monday night
we feel constrained to express Jul pro
found regret that public journalism
should have stopped so low.
The article in question woul(
be harmless if it was not likel,
to be copied into other papers
but the chances are it will find it
way into sections of the countr,
where it will tend to revive the old feel
ings of sectional hate" which have al
ready done us incalculable mischief
Is it not time that this sort of warfar
Z should cease? Is it not time that a
l strife and bitterness should perish iron
! the breast Of the American people?
The spirit that seeks to postpone Z"
1 consummation so devoutly to be wish
J 3D." is sunk so low that an extraord
Z nary effort of O~mnipotent power woul
| be required to elevate it to the level
decent degradation.
= ~
Relknan Is for HAYES. 90 ia Rahcncl