Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-04-19

CIlcb vi H0t BID tllht . 81
Audubon county has had Demo-
cratic organ called the Defender. The
editor has, however, very recently
took himself and his Defender out
from Democracy and enlisted under
the Republican banner. The editor
is native of Maine, and was a Union
soldier. After relating his history
and his trials in trying to be Demo-
crat, he putc the reasons for his
change in the following admirable
manner:
eSubsequcnt events have prov
ed cOnclusively that the great
aim and desire of our party was not
to protect the interests of our great
commonwealth was not to preserve
inviQlate and indissoluble the great
Union of States; was not for the
avowed purpose of according equal
rights and justice to all men was not
for the express purpose of seeing our
laws and governmental affairs admin
istered honestly and impartially but
was simply to gain control OF the
reins of government, or of the govern
mcnt Of individual States. A few
instances will serve to demonstrate
this fact: In 1872 we nominated for
President Horace Greeley, one of the
most rabid Abolitionists and bitter
oppon ants of Democracy this country
ever knew, thinking that by the aid
of the Liberal party, which was
originated by, and composed OF, dis
appointed Republican Office-seekers,
we would thereby gain the desired
end. Mr., Greeley, in his second
childhood, and ambitious to be num-
bcred among the list of Presidents OF
the United States, accepted the nom-
ination, and in attempting to sit in
two chairs at the same time, missed
them both, and instead of landing in
tho Presidential chair, he sat down in
an uMtimely grave where nc NOW
rests. Individually we did not favor
Mr.. Greeley's nomination., and be.
lieying vote for him to be incOn.
sistent with our Democratic principles
we did not vote for him and refrained
from voting for Presidential electors
at all. In 1873 we undertook to gain
our point and obtain power through
the Grange movement, the name
"Anti- Monopolists" was chosen
thousands conscientiously Joined
heartily in the movement, but it failed
to win as il soon became SO transpar.
ent that its real object could plainly
be seen by all. Jacob q. Vail was
nominated for Governor, and having
no other alternative, we voted fol
him, although it was like swallowing
tow. On the same ticket for Congress
from this district we swallowed more
tow in the person of Anson Rood, {
renegade Republican, who was anxi
GUS and willing to ride into office OF
any kind of a political horse.
"Only last fall we resurrected {
fossil specimen of ancient Democracy
whose only qualification was his age
and placed him at the head of oul
ticket. All these things tended Il
make man with a shadow of prin
ciple and honor feel anything bu
proud of his political affiliations ant
connections, but the climax was no
reached until tho present Congress
assembled at Washington. Oul
readers are too familiar with the re
cent acts of that body to necessitate
rehearsal of them here. The Con
gressional halls daily resound will
treasonous speeches from the lips o
those who but a little more than |
decade ago were arrayed against u
i'm deadly conflict, and who assisted
by every means in their power t,
strew the Southern battle fields will
the bloody corpses of Union soldiers
but who now have the effrontery Il
stand up i'm the Legislative halls o
our nation. holding their official po
sitiOns by the suffrages of those chat
tells whom they have SO long ant
loudly effected to despise, and max
treasonous speeches for which the.
would have been hung in the days o
Jacks0mian Democracy, but to whom
northern Democrats look as leaders
and bow submissively to their dicta
ton. Gentlemen, the scenes of tn
late war are yet too fresh in our mint
to desire re-enactment of those
bloody conflicts. The frequent asser
tion, 1--WE are beaten, not conquered
or subdued," is not meaningless anf
present indications are that its full
Import will be realized all too soon
And right here we stop, and righ
here our connection with the Demo
cratic party ceases. Recent invest
cations prove conclusiyely that tn,
loud prOtestations against govern
mental mismanagement and the ad
vocacy Of reformatory measures from
the lips and pen Of ofDemocratic lcader
are mythical, false. For twelve year
we have been consistent Dcmocra
and only sever our connection with
that party now because we bclicv,
their acts of the past decade have beer
| in the main impOlitic, that their pres
ent course is injudicious and tend
toward our retrogression as a nation
"Believing the Republican party t
be q progressive one, whose real ant
lprofessed object is the promotion o
the welfare Of our country and oul
state, and above oil the advancement
of education and the promotion o
our admirable common school system
we hereby join its ranks and shal
hereafter labor assiduously for it
welfare and be rs consistent a Repub
lican in the future as we have been .
Democrat in the past"
FLAX RlDE1.
1t Is now pretty well establishe.
that American manufactures cal
compete with England In the Mann
facture Of cotton goods. If this b.
true, why cannot American ingenuit,
manufacture linen goods from on
fax fiber in competition with Franc
or ScOtlandi Our fax lint is still
going to waste, notwithstanding tn,
improved tariff the Hon. James VIII
son aided largely In getting through
Congress to prevent the importation
of sd much jute. The ST. Louis paper
say that clean scnteheA tow, properl,
rotted, and Of good strength ia worti
in that city $50 per ton. At this pric
l. q n 2 l. 4 n 2