The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1876-09-21
REPRESENTATIVE.


We have an idea that the Democratic
party of Monroe county is under great obliga-
tions to the JEFFERSoNIAN. We have done
it an extraordinary favor, in that we have
been the means sofdemonstrating thatits organ
the Monroe Democrat can be urged up to the
point of demonstrating with considerable
cmphaticness that it has the spirit to defend
both the party and its candidate from Repub
lican assault 1t took some nine or ten years
of persistent effort on our part to bring about
this demonstration, but we have succeeded
at last and so elated are we over our success
that we have determined not to charge
single cent for our valuable time and labor in
bringing it about The fact brings with it
an abundant reward,
OF the manner and quality of its defense
of Mr. Place we will not say so much for we
certainly find nothing in it to brag over. 1t
Is made up altogether of Mr.. Places asser-
tions and boasts of to-day. 1t would have
been more to the point if it could have been
drawn from Mr.. Places conduct at the time
when actions were Of much more value than
words can possibly be now. Of course our
distinguished neighbor could not speak from
personal knowledge of events occurring when
he was abroad and so piously engaged,
during the time when terror reigned in
Middle Smithfield and Of course he could do
no better than to accept Mr.. Places assur-
ances, and bring them forward as Mr..
Places vindication; but both he and Mr..
Place should stick to the text and when get
ting ready to accuse us of being "a convicted
iibellcr,' be sure that they themselves were
not the guilty party in this respect.
We find no where, in our article, the ac-
cusatibn against Mr.. Place personally that he
was guilty of the excesses charged, but we
did say that he was member of a faction
which did all that was charged and we now
say, that as an influential member of that
party, active in its counsels as well as in the
PRONUNCIATION of the principles which it sup
ported, he was as much responsible for the
dirty, disloyal work that was done, if not
more so, than were the miserable dupes urged
OH to DO it, or quietly allowed to do it with
out remonstrance from him. Chauncey
Burr and ". W. Bartram did not make
prolonged visits and preach treason in Mid
die Smithfeld of their own notion. They
were dollar and cent men and were induced
to come by somebody; and so long as Mr..
Place, and others of like standing and inhu-
encc, countenanced their presence and gave
encourag cement to their harrangues by listen
ing to them without remonstrance, and sup
ported the principles and men they advoca-
ted by his vote, he was as much in the boat
with treason and traitors as though his
individual exertions had resulted in bringing
them there. This is principle of law, and
it is as much principle of ethics and COM
mon sense as it is of law.
From this point the Democrat, at the sug-
gestion Of Mr. Place, descends to the merest
bosh. That he was not devoted to Grant
BcIknap and Babcock at the time when he
was listening to the reasonable utterances of
Burr and Bartram, we will believe. Then
Grant, BelknaP and Babcock were standing
as bulwark for the safety of the Union, and
whipping the friends of the immaculate
candidate of Democracy for Representative
out of the notion of disrupting that Union
OF course devotion to patriots was not then
to be expected of such Democrat Nor
has he at any time INDUCED such devotion,
because at all times the mere mention of
their names brought up the recollection that
they fought to make treason odious, and that
was something which no Democratic fellow
could endure, you know. Latterly he has
not been devoted to Grant because he proved
just as successful at whipping Democrats at
the polls as he was at whipping them in the
field, which was fully as Objectionable doubt
less in the estimation of Mr.. Place. 1t was
nonsense therefore for the Democrat and Mr.
Place to even insinuate that we might believe
that the latter was as devoted to these pat
riots and heros as we were, especially as we
never even insinuated so much. We have
nothing to brag over in our course during the
time when treason ran rampant over the
land We did our duty to the full of our
power in supporting and encouraging the
government IN it's great struggle for the
preservation of its life Both our course
and Mr. Places is still fresh in the memory
of all, and as to which better performed the
duty Of citizen, we would be willing tc
leave even to the judgement of our distin
guished neighbor over the way, but for the
fact that he was piously absent in Switzer
l.. tl. nd of
knows nothing about it. As to Mr.. Places
brag that for every dollar we contributed il
aid of the government he contributed twenty
five, all we have got to say is that his purse
must have been heavier about that time, ol