Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-06-01
sc A n ID A L.

into which the people are divided have prin-
ciples and purposes so distinct that there need
be no mistake in regard to either Only let
i, this be borne in mind, that the nation expects
= from the Republican party what it would not
:. dream of indng in the Democracy. The
;. record of the Republican party is one of
which it may be proud. As Republicans re-
|, view the labors and dangers of the past, the
:. more they are satisfied with the success aud
: the safety that followed While the sway of
the Republican party was unbroken, its policy
sought to establish peace and prosperity
throughout the Union. The blessings con-
> ferred by the Republican party on the South
the most selfish of the disloyal Confederates
, cannot deny. Republicans found the leaders
of the Democracy in league with the South
ern rebels, and hoping for the destruction of
the cause of the Republic in the rupture of
the Union. While Republicans were filled
with anxiety at tn aspect of affairs, they felt
within themselves the glow of patriotism
which they knew to be widely shared. A
sense of danger always combines the best men
and most resolute in the determination to
meet. Comparatively few out of the ranks of
the Republican party listened to the warning
notes of the rebellion. Democrats were will
ing to accept the heresy that "a State cannot
be coerced" to keep it from destroying the
Union. So their party sympathized with the
South, and did what it could to let the South
have its own way. 1t was not so with the
of patriotism, of freedom, of conscience, of
culture, of justice, determined at the first op-
portunity to see that the rights of all men |
were recognized and respected For years be- |
fore the war the Democratic party had be-
come merged in its identity with the threaten
ing, boasting, slave-owning South, and lost its
patriotism the moment it yielded to the dicta-
tion of the Slave Power. A party like the
Democratic party to be without patriotism
was great calamity. 1t was the great ally
of the South at the outbreak of the war; it was
hostile to the Union when in its greatest peril;
and the close of the war found it bitterly I'M
friendly, opposed to reconstruction. and as
subservient to the South as ever. The Dem
ocratic party is not patriotic to-day. 1t never
can be patriotic while it holds to States rights
doctrines; yet it has partially succeeded to
power in the House of Representatives by aid
ing to procure a state of things which has prac-
tically carried on the war till now, and enabled
disloyal Confederates to come to Congress
over the dead bodies of colored citizens, or
the dispersion of color.d voters whose ballots
yyor "a of hwy aba1c in fho iptar e
disloyalty. Disloyal Southerners long since
discovered that the Democratic party was just
the mule they wanted. They put the saddle
on its back and the bride in its teeth; and SO
pitiful of spirit was it that it invited Southern
insolence, and bore itself meekly when kicked
or cudgeled. The meanest rebels had only to
mount and mercilessly use the spurs, when
it would show its PAGES in the dirtiest mire,
and lick the hand that whipped it, red with
human gore. Such is the Democratic party,
that must always have Southern master.
What are the services of the Republican
party?
1t saved the Union, under Divine Provi
dence, which the Democratic party would have
permitted to be destroyed. The Republican
party threw itself on the patriotism of the
country and organized the grand armies of the
Republic. 1t wisely extricated the commerce
of the nation with other nations from confu- !
sion caused by the rebellion; provided money i,
to pay the soldiers and sailors and for ships
and guns and ammunition, and to pay pen =.
sions to the survivors of the dead and the
wounded. 1t raised the national credit abroad;
borrowed money at lower interest than be-
fore, rendered necessary by the criminal SYM
pathy of the Democratic party with rebellion.
devised the internal revenue system as the
ways and means to provide the funds needed
ahd prepared the tariff to provide gold for in
terest and to pay off the national debt. 1t
fought the war till it triumphed, and when
the rebel armies laid down their arms, to the
surprise of the world the rebels were offered
amnesty. 1t is fighting the war of the rebel
lion to-day. The presence of Confederates in
the House of Representatives is proof that
the rebels are still clinging to the hope that
they may reverse the wisdom and labor of the
past. The Republican party is the faithful
sentinel of the people, ever on the watch to
protect the nation and guard the rights of all
men.
Most of the late rebel soldiers of the Con-
federacy were foisted into Congress to repre-
sent disloyalty; and they Immediately COM
menced their work. But few are known alone
for the characteristics of soldier; and many
of them have their names connected with
brutal, barbarous, and cruel murder. One H.
Casey Young, of Tennessee, commanded a
regiment of cavalry, and was present at Fort
Pillow while the bloodiest atrocities of the
war were committed. Few of them have that
soldierly fame which soldiers love to recog-
nize in friend or foe. Soldiers all the world
over are generous and chivalric, but not to
men that wore a uniform smeared with the
blood of murder. The unwelcome prominence
of this class of Confederates is the reason why
Federal soldiers look with disdain upon them
and avoid them. These marked rebels are
the sentimental Democrats who sought to be
employed against Republicans. Having no
good name Of their own, they are busy making
charges and getting their friends and COM
radcs to make them The air of the commit
tee rooms of the Capitol is rank with perjury,
reckless assertion, and scandalous calumny.
Investigations of this kind can lead to moth
ing of value except to the men who testify. A
man who had shot down soldier who had
surrendered is not the man from whom Justice
is expected. The mist of scandal is envelop-
ing Congress, and it will be something strange
if the people will not judge the Confederate
committee men. Their exploits on the field
and in political life are neither of them Of a