Ottumwa weekly courier., 1877-08-08
lMPUpENcE.

1MPu0ENCE.
The acme of impudcncc is reached
by Democrats in convention, by Dem
ocratic journals and Democratic talk
ers endeavoring to arraign the Re-
publican party as being the cause Of
hard times. Republican legislation,
Republican corruption, Republican
discrimination against the people and
in favor of the bondholder, democrats
shrek from day to day, and year to
year, is the cause Of hard times, of
discomfort and strikes. Who are these
shriekers They arc the men who,
as actors or sympathizers, inaugural
ed a rebellion to destroy the Repub-
lie, and to found new nation that
should keep five millions of people in
abject slavery; that should keep five
millions subject to the will, the pas
sions, and the caprice of their mas
ters; that should keep five millions
laboring simply for a poor susten-
ance OH the toughest of fare, the scam
tiest of clothing, and home in a
hovel, and in addition to this, should
be subject at any moment to be sold
on the auction block, severing all ties
of kindred. These are the shriekers
who, with honied, hypocritical words
talk Of Republican oppression of the
poor. of discriminating against the
laboring classes, of legislating the
nation into bankruptcy.
Again, these arc the shriekers who,
by their connection with the party of
treason, caused the nation to go into
debt $1,000, 900, 600 to preserve its own
life. They made the debt by their
own wickedness, by becoming assas-
sins of liberty in behalf of slavery.
Whipped, they would have repudi-
ated the debt thus made. They sought
for years to do it, and so by this new
tack destroy the nation they could
not shoot out of existence. They
still seek to flood the country with an
irredcemable currency, and bring
dishonor upon its credit. The Re-
publican party set at once about the
payment Of the debt, and to make pro-
vision for its future payment by get
ting it into bonds at the lowest pos
siblc rate of interest, and to-day our
bonds are at par bearing only 4 per
cent. interest, and going off rapidly
in the markets of the world.
Conceive, if you can, reader, that
we could wipe out the immense sum
we borrowed to crush out a Demo-
cratic rebellion conceive, if you can,
the vast loss to the nation by men
having been taken from the fields Of
labor to the army and to premature
graves; conceive, if you eau, the i'm
mcnse destruction of property during
the war, and then suppose this had
never been suppose the country, in
stead of having suffered all this and
what it is yet to suffer from it, had
gone on to prosper, free from this
great scourge, free from our great
national debt, and if you can con-
ceivc the difference in the status of
the nation under such a supposed
case and that which we have now,
you have the result of the Internal
work of the party of rebellion.
A concomitant of this democratic
rebellion too, was cxtravagant prices,
cxtravagant living, want of economy,
running in debt, fabulous yalnes, and
now we are gradually obliged TO corr
rect all this. and these democratic
shrickers take advantage OF it, all the
result of their oacn miSdeedS, to in
lame the populacc. and shout for a
general seed time of grcenbacks,
which they SO dcspiscd, discreditcd
and cursed when we were issuing
them, and so borrowing from the
whole people to whip reasonable
party into obedience. Show me the
farmer or the merchant who has had
to borrow largely by reason of the
destruction of his property at the
hands of an incendiary, and we will
show you the farmer or merchant
who will see hard times before he
gets out from under the load. AS it
is with an individual so it is with a
nation. The besom of destruction
cannot sweep over nation without
a pecuniary pressure will follow, and
it is the height of impudence, indeed,
for the party causing such destruc-
ton TO charge others with being the
cause Of hard times. 1t takes very
mean party to be traitors, and that,
too, in behalf of slavery; and it takes
the same party to have the impudence
to charge that the depression, una.
lyoidably a concomitant of their re-
bellion, is the work of those who
whipped them into obedience,
To all this talk our opponents have
one standing reply, viz: "Bloody
Shirt !" "bloody shirt " That is to
say let by-gones be by-gones; that il
is not fair to say anything about theiI
treason making hard times, but YET
they say it is their inalienable priv
ilege to charge the Republican party
with being party of corruptionist'
and knavcs, and responsible for al
the hard times, if they did pile ,
great debt upon the people to bur
den us with.
| SAM BowLEs, of the Springfield
(Mass.) Republican was in grea
glee not long ago. His Washing
ton correspondent had dug up tn
fact that there was lette
on file in the War Department
written in 1861, by William A
Wheeler, addressed to the then Sec
retary Of War, Simon Cameron, ask
| ing for gun contract. The astut
i