The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1878-05-23
SENSIBLE TALK.
BY Senator Gordon to the DOston
Folks.s as-sss -. sss.ss

. & = fsts = = Z !
From His Speech to the Commercial Club.l
care not what mere politicians may
say, the true statesmanship of the.
country, the true sentiment and intui-
tive perceptions of the people of the
country will refuse to believe and re-
fuse to base the future legislation of
the country on the unreasoning asser-
tion that any portion of the people are
the enemies of the country. In his
heart of hearts the politician himself
does not believe it. You men of
Massachusetts, you Republicans or
Democrats do not believe it. We here
make profert of ourselves. Do we
present to You the appearance of
bloody minded enemies of our COM
mon country Where is the evidence
of that hostility, what hsve we done,
what have we said, what votes have
we cast, what revolutionary spirit
marked our course in the country's
peril one year ago to justify such an
imputation upon our fidelity to plight
ed faith or our fidelity to law or TO the
union of these States, or to the peace,
the honor and prosperity of this Gov
ernment of our ancestors? It is true
we have had a war. But that war was
in one sense a conflict of theories Of
Constitutional constructions. The con-
f1ict began in the halls of Congress, and
ended at Appomattox Court House.
1t was in another sense q war over
slavery. 1t began with the disappear
ance of that institution from your
midst, and ended with its extinction
on the American continent. What
more was there left for Us to quarrel
over? 1t is true that, like Betsey and
her husband, we were out but. like
that couple also, we quarreled and
made up, and agreed to quarrel no
more.
The question ought to be no longer
whether the circumstance of birth, of
education or conviction carried men to
the one side or the other during the
war (for we must respect convictions
which are strong enough to evoke the
spirit of self-sacrifice and are essential
to great characters), but the question
must be, in the future, who has prov.
EN- himself the greatest patriot by do
ing most for his whole country?
know that no human power can long
prevent this contamination. The peo-
pie will put the politicians out of place
who attempt it, There are laws of
human action as resistless as those of
the material world. You can no more
check the how of goodwill in this
country since the causes OF indiffer.
ence are gone, than you can prevent
the flow of your Merrimack on it's
way to the sea. Indeed, more easily
stop the river in its course; for, to do
this, you have only to build wall as
high as it's sOurce-as high az the
soow-drift on the White mountains;
while to prevent q people inhabiting
the same country, inheritors of the
same memories and rights and liber-
ties, with the same blood in their
veins, with common interests, com.
mon hopes and a common future,
from coming together as friends, you
must build barrier between them as
high as heaven itself, for the law
which compels is the edict of the God
of humanity. Oh no, my country
meni The causes that divided US are
gone, and gone forever. The interests
which now unite US will unite us for
ever.