The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1878-06-13
THE STANDARD.
THURSDAY. JUNE Ha. ..zs7s.
From the n. Y. Times, May 29th.l
Decoration Day.

O6cOIatlOu Ddy
Tomorrow the graves of the gallant
and unfortunate men who vainly died in
fighting to suppress rebellion will be
strewn with flowers. With the motive
that prompts this ceremony no fault can
be found; but the time is rapidly coming
when we shall perceive that it is mis-
take to keep green the men whose lives
were lawless and who died in defeated
cause.
We have learned much during the last
two years. 1t now seems almost incred-
ible that men could have honestly
thought they were doing their duty in
trying to impose Government of force
upon the people of one-half of the Union.
The statesmen who con ntrol the present
House of RepresentatiI es have shown
that the Federal Government can never
have right to use an army to thwart
the will Of the people or to suppress do
mestic disturbances. When the disorder
which began in the attack on Fort Sum.
ter occurred, it was either form Of do
mestic disturbance or an uprising of the
people. If it was the former it should
have been quelled by the Militia of South
Carolina; if the latter it was crime to
suppress it by force In neither case
could the Federal army be lawfully used.
Nevertheless, we know that the surren-
der of Sumter was the pretext for the
assembling of large army, by which the
Southern people were finally overthrown
in battle We may pity the Union SOL
diers who died in the field, but in the
light of modern Congressional gospel we
cannot fail to see that they were acting
illegally and as a Federal Police force.
Had the result of the civil war been
final victory for the Union we might
have had some excuse for keeping alive
the memory of the struggle, but it is GER
tainly bad taste for the partisans of
lost cause to annually call the attention
of the world to their defeat There was
time just after the surrender Of Lees
Army when it was supposed that the
Union had triumphed, but when we look
at the results of the war, we find that the
victory remains with the South. Men
whom we call rebels had forced the
Southern States into rebellion, and we
supposed that one of the results of the
war would be that these men would be
driven from power, and the control OF
the States placed in the hands of loyal
men. We find, however, that to-day the
so called rebels govern every State south
of the Potomac and the Ohio, and that
even in those Southern States where
loyal voters are largely in the majority,
they are absolutely powerless. Was it
for this that the Northern volunteers
gave their lives?
We thought that another result of the
war would be that every citizen of the
South, no matter what was his color or
political creed, would be protected in the
possession of his right; and that the rule
of an oligarchy would be succeeded by
the rule of the majority. But the old
white oligarchy holds the reins and
wields the whip once more. The 50, 900
colored voters who voted in Mississippi
for Grant in 1872 did not poll single
vote last Fall The white and black Re-
publicans who for short time ventured
to exercise their political rights in Lou
isiana have vanished. We know that the
Federal Government has no right to
guarantee republican form of govern
ment in any State, no matter what the
Constitution may say; and that State
Government which is the creature of
fraud and the weapon of an oligarchy can
rightfully claim the recognition of the
Federal Administration. Was it for this
that the Union soldiers died
We fancied that after the rebellion
had been crushed on the battle field, the
Government of the nation would remain
in the hands of the victors. Who rules
the country to day We find Federal
Administration dividing the public pat
ronage among the rebels who surrender
ed to Grant and Sherman We find the
House of Representatives, controlled by
those who either supported the rebellion
in the field or sympathized with it at
home, cutting down the army and hand
cutting it so that it can no longer be used
except on the Rio Grande or the Indian
frontiers attacking the business and
commerce of the North by vicious fnan
al lar LOT oyi, ha
munists and the dissatisfied laborers to
riot by stimulating their passions with
one hand while removing with the other
the bayonets that might otherwise keep
them in check; and finally, under the
nominal leadership of Representative
who during the war cheered the rebels
with his warm wishes for their success,
embarking in scheme of revolution
more reckless than the revolt of Mexi-
can bandit chief.
The South governs the country to-day,
and, holding the balance of power, can
control all future Presidential elections.
The cause that we fancied was lost at
App omattox was regained when Louis
lana was recaptured by Nichols. We
thought that Lees army was dispersed
after the surrender, but it has marched
on Washington and has just annihilated
one-ffth of our Federal Army. All that
the South fought for, and more-with the
solitary exception of negro slavery-is
now in her possession. The rebels aimed
only to perpetuate their absolute control
of the Southern States. They not only
have secured this, but they have added
to it the control of the whole Union.
This is what has followed four years of
battle 1t was for this that hundreds of
thousands of loyal soldiers laid down
their lives
Why should we devote whole day to
reviving the thoughts of a struggle which
has finally brought US complete defeat,
and to praising the men who fruitlessly
shared in it, Our soldiers were doubt
less brave and patriotic, but their lives
were wasted. What has the Union to
show as the price of so much blood
The chaplet of victory should be laid on
the graves of the Southern Greeks. "
Our Greeks died foolishly-else, surely,
we would not have thrown away the vic
tory they gladly gave us with dying
hands.
"Now, my man." said the lawyer to the
witness, "tell us exactly what passed.