Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-10-30
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Address Of Hon. J. G. Burrows, of
Michigan.
At the Celebration of the 25th Ami
versary of Republicanism
in Wisconsin.

Dut the interest feel in the success OF
the republican party induced me to fore.
go my personal convenience and to par
ticipate with you on this memorable oc
casion.
The event you have this day celebrat
ed, though of special interest to the peo.
pie of your state, is
OF GENERAL CONCERN
TO the nation. The birth, development
and achievements of the republican par
ty, neither recorded in the state or ma
tional annals, mark a new era in the life
of this republic.
The republican party, my fellow-citi.
zens, has fought
THREE GREAT BATTLES,
and has won three great victories. Its
first battle, as | have already intimated
was for free territories, and when it won
that battle and consecrated the territories
to freedom forever, it struck fatal blow
to the institution of slavery, for slavery
could not live within the states where II
existed.
But, my fellow citizens, no sooner had
this battle been fought and won, than
the republican party was called upon to
fight
ANOTHER GREAT BATTLE;
battle for national unity-a battle for
the unity of these states. Before the re-
publican party came into power, on the
4th of March, 1861, the union of these
states was already destroyed. We gave
to the democratic party union. They
surrendered the union to us with the
union broken. We gave to them one
flag, waving in unmolested supremacy
over every foot of American soil; they
gave the country back to US with two
f1ags-with rebel and hostile flag fl
ing from across the Potomac and flaunt-
ing in the very face of the capital city.
We gave them country with one con-
gress; they handed it back to us with
two.
WE GAVE THEM COUNTRY
with one president; they had two when
they got through. In a word, they had
tional government, running fully and
completely, with president, cabinet,
executive and Judiciary, and tbs whole
machinery of state and national govern
ment in full and complete operation and
then, to cap the climax, the last demo.
cratic president, as he looked upon the
dissolution, said: "There is no power in
the constitution to coerce the states"
Then my fellow citizens, commenced
THE GREAT BATTLE
to restore the union and preserve the re-
public. That was terrible battle. The
slave power went into rebellion. The
democratic party of the north leaned
that way. [Applausel. 1 do not want to
be misunderstood. | do not mean to say
that every democrat at the north sympa-
thized with the rebellion. l do not mean
to say that this is the record of every
democrat by any means, for | know and
you know that there were democrats in
Wisconsin, in Michigan, Ohio and all
over the north, when
THE TWICE HoNoRED FLAG
of the republic twice went down over
the shattered Ewalls of Sumter, that tore
their party banner down with it and
trampled it beneath their feet, and they
knew no party flag or party issue until
the flag of the republic waved over a
united republic. But do mean to say
that the democratic party as a party,
sympathized with that rebellion, and
while we share with the war democracy
of the north all the glory for saving the
government, if there are any democrats
here of the other kind, we do not share
it with you [Applausel.
After putting down the war and gather
ing up the fruits of that great struggle,
we were confronted with
ANOTHER GREAT DANGER.
The democratic party of the north-of
course all the democrats of the south
agreed with them-said: eve cannot
pay this debt, it is no use talking. 1t is
an enormous thing" And the demo.
cratic party turned right round upon the
question of the greenback. Now [ re-
member, when it was first issued,-of
course there were no democrats in Wis
consin of that kind, but there were some
of that kind in Michigan,-who,w when
they were first issued, said they were un-
constitutional. Of course, you had not
any such here, but with us we had some.
They said we had no right to issue
them;
IT WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
Gold and silver was the money of the
constitution. But we said to them: eve
haven't got any. We have got to put
down this rebellion, and we have not got
any money, and the only thing we can
do is to issue these promises to pay"
They said: "You have no right to do it; ;
1t is clearly unconstitutional" We did
not know about that; we did not have
time to look into it, but we could see
that it could be done and save the gov
eminent. We had perhaps some doubt
about the constitutionality of
ISSUING THE GREENBACK,
but the difference between the republi
can and democratic parties was this:
That the republican party gave the bene-
fit OF the doubt to rebels (Applause.)
So we issued them
These are the three great battles we
have fought-the three great victories
we have won. Do you think there is
nothing more for US to do?
WE HAVE MADE FREEDOM UNIVERSAL
But want to say to you, in all sin
cerity, here tonight, that the freedom of
the black man in this country, here to-
day, is amockery and lie. We may as
well look at things as they are-may as
we'll understand them-there is no free
dom in the southern states. Why, i'm
mediatelv when the war was over, don't
you know that the cry went up of carpet
baggers. All over t. south the cry was,
out with
THE CARPETBAGGERsi
Now, l have no apology or excuse to
offer for that man who, when the war
was over, took his carpet-bag and went
south merely for the purpose of holding
office and plundering the people, and
then returninp to his northern home