Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-06-19


beea 50 long snd 30 persisiently assert
Cd thai ne beck zee eve their free-
don 10 he republican pafty. and partic-
ulafiy thsl the Uaion was saved BY The
vslor Of Is soldiers On he field of bat
lie. tIsat very tssay good people have
come to believe Il. This convioiion is
SO deeply rooted in the mind Of the black
man that ID has grown up into m axiom
in his system Of political and historical
reasoning. We doubt IL there . an
hundred Of these in our county who to-
day are not afflicted With this delusion.
and Il IN not. whea Yea come 20 think
about II, at sli extraordinary. Consid-
sring the general ignorance and credu-
lily 81 ne blacks at the close Of the war
and tie facility with which they enter
ed into the most Preposterous beliefs,
such - the forty acres and mule story,
the purpose Of democrats TO re-inslave
them. &c they ever got into power again,
and other things equally absurd, and
above all, the eunningIy contrived par
lizan machinery whieh took charge Of
them (the taxpayers footing the bill,
however, about ne time It vas made
manifesto that suffrage uouid be conferred
upon them. considering these things, We
say, we are NOT Ut allsUrprised that they
were led TO believe the nonsense We
have named but the faisebood, also,
which represents that all the fighting
for the Union and the freedom Of the
negro was done by the republicans
To expose this latter untruth is the pur-
pose we have now in hand. In . late
speech Of Gen. Steadman, in the Ohio
Democratic Convention, he disposed OF
this republican Pretension in the follow
ing manner:
The Republics party has persisted
m its absurd CHARM that Il is the only
loyal pol.tIcaf organization in this coun-
try unti almost every man who belongs
TO 10 really believes he is patriot and
q hero.
Now say here to-day, and I defy
contradiction when | make the state
ment--that at the close of the war, with
two or three honorable exceptions, ev-
efy soldier who had won distinction,
who was in command Of department
Of the army, or Of corps, was furnish
ed By the Democratic party.
Remember that the men who failed
in the war and brought disaster to the
Union cause, and brought disgrace 10
our country, were not Democrats. Re.
member that the Vances, aud Schencks
and the Fremonts were not furnished
BY the Democratic party.
I make another statement here to-day
and there 10 o living witness in the
State Of Ohio who was present when
Mr.. Lincoln made the utterance. The
FIRST | ever saw him was after the bat
tie Of Chickamauga, when was order
ed by telegraph to report in person to
him. / went up aud called upon him.
and James NJ. Ashley, who is living,
heard the conversation.
Mr.. Lincoln took me by she hand,
greeted me very warmly, and told me
he was glad to see me. Still holding
me by the arm he said to Mr.. Ashley
Brother Ashley, what would have be-
come Of US in this war, had il not been
for the fighting Democrats from the
North and West"
With a shrug of the shoulders, Mr..
Ashley said:
Mr.. Lincoln, / don't know"
Mr.. LiDc0lR replied, 81 belseve our
rebel friends would have their flag float
ing at the Capitol, sir."
He said: "Tlfe TRUTHS, Brother Ash.
ley, that our party is made up TO sone
extent oil the religious and sympathetic.
and they don't make fTst-class soldiers"
tits time, high time, that the Demo
Gratis OF this country assert their claims
their right to the full measure in the
honor and glory Of the success OF our
armies i'm the late war Of the rebellion.
The war was put down by the men Of
iron nerve and fearless hearts-men
who came from all vacations OF life. II
was not Republican politicians who did
il, and they have no right to attempt to
throw this stigma upon the Democratic
party, which furnished its full measure
OF all the soldiers that bore our arms 10
victory.