The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1879-04-25
Friday. April %. 1879.
Sectional Hate.

The speech Of Senator Coukling. in the
U, s. Senate, yesterday, is replcte with
bitter, malicious hatred The language
was, to say the least, the most uugentle-
manly, unwarranted and vile that has been
used by any senator or representative in
either house during the protracted discus
sion of the extra session. Not even Blaine
or Logan, accredited as being the leading
representatives of sectional hate, have
been 30 uniustly severe as the man whom
our republican contemporaries call the
polished" senator from New York. Re-
ferriug to the democracy he spoke OF them
as "thugs, murderers, thieves, blacklegs,
pimps, the products Of bucket shops and
the slams of society"
If this language had been used By some
petty politician. 10 some obscure town, or
10 the heat of political campaign as
stump speech for effect, it would not be
open TO as severe criticism, but as the
the statement of an U. S. Senator in the
halls Of the U. S. Seuate, and as the
utterauces of what is supposed to be a
statesman, it cannot be too strongly dep
recated, since its object must be to revive
sectional hatred between the two sections
of the Union, North and South. The gist
OF the matter is that the republicans are
utterly without any real argument to sus'
tain their position. These obnoxious
amendments were passed by a republican
congress. They were tackled on to appro
priatiou bills n precisely the same manner
as the present democratic congress has
tackled on the clauses which IS ID
tended to repeal them. The democrats,
when the republicans were 10 power, OPP
posed the enactment Of the obnoxious
laws, and now, in perfect accord with theiI
record are fighting to undo the perniciou'
legislation they opposed. Heretofore anC
for the last eighteen years the republicans
have enacted such legislation and such
measures as would best subserve thei
interests. They had the majority and
was literally used to accomplish thei
desires The democrats were deride,
scoffed at and snubbed, aud any attemp
by the opponents Of the republican major
ity to pass measures having the slightes
political bearing was persistently vote
down. But things have changed now, an
from majority the radicals find then
selves in hopeless minority. The chang
has been sudden-retribution has bee
swift An outraged public unable long,
to endure the burden of unjust taxation
to support whisky rings, revenue plu
derers, Credit Mobilier steals, Pacii
Mail subsidies. and the hundreds of THE
ing schemes born ofrepubican rule, ha,
spoken in voice of condemnation whit
gives no mistaken sound.
1t proclaims the death knell of the r
publican party,-s party the most CORFU
that ever disgraced its power. The d
mocracy represents the people, the peoI
is the government, and as the represent
tives of that government the democrat
party will labor unfinchingly for purity
elections-a free, uutrammeled ballot, Il
greatest good to the greatest number. II
democratic congress will not be intimidat
or led astray from the real issue by t
senseless harrangues of men of Conklin
calibre. The bloody garment has lost
power. The people have listened to t
wall of revolution too long already a
have spoken for free government, fl
ballot and no sectional strife. Let the
publican leaders take warning from I
signs of the times.