Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-10-16
The Present Leader of the Greenback
Party in WiscOnsin---His Record in
the Past.
FTom the Evening WISCONSIN,, Milwaukee,.

tUc dcbs
From the Evening Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
The Greenback vote in this state during the
past;two years has been drawn about equally
from both the old parties. The Democratic
party has tried to retain Democratic Green
hackers by protesting their principles, but
many of them have preferred to act with the
lew organization. The present year strong
effort will be made to bring back all the Demo
cratic wanderers into the party fold, and to use
the Greenback organization simply as sort of
limbo for the soft-money men of Republican
antecedents who, as between the Republican
and Democratic parties, would vote with the
former.
To accomplish this purpose, the services of
Mr.. " Brick" Pomeroy have been called into
action. He played the leading part at the
Watertown convention which placed candi-
dates for state officers in the field. He drew
the platform, and controlled the whole action
| of the convention. He was made chairman of
the Greenback state committee, and has the
management of the canvass so far as that
party is concerned. The policy which he is
trying TO carry out was clearly indicated in the
selection of candidates. Ali of the nominees
are men of Republican antecedents. With
them it is hoped that the Republican Green
hackers may be held firm, while platform de-
handing the repeal CT the national banking
law, the issue Of all paper money by the gov
! eminent, and the unlimited coinage of silver
Democratic Greenbackers In order to pro
mote this scheme, Pomeroy, IN his paper, the
Lacrosse Democrat, now and then makes an
unfa Yorable comment on the Democratic party
just to satisfy his readers who have been Re
publicans that he is impartial. That he is
consciously and earnestly attempting to play
into the hands of the Democrats there can be
no doubt The Democratic party is a good
enough Greenback party for him, but he
thinks he can do more to promote its success
by his present course than by any other.
If men of Republican antecedents will re-
member what he has been in the past, they
will be best able to judge what he is at present,
and how much he deserves their support and
confidence.
During the war he made an extended noto-
riety as Copperhead. His paper did what it
could to excite draft riots and to encourage the
rebels to persevere. He asSailed with the
coarsest abuse President Lincoln, he recon-
mended his assassination and ezulted over the
success of Wilkes Booth. With all the re-
sources of bad grammar and horse-boy cpl
thets, he assailed the cause of the union and
all men who earnestly supported it. He then
denounced the greenbacks as worthless, and
predicted the reputation of the government
bonds. He did these things not from any real
zeal of conviction of any Sort but simply be-
cause he loved notoriety and his course made
him notorious, and because he loved money,
and he found that he could gain it in that
manner. Scattered over the north and
through the border states were a class of
Democrats to whom the seditious and treason
able articles, and the occasional obscene stories
which enivened his paper, supplied the only
form of literature that they were capable of
understanding and enjoying. They took his
paper, aid it obtained large circulation, and
was profitable.
Probably few of our readers ever saw it in
those days. and such as did would now be as
tonished if they wero to look over its files for
1864 and 1865, that such publication could
have been issued in loyal state. TO revive
their recollectons. and give them some notions
of its quality, we have copied q few extracts
from editorial articles in the weekly La Crosse
Democrat during the years above mentioned.
The assassination of President Lincoln is
thus advocated in a leading editorial under
date of August 26, 1864:
Lincoln is traitor and murderer.
Had any former Democratic president warred
upon the constitution or trifed with the desinles
of the nation as Lincoln has he would have been
hurled to perdition long since. And if he is
elected for another four years. trust some bold
hand oOi pierce his heart Nth dagger point JOr the
public good.
After Mr.. Lincolns assassination, under date
of October 2, 1865, the Democrat says:
The Sentinel says that last fall we made the last
motion to kill Lincoln. Granted Ind last spring
God seconded 1t, and, through Booth, put the motion
and carried 1t.
The subject is again referred to, October g.
1885, as follows:
We deprecate assassination, yet aoe feel to thank
God for calling Lincoln home wherever that home
mag be. The will of God be always done earth
it is in heaven. Not all the cannon in the world
ever sent echo far into the future as did the
report of pistol that fatal night in Washington
theater, where great men were players and nations
the spectators. 1t woke up the people Of America
1t broke the spell. 1t gave the country states
man for president, It flashed its SIC Sen1peT ty-
raq1nis from Maine to the golden strand of our
western boundaries, and halted the march of
usurpation most effectualy.
We will give no more of this blasphemous
ribaldry, but subjoin q specimen or two of arti-
cles designed to encourage the rebels, disheart
en- loyal men, and excite resistance to recruiting
and draft. In the number for October II,
1864 we find the following.
The south can neUer be su6jugatd. The rebels of
the south are no nearer whipped to-day than they
were four years since. For proof of this look to
Lincoln's drafts which follow each other in such
quick succession that you cannot tell where one
leaves off or the next commences. For further
proof look to the way they still fighting. Their
warfare is not that of a weak and puny enemy but
that of brave people nGfully struggling for i7lde
pe'1de7lce and determined to hare 1t.
In another article in the same number the
recruits then going forward to join Grant and
Sherman, are thus spoken Of
Victims! Victims - Victines!!!
Food for powder and ball.
Food for disease morsels for death
Living victims of arbitrary power!
Human offerings on the altar of wrong, hate,
treason and usurpation. Choice morsels for bayo-
net cannon ball, fragment of shell and iron hoof
of maddened war horse!
Drafted FREEMEN
How like devilsh mockery the word sounds
Where is Liberty! the God-given birthright of
Freemen?
Dead
Where are the people? In chains and fear. In
the grippe of abolition and taxation.
Slowly and sadly the new victims come in to be
dressed in blue and marked for slaughter, They