The Russellville Democrat., 1879-07-03
UNITE AND CONQUER"

of June had an editorial with the above caption which is 50 full of truth, so pointed and short, so self evidently right and sound, that we take great pleasure in appending it in full, and in commenting it to the calm consideration of those of our public journals and public men who are making so much fuss about the currency question which is, as the Appeal says, of minor importance in comparison with the the issues upon which that paness.= cells Tor a union of all who hold American in- f;eitutions dear. Unite and Con- quer"--let the democracy north, south, east and west,-make these plain words their tahsman and watchword and all will be well. If, on the other hand, we go into the fight on the currency question we may look out for internal strife and dissentions, and for final defeat and disaster.
 Read carefully the Appeals argu- ment:
 The next Presidential battle is not to be fought on the Ohio idea, the New England idea or the southern Idea, but on the fundamental idea that there shall be a free ballot, that the people in exercising the right of suffrage shall not be controlled and overawed oy rnarshals, supervisors and federal soldiers. Free elections constitute the essence of American liberty. The currency question is of minor importance in comparlson with an issue involving the very ex- istence of the government. To talk about what sort of currency we should have when the very existence ot our republican institutions are imperilled, is as silly as to discuss what sort of furniture should adorn the house, when the building is on fire. The democratic party will rec oncile all its conflicting views on questions of mere policy and go into the next contest demanding that full and far expression shall be given to the ballot after it has been cast un- awed by hired minions. The un- trammeled right of the people to elect their own rulers was wantonly invaded in 1876. The machinery under which this is6amy was accom- plished is still in existence, ready to repeat it's dirty work, and the Demo crats insist that it be destroyed. The party which by it's use succeed ed in thwarting the popular will re fuse to surrender it. The contest between the Democrats, the Repub licans and their fraudulent President, during the called session of congress, has forced this issue in the approach ing canvass for the Presidency. The people will be called upon to settle it at the polls. The southern peo, pie have no issue of their own to push forward. They have no candi- date for either the Presidency or the Vice Presidency. They ask for no pensions to their maimed soldiers, or aid for the cemeteries of the Confed- crate dead. They do not expect as many southern claims will be paid under a Democratic administration as would be allowed, and have been allowed, by the Republican party when in power. But they will join the national Democracy in demand idg free elections and the removal of marshals, and federal soldiers from the polls, and a return to the modes and methods by which all former elections were controlled from the days of Washington until the advent of Grants administration, when the radicals conceived the idea of perpetuating their power by just such infamies as made Hayes Presi- dent after he was defeated before the people. In such q contest the south will show by her vote that she is still solid, not in support of war hatreds, but for a restoration of the government to the principles upon which it was founded. It is vain for the Republican party to pretend that it is alarmed by the solidity of the south, for when every State in the south was represented by solid delegations of carpetbag Radicals, we heard no complaint of a solid south. It is the dread of return of this period of rascality and rapine winch will keep the south solid. There is no Democrat in this coun- try who believes that his party could command the united support to the southern whites in a normal condi- tion of our political affairs. Before sectional issues were raised, the south was divided like the north. Kentucky, now casting an over whelming majority for the Demo cratic party, used to be equally as solid against Democracy. Other southern States voted against the Democratic party, but common mis fortunes and common sutferings forced the south to unite against it's foes and in support of the Democrat ic party, the only organization that