Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1879-08-27
A GLORIOUS WORK.
Gen. Garfield's Review Of the
Political Record of the
Two Parties.
What the Grand Old Republican
Party Has Done to Tnwart
Democratic Schemes.

Gen. James A. Garfield delivered the
following telling speech to the vast con
course of people who recently met at
Madison, Wis, 10 celebrate the birthday
of the republican party:
Mr.. Chairman and Fcli0e Citizens:
I have but two thoughts in my mind,
and therefore | will not be long in get
ting at YOU and the first in that the orr
gin of the republican party is very i'm
portant as matter Of history. We heard
it said to day that it was from twenty-five
years ago. In one very important sense
twas; but in another excessively i'm
portant historical sense the republican
party was revived. 1t was, indeed, res
toration of the earliest party OF this gov
eminent. The grand inspiration OF that
instrument gave life to party, and sub
sequently gave name to party which
for nearly quarter OF century was
known as the Progressive Republican
party Of the United States. 1t was the
party of Jefferson it was the party of
the fathers that made the government;
that created the constitution, that started
into its long career Of life this new re-
public; and it was party that has as
distinctive doctrine as we have had
since our most recent origin of 1854
The first
PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICAN PARTY
had for its central idea the doctrine of the
declaration of independence, the equality
of all men before the law. They hated
slavery and loved liberty, and they made
in point Of their work just as far as they
could towards realizing the meaning of
the doctrine OF the declaration
of independence. They did not
hope to destroy slavery in their day, hut
they hoped to limit, to restrict it, to mar
row its field and to enlarge the boundary
of liberty as far and fast as the vested
rights and the vested wrongs of slave
holders would let them. They did abol
ish the slave trade on the high seas; they
did declare the slave trader was pirate
to be known and punished as such every
where that our commerce or our ships of
war could reach him, and not only so as
lovers of the rights of men and the
equality of all men before the law; while
they knew they could not make men
equal in talents, they did declare that
they would make education free and give
every one II free chance to do all God
had enabled him to DO by the talents
given him in his creation That old re-
publican party, therefore, dedicated all
of her territories in all portions of the
west to the freedom of schools forever.
They did more; they knew that all men
were not equal in wealth, but they would
do all in their power to give each man
free chance in
THE RACE FOR WEALTH,
and thu old republican party abolished
imprisonment for debt in every state in
which they had control. They did more
than that. The old republican party eX-
empted from execution the necessaries of
all house.holders in the state where they
had control. They did more. That old
republican party abolished slavery in
some elhgt states of the union, before
they went out of power, They did more.
They made suffrage universal, without
distinction Of race, in almost every one of
the old northern states, except, perhaps,
the single state of New York, and that
old republican party that died in the
DAYS of the Younger Adams administra.
ton covered itself and covered the first
quarter OF the present century with glory
in the interests of liberty, in the interests
of Justice, in the interests of the rights
of laborcrs in the interests of all those
rights that are necessary TO the intelli-
gence, the prosperity, the freedom and
the honor of great people.
But there were conversations Ill those
DAYS, and every one of these measures
was opposed by the conservatives to the
utmost of Their power. The attempt to
stop the slave trade was
DECLARED TO BE UNGODLN,
for it cut off the poor heathens Of Africa
from coming to this country TO hear the
gospel preached. The abolition of i'm
prisonment for debt was assaulted MS a
strike against the rights of property and
of creditors, and the abolition q the old
system that took every last thing from
the poor man in execution was also
struck at and condemned for the same
reason Year by year the indictments,
the conserN atives, the resiSters OF pro.
gress of republicanism, gained, until at
last they allied themselves with the slave
power and that alliance was too strong
for the early republican party, and it
broke in pieces, and the regular demo
cracy, into which all the better elements
of that early day had degenerated, be
came the ruling power Of this govern.
,ment. That democratic party had mfny
noble impulses in its earlier day. 1t had
some good doctrines, but at last, uuCon-
sciously to itself imperishably, as the
wears went on, il bowed lower and lower
and descended deeper and deeper, till it
became the bound slave of the slave
power ON this continent, any il YVES only
when, % years ago, it had gone SO Tar rs
TO yioiqte the old ordinance of 1885, to
break down the compromise Of 1890 TO
prostitute to base services OF slavery the