St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-09-03
The Caledonia County Democratic
Convention.

Mr.. Editor AS it was admitted by
one of the speakers that the audience
was largely composed of Republicans,
wish through your paper to give the
people of Caledonia county that were
not there an idea in my own language
what the pith and drift of the speeches
and arguments of the very eloquent
gentlemen that spoke on that occasion
were, as heard by Republican ears.
And first it was admitted that our
good friends of the solid South about
twenty years ago got up a little un-
pleasantness with the North, by at
tempting to take themselves out of the
Union, but the unpleasantness was
not very bitter, and was confined al
most wholly to the politicians, as prov
ed by the fact that when boy in blue
could satisfy boy in gray that he was
Democrat they would both drink out
of the same spring in the most amicable
way, and that Gen. Hancock himself
would have had the same courtesy ex-
tended to him had he been thirsty but
now after twenty years reflection, if
that will give any satisfaction to you of
the North for the half million of lives,
and the two or three billions it cost you
to put it down, we will acknowledge
secession was mistake. True one of
\ tha innidaDtS rasu1tinr from, tba of
tempted secession was the loss of our
slaves, of which we now are rather
glad, although in the meantime we
have suffered terribly by the loss of
their unrequited labor.
And how, secondly, by the soothing
effects of the shotgun and tissue-b ballot
policy, we have made all things lovely
in the solid South, still there is one
thing more we greatly desire, and that
is, forty or fifty electoral votes from the
north or west to add to our 1873 to elect
Gen. Hancock; for although we now
control and run all the local and state
governments of the solid South, still
the marshals and courts of the general
government will keep poking round
and attempting TO interfere with our
state rights of shot-guns and tissue
ballots. So just give us the 40 or so
electoral votes, and all will be lovely
between the North and South.
And now please bear with me while
make a suggestion. of course our
| friends of the solid South are not oblig-
ed to adopt my suggestion if they do not
like it. l would propose that the Dem
ocratic national committee, if they wish
to convince Northern Republicans that
all is now lovely in the solid South,
that for the remainder of the campaign,
instead of sending us ex-rebel Colon
els or Brigaders to talk to us, they
send us a few of their educated intelli-
gent colored men. We know that they
have them, as some of them have got
into Congress. We also know that all
through the war the colored man was
the staunch friend of the Union soldier,
| OC hC DChOSIdC VI 4NO"
why not send us few colored orators
We would be more likely to take stock
in what they told us of the lovely state
of affairs in the solid South; besides
pecuniarily it might prove a saving to
the campaign fund, as l have little
doubt that plenty of colored men could
be found that would like to get an
honest penny out of the barrel by COM
ing north to tell just what they honest
ly believe to be the situation in the
solid South, and would at the same time
be glad to get the job at less pay than
has to be given to ex-confederate Colon
els and members of Congress.
ONE OF THE REPUBLICANS.
|