Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-10-15
COLONEL R. @. INGERsOLL.

speech by the Irrepres hob" at
Hockrord, Iilihoia.
The Republicans of Winnebago Coun-
ty, ILL.,, and adjacent counties, were
recently treated to brilliant speech by
Colonel Robert G.. Ingersoll, upon the
issues Of the pending campaign, of
which the following Is full synopsis:
Mr.. lngorsoll said; In the first place I wish
70 admit that Democrats and Republicans
nave an equal interest in this country. / ad-
init that most OF them are honest I'm their CON
victions, and do not wish to address myself
20 Democrat who Is not honestly one. There
Is no need OF wasting reason upon man who
Is dishonest, not the slightest. Neither do |
believe that II Is possible to make a vote I'm
any civilized country by misrepresenting the
iacts' or TO influence solitary man who
mas got any sense, by slander or vitu-
pefatOn. ! do not intend to-day TO express
Il soliaIy sentiment that every Democrat Will
NOT give three cheers for in his heart. We all
want good Government We all want to live
in land whore the law Is supreme. We de-
sire To live beneath flag that will protect ey-
cry citizen beneath its fold. Most of us are
convinced that our Government Is the best
upon this earth. II is the only Government
Where manhood, and manhood alone, is made
not simply condition Of citizenship, but
where manhood, and manhood alone, permits
lts possess0r to have his equal share in control
of the Government. It is the only Govern
ment in the world where poverty IS upon an
exact equality with wealth, so far as cOntroll.
ing the destines Of the Republic is concerned.
tOr that reason every poor man should stand
py that Government, and every poor man who
does not is u traitor to the best interest of his
chlldreni and the only way TO make this Gov
erhment complete and perfect success Is for
the poorest man to think rs much of his man
mood us the millionaire does of his wealth A
man does not vote in this country simply be-
cause he is rich; he does not vote in this coun-
try simply because he has an education; h @
does not vote simply because he has
because he Is a man, and that he has his mau-
hOOd TO support; and we admit in this coun-
try that nothing can be more valuable to any
human being than his manhood, and for that
reason we put poverty on equality with wealth.
We say in this country manhood Is worth more
than gold. We say in this country that with
out liberty the Nation Is not worth preserving
Now, then, I'm every country, no matter how
good it Is, and no matter how bad Il is-in ev-
cry country there Is something worth preserv-
ing, and there is something that ought to be
destroyed. Now recoleot that every voter Is
in his own right kings and every voter, poor
and rich, wears the purple Of authority alike
The man that will sell hfs vote Is the man that
abdiCates the American throne. More than
that, the man that will sell his vote for preju-
dice or for hatred, the man that will be lied out
of his vote, that will be slandered out OF his
vote, that will be fooled out of his vote, is not
worthy TO be an American citizen.
Two great parties are asking for the control
of this country, and Il Is your business and
mine to inquire into the history of these par
ties, We want to know their character; and,
recOllect, you cannot make character in day;
you cannot make a reputation by passing
resolution. The question Is, What have these
pdINlts Uttu uOlllEf not W nat 40 IlcN say
now That may help to make them charac-
ter twenty years hence; but what have they
been doing for the last twetny years?
In 1850 the Democratic party had power. In
1850 and 1851 a few Of the Southern States said: :
I'VE will no longer remain in this Union"
What did the Democratic party dor James
Buchanan, with Judge Black for his legal ad-
wiser, solemnly declared not only that the
United States could not coerce State, but
solemnly decided that the Federal Govern
ment could not even protect its own property.
That was the decision of the highest officer in
that Administration. In other words, that
Democratic Administration said the United
States Of America are dissolved, the great Fed
eral Government is dead forever. This is
what that party said then; does anybody wish
that that party had remained in pOwer2 Does
anybody to-day wish that the advice of James
Buchanan had been fOllowed2 A war COM
menced. The Republican, party said: "The
Union must and snail be maintained" Hum
dreds and thousands of Democrats also said
the same thing. 1 honor them for it, and
never, while live, will say a word against any
] admit to-day and l cheerfully admit.
that hundreds of thousands of Democrats
were thousand times better than the party
to which they belonged. l admit that the salt
of the party left II. And am willing to admit
to-day that, had IL not been for these Demo-
Gratis, the probability is we never could have
put down the rebellion. / want to be honest
about this thing. What though, did the DEM
oeratio party do after the decent men had left
it? What did the Democrats do in ls842 This
Democratic party Just before the dawn of
universal victory, met in National Convention
and announced that war for the restoration of
the Union was failure. What did they do in
Indiana? They assassinGted Federal officers
they shot down Union men, they entered into
conspiracies for the purpose of releasing
Rebel soldiers; they were supplied with money
from Canada. l know it. and the evidence is
to-day among the Rebel archives at Washing
ton that leaders of the Southern Confederacy
furnished money to the Democrats of Illinois
and Indiana to hold public meetings for the
purpose of influencing public opinion against
the Republican party. When the war was
what did the nRunOnrafa NJ m
who advocated secession was Democrat; I;
every man who drew a secession ordinance
this great and splendid Government was but a
"Contederacy bound together by ropes of
sand,' by chains of mist, was Democrat;
every man who wished to tear the old flag out
of the sky was a Democrat; every one who
wished to preserve the institution of slavery,
so that babes could be sold from their moth
ers' breasts; every one who wished to make a
slave by rObbing the cradle; every one who
wished to breed blOodhounds to pursue fugi-
tive slaves; every one who wanted Northern
freemen TO become dogs TO hunt slaves;
every one who believed that lash
upon naked back was legaltender for labor
performed; every one was Democrat. Every
one who wished to create fire in the rear;
all who wanted to release Rebel prisoners in
the North, that they might burn down the
homes of soldiers then in the front; every one
who wanted to scatter disease and pestilence
in Northern cities; every one who wish to intlict
our homes with yellOw-fever; every one who
wished to set fire to the great cities Of the
North, knowing that the servants of flame
would destroy women and babes; every one
who tried to fire the boats upon our rivers;
every one was Democrat. Every man who
starved our soldiers, every man who shot a
Union soldier was Democrat: every wound
that Union soldier has is a souvenir of the
Democratic party. Every one who fed our
men taken prisoners with crust that the
worms had eaten before was q Democrat
every man who shot down our men when they
happened TO step an inch beyond the dead line,
every one was a Democrat. Every man who
wept over the corpse of slavery; every man
who was sorry when the chains fell from four
millions OF peoplei every man who regretted
TO see the shackles drop from men and women,
and children, every one was Dem crat. In
the House of Representatives, and in the
Senate, the resolution was submitted to amend
the Constitution so that every man treading
the soil of the Republic should be forever free,
and every nan who voted against 1t was a
Democrat. Every man who swore that Green
backs never would be worth any more than
withered leaves, every man who swore we
would never pay our bonds, every man who
slandered our credit and prophesied defeat,
was Democrat.
Now, ON the other hand, what has the Re
publican party been doing all this timer In
the first place, our party preserved this Gov
ernment Had II not been for the Republican
party the United States Of America would not
still enrich and glorify the map Of the world.
The Republican party issued the money; the
Republican party swOre II was good, and the
Rsepqipnoalni sp party sw,ore i shOpld Re PsiSa
necessary by the Democracy, and the Repub.
licans not only said 1--WE will whip you,
out w Q Will pay the COSTS ourselves II Cost
al least six thousand millions of dollars, q
pile Of gold in the presence of which even eX-
travaganoe would stand amazed. Six thou,
sand millions of dollars, and 100000 lives
What forl Is It possible we did all that to put
the very party In power that 1t cost six millions
of dollars and 100000 lives to prevent their de
stroying this Government Let me ask any
Democrat, looked at in the light OF history OF
twenty years, which of these parties has the
better reputation
What has the Democratic party done the
last twenty years that has been q successi
Governor Morton once said; 1.-THE Democratic