The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-09-23
Worcester Spy.l
Why More Yankees Were not
Ki11a1

An incident Of the Virginia campaign, re-
ported in the Richmond Wing, is Of some sig
nificance. Speaking in joint discussion, in
which his opponent, representing the read
justers, was one Colonel Cameron, Attorney
General Field, the orator of the funders, said,
after rebuking what he called ''the bloody
shirt utterances" of General Garfield: mot
enough Yankees were killed in the late war;
wish we had killed twice as many" Tsis
atrocious remark was doubtless intended for
Southern use only, but the Inconvenience Of
saying such things in the progress of joint
debate is that they may be selected as the sub
ject Of retort by the opponent, and this fixes
them in the memory OF the audience and gives
them such essential importance in the report
that they cannot be plausibly denied For
this reason, Mr.. Field will probably not try to
make it appear that he was misunderstood or
unsupported. 1t is not certain, however, for
these Virginians have customs peculiar to
themselves in such matters Not long ago.
Mr.. Wise of Richmond, in a political speech,
used very harsh language concerning Demo-
crat of the opposite faction, and his remarks
were duly reported in one of the city papers
A mutual friend afterwards expostulated with
Mr.. Wise to such effect that the latter, at
subsequent meeting, publicly expressed his
regret for his Incorporate language, and with
drew whatever might be thought personally
offensive. And then he and the other man
joined in abusing the reporter because he had
represented MIR. Wise as saying what he af-
forwards regretted and retracted.
But to return to Mr.. Field and his joint dis
cussion. Colonel Cameron, his antagonist in
the debate, had served in the rebel army, but
he was not so bloodthirsty as the attorney
general, who had not served. He cleverly al
cifc disposition then and his present ferocity,
by saying that ,'if all Virginians had acted dur
ing the war as some did, there would not have
been half SO many Yankees killed as were
killed." Then Colonel Cameron gave his rea-
sons for dissenting from Mr.. Fields regrets
that the Yankees were not all killed. II recol-
lect," he said, "what General Field seems to
forget, that we must have Yankee votes to
elect General Hancock president. The solid
South has 1873 electoral votes but that is not
Yankees who were not killed, Garfield will
succeed" Our Democratic brethren who
were soldiers in the Union army, there are not
many of them, should observe this and note
what, in the opinion of this ex-confederate
colonel they were spared for. They are
needed to help the surviving rebels elect Gen.
eral Hancock. The solid South hopes to make
use of them. If it had electoral votes enough
without their help it would have no reason TO
dissent from the pious wish of Mr.. Field that
twice as many Of them had been killed. We
have no wish to do injustice to Colonel Gamer
on, however, and probably his retort pertinent
as it was, is not to be taken seriously. But 80
far as Mr.. Field is concerned and those who
received this ferocious declaration with ap-
plause, it would be more charitable to believe
that they accepted the suggestion and were
content that some Yankees had been spared,
even for the sake Of tseir votes, than to sup
pose that they adhered to their wish that Col
onel Cameron and the others who did the
fighting for them, had killed twice as many.
But Notwithstanding all this, we must not for
get what we have been told so many times BY
Democratic orators and newspapers, especially
Southern ones, that the Republican party is
the party Of hate and Of sectionalism, and the
strang point of the Democrats is their passion
ate love for the whole country and all its peo-
ple,