Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-10-27
d provisions from going abroad

0 We find that many fair minded mel
. receive the terms nation and nationa
! with favor because they have vagu
!. ideas that they will give more strength
! to the General Government and secu
{ rity to our Union. We oil seek I,
, make our Government strong, We al
! pray that our Union may stand forever
But it is false error to suppose tba
the strength of a Government grow
ont OF the amount and not the bsncf
, cence of its power. There is truth il
the maxim that the Government i.
best which governs best, That which
gives the largest measure oil freedom
rights of conscience, of persons and o.
property. That Government is the
most enduring which lifts up its cti
zens into q sense Of the right and du
ties Of their positions, which train:
them to watch and guard the public
welfare, which makes them bold, free
and enterprising and imbues them
with the proud feeling that the govern.
ment belongs to them and not they to
the government Let us turn our eyes
from this system which thus gives
strength and duration to the despot-
isms of the world when all jurisdictions
are in the hands of monarcbs, upheld
by all the powers Of the State, its treas.
ures and its armies.
beg OF our Republican friends TO
look at the attitude Of Mr.. Garfield
with regard to the Constitution and
see If it is one that shows loyalty to
its provisions. 1t is the bond of our
Union. IL is the character OF our
rights and liberties. He has on many
occasions sworn to uphold 1t. On the
fourth of March next he will as Sen.
ator from Ohio take u solemn oath to
support its provisions, The Senate
was organized to assert and defend
the letter and its spirit. Does the con
duct of Mr.. Garfield accord with these
oaths2 He avoids the use of the titles
1t gives the Government. These were
selected to show its character and OBJ.
ject. He uses IN a marked way words
the trainers ofthe Constitution rejected
and shuns those they selected. What
could be thought of clergyman who
should substitute Tor the grand, clear
tones OF the Bible vague and unmcan-
ing words which obscure the law of
Christian life Yet in this way Mr..
Garfield treats the law which makes
the life of our Union. In view Of bis
efforts to change the Constitution by
substituting construction for ITS Ian.
guagc, you doubt if, in his oath OF Of.
fee he swears for or NJ the Constitn-
tion. You wonder what he seeks,
which is rebuked by the title of "Uni-
ted States" the "Union," the General
Government" What leads him to
dwell upon the words "Nation' or
"Nationalism," which are weak, oh.
scure and trivial. Let US sec how Mr..
Garfield looks at his interest aud posi-.
tion. We can give bis ideas almost in
his own words when he communes
with himself He says: 81 am TO be
q Senator from Ohio for six years.
Hamilton was right when he said Sen
ators should hold for life. | am glad
that his opinions grow in favor. He
did not like our Constitution, but said
everything depended upon the way it
was construed. This heavy volume on
my table called the civil list shows the
names of more than 10000 men paid
from the Treasury. This does not in
cude the soldiers and sailors. Il am
glad to see we are gravitating toward
more power The Senate, OF which /
am member, gives most of these men
their places directly OF indirectly.
They depend upon confirmation by us
of the Presidents nominations. In
view of this fact, he usually sends in
the names of those We want. If he
does not we throw them out While
large numbers of those in the civil list
are not acted upon by our body, yet as
q rule they hold under those we confirm,
so they all look to us for support. III
we can make the civil list up to hun.
dred and fifty thousand we shall be
able to hold our place for life"
These plain words give you the the
ories OF Mr.. Garfield and his friends
about this election and their plans for
the future, What they say and do
shows you what they aim at. Will it
not be wise on the part Of the great
Republican party to learn and think |
who will be the victors and who will
be the victims il they have their own
way in this election 7 lfthey do not
do this they may fall into the trap set
for the people and then we shall feel
that Nationalism is a curse.
Turn from Mr. Garfeld's letter of
acceptance to that of Gen. Hancock
lie bows to the decrees of the Consti.
tuition. He accepts its teachings, he is
imbuod with its faith its terms to him
are sacred his earnestness shines out
in every line, and when he eswears to sup.
port the Constitution in its letter and
spirit we know he means to do so.
Those who formed it not only choose
fitting words to tell its meaning but
patriotism, like religion, has its sym.
bols. No flag which floats in the wind
of heaven tells us no much as ours Of
the history and character Of the Gov
ernment il represents Its stripes re.
call the names of the States which
fought the battle which gave us liberty,
and which crowned their glorious
work by forming our Union. The
States are numbered by the stars
which glitter upon its blue field. He
who would strike one star from its
place, or who would blend or blur the
symbols so that they would tell only
of obscure Nationalism, has latent
treason in his heart.
We are asked why we took a soldier
for our standard-bearerY TO whom
can we lntrust it with more safety
than to one who has had its deep and
grand significance burnt into bis very
being by the fires oi battlefelds2
There is not color upon its folds,
there is not stripe upon its embla-
zonry, there is not a star upon its
azure ground that has not been made
sacred to him. The appeal which
drew him and his fellow soldiers from
their homes to the battlefield, was TO
rally round the stars and stripes and
TO uphold the Union. They will new.
or make our flag an unmedning thing
they will see to IL that it remains
true emblem to tho spirit Of our Con.
stitution. BY the peoples vote Gen.
Hancock will bear this standard on TO
victory in this contest as he has here
toiore done on tho bloody fields of bat.
tie. He has learned from il the grand
purposes of the Constitution by teach
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