Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-11-02

controversy settled down. Then, my
Democratic friends, a strange dissolution
occurred III the Democratic party. After
Gen. jackson had retired from the presi-
dency the Democratic party gradually
dr1fted to the southern states. The south
wanted to build up the institution OF
slavery. They therefore put forward
this doctrine of state rights more and
more, and the Democratic party in the
north became weaker and weaker.
Great applause. Time was when Wis
consin was Democratic, when Indiana
was Democratic, when Illinois was Dem
ocratic, when Ohio was Democratic,
when Iowa was Democratic, when the
power of the Democracy was in the
northern states. But gradually, under
the influence of this evil principle, the
power of the Democratic party faded
away, first one state and then another.
People by the thousands and tens of
thousands deserted the Democratic party
and went over and joined other political
organizations. So that the power of the
Democratic party drifted into the south,
and was there used to foster slavery.
My countrymen, the Democrats sue
| ceeded in electing three or four feeble
presidents. When I name them some of
you will scarcely remember there were
such presidents. There was Martin Van
Buren,, there was Franklin Pierce, there
was James X. Polk, and finally there
was James Buchanan, and he was the
last Democratic president. All the time
the Democratic party was going into de-
cay, was going to seed. Think it would
have been better for the people of the
country if the Democratic party at that
time had ceased to exist, and had drop
ped their political organization. If the
POLICY OF JAMES BUCHANAN
had been adopted by the American people
our government would have faded away
and by the present time would have been
entirely gone. Our flag would have been
dlshonored, our country would have
been broken up under the weak and silly
states right doctrine Of James Buchanan.
This government was then so weak that
it could not vindicate it's honor; it was so
weak that they dared to fire upon Fort
Sumter and ship sent to carry provis-
ions to the fort was fred upon. The Union
was fading away. Our credit was gone.
Six per cent. bonds payable in gold in
twenty years, principal and interest,
were sold at SScents on the dollar The
very bonds that next month [ will re-
deem honestly and fairly were sold in
the time of James Buchanan at from S5
to so cents. Your treasury notes draw
ing interest at the rate of II per cent.
and running for one year, were sold with
difficulty at par The credit OF our
| h Il rro+ eo low, 4bo+ ~ o,,Jo1, 10
give confidence to these II per cent
bonds the last Democratic secretary of
the treasury offered to give as security
to the national honor, to the national
pledge, the obligation of the states as
collateral security. Applause. That
was the condition of our crodit. So my
countrymen this doctrine of state rights
POISONED AMERICAN POLITICS
and it was so construed by the Demo-
cratic party that it made that party unfit
to govern national country. It was a
confederacy and not nation, and they
tried to destroy what was left of it as O.
this question of states rights and state
powers entered into and colored all the
questions of the time.
I will not go into discussion of the
war. That you are familiar with. I
want to conine myself to practical mat
ters that are not so often discussed
When the war was over what did dc ?
That war had cost us five hundred thou
sand lives of the best and the bravest of
our men. It had cost us over six thou
sand million dollars of good money TO
put down that rebellion. More than two
millions of men from our fresides went
down to prosecute that war at different
periods of it's history. After it was over
what did we do? Did we demand un-
reasonable terms of these southern peo-
pie? Did we try to oppress them and
harass them? No, my countrymen. Not
a single drop Of blood was shed after the
war. Not single bit of property was
confscated. [ am not sure but we were
little too iberaE I don't know but it
would have been better to have chung
Jeff. Davis to sour apple tree" Ap-
plause and laughter. But we did not.
THERE WAS NO MALICE
in our hearts, no unkindness. We had
saved our country and that was enough
for us. Our soldiers had been victorious
on many battle fields, with their banners
high and we were satisfied. We wanted
no punishment inflicted on the south, but
we did want them to agree to certain
amendments of the constitution that
would insure the entire abolition of
slavery and secure equal civil and politi-
cal rights to all men. And in order to
give the freedmen of the south the same
security in political rights, we guaran-
teed that no distinction should be made
against them in voting, on account of
color. These amendments of the consti-
tuition were acquiesced in by them.
and upon those terms and conditions
they came back into the Union, and ex-
ercised all their political power. Now,
my countrymen, I might read to you
here many sad story of how they vio-
lated their words in this respect, but I
will dismiss that because I want
to confine myself rather to bust
ness topics, How then did the
question of state rights come into our
politics? There has not been single
question, since the war, of American pol