Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-08-18
Garfield to Young Men.


of 1879, at Cleveland, Ohio, the closing
speech at that place. Every young man
should read it:
Now, fellow-citizens, a WORD oeioIe !
leave YOU, on the eve of the holy day OF TOO
"a fit moment TO consecrate ourselves maj
IL to the great work of next Tuesday morn
ing. see in this great audience to-nisnt
great many Young men-young men VINO are
about to cast their first vote want TO give
YOU word of suggestion and advice
heard bright thing said by boy the other
day I'D in one of our northwestern couhtles'
He said to me: General. l have greaf
mind to vote the democratic ticket. That
was not the bright thing. Laugn,er- 1
said to him, WHY Why said he. my
father is republican. and my brothers are
republicans. and am a republican all over,
but want to be an Independent man. and
don't want ANYBODY to say. THAT fellow votes
the republican ticket just because his dad
does" and have half mind to vote the
democratic ticket just to prove my indepen-
dence.' / did not like the thing the boy sug-
pested. but did admire the spirit of the boy
that wanted to have some independence OF his
own.
Now, tell you. young man, don't vote
the republican ticket just because your IA
Their votes it. Don't vote the democratic
ticket even if he does vote it. Laughter
But let Inc give you this one word of advice,
as YOU are about to pitch your tent in one OF
the great political camps. Your life Is full
and buoyant with hope now, and l beg you.
when YOU pitch your tent, pitch it among the
living and not among the dead. Applause
If YOU are at all inclined to pitch it among
the democratic people and with that party.
let me 90 with YOU for a moment while We
survey the ground where hope you will not
shortly lie Laughter. 1t is sad place
Young man, for yOu to put your young lie
into. Ii is to me far more like graveyard
than a camp for the living. Look at 1t. 1t
is beloved all over with the graves of dead
issues, of buried opinions, of exploded the
cries. of tisgraced doctrines. You cannot
live in comfort in such place. Laughter.
Why, look here Here is little double
mound. look down on it and read, 'Sa-
cred to the memory of Squatter Sovereignty,
and the bred Scott Decision. million
and a half of democrats voted for that, but it
has been dead fifteen years-died by the hand
of Abraham Lincoln. and here it lies. APP
plause.1 Young man, that is not the place
for you.
'sBut look little further. Here is an
other monument-a black tomb-and beside
it. as our distinguished friend said, there
towers to the sky a monument of four mil
lion pairs of human letters taken from the
arms of slaves. and | read on its little head
stone this Sacred to the memory of human
Slavery For forty years of its infamous
life the democratic party taught that it was
divine-God's institution. They defended
it. they stood around it, they followed it to
its grave as a mourner. But here it lies,
dead by the hand of Abraham Lincoln. APP
plause Dead by the power of the republic
can party. Applause Dead by the JUS
tice of Almighty God Great applause and
cheers Don't camp there, young man.
:.But here is another-a little birthstone
tomb laughter and read across its yel-
low face in luriJ bloody lines. these words ::
Sacred to the memory of State Sovereignty
and Secession Twelve millions of Demo-
Gratis mustered around it in arms to keep it
alive; but here it lies. shot to death by the
million guns of the Republic. Applause.
Here it lies its shrine burnt to ashes under
the blazing raflers of the burning Confeder-
acy. Applause 1t is dead. would not
have you stay in there a minute, even in this
balmy night air, to look at such a place.
Laughter
but Just before l leave it discover a
new-made grave, a little mOund-short. The
grass has hardly sprouted over it. and all
around it see torn pieces of paper with the
word fiat on them [laughter]. and I look
down in curiosity, wondering what the little
grave is, and l read on it: 'Saci ed to the
memory of the Rag Baby llaughter], nursed
in the brain of all the fanaticism of the world
Tlaughterl. rocked by Thomas Ewing,
George II. Pendleton, Samuel Carey. and a
few others throughout the land But it died
on the lst of January. 1879, and the one
hundred and forty millions of gold that God
made, and not fiat power, lie upon its little
carcass to keep it down forever Prolonged
applause.
''Oh, Young man. come out of that
Laughter. That is no place in which to
put v ur young life. Come out. and come
over into the camp Of liberty. of order, of
law, of justice. of freedom 'Amen'1. of all
that is glorious under these night stars.
''Is there any death here in our camp?
Yes yes! Three hundred and fifty thousand
soldiers. the noblest band that ever trod the
glory and of liberty forever. Tremendous
applause.
''But there are no dead issues here. There
are no dead issues here. Hang out our BAN
ner from under the blue sky this night until
it shall sweep the green turf under your feet.
1t hangs over our camp. Read away up UNI
der the stars the inscription we have written
on it, 10. these twenty five years.
"Twenty-fve years ago the republican
party was married to Liberty. and this is our
silver wedding. fellow citizens. TGreat ap-
plause. A worthily married pair love each
other better on that day Of their silver we'd
ding than on the dav of their first espousa ais.
and we are truer to Liberty to-day, and
dearer to God, than we were when we spoke
our first word of liberty. Read away up
under the sky across our starry banner that
first word we uttered twenty-five years ago
What is it? Slavery shall never extend
over another foot of the Territories of the
Great West Applause Is that dead or
alive? Alive, thank God, forevermore
APPLAUSE And truer to night than it was
the hour it was written! Applause Then
it was hope. promise, purpose. To-
night it is equal with the stars-mmortal
history and immortal truth. applause
Come down the glorious stars of our BAN
ner. Every great record we have made we
have indicated with our bloo,, and our
truth. 1t sweeps the ground and it touches
the stars. Come there young man, and put
in your young life where all is living, and
where nothing is dead but the heroes who de-
Tended it. GApplause.1 think these young
men will do that. OF course they will II
Gentlemen, we are closing this memora-
bic campaign. We have got our enemies on
the run everywhere. laughter And all
you need to do in this noble old citv. this