Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-06-23
Il GOOD SPEECH.
GENERAL GARFIELD DESCRIBES THE AP
PEARANCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC
GRAVEYARD.

speech delivered by General Garfield,
August 4th, 1876, in the national house
of representatives:
Mr.. Chairman, it is now time to inquire
as to the fitness of the democratic party
to take control of our great nation and it's
vast and important interests of the next
four years. put the question to the gen
tleman from Mississippi: Mr.. Lamar
what has the democratic party done to
merit that great trust? He tries to show
in what respects it would not be danger
Gus. [ ask him to show in what it would
be safe. affirm and ] believe / do not
misrepresent the great democratic party,
that in the last sixteen years they have
not advanced one great national idea that
is not to-day exploded and as dead as
Julius Caesar. And if any democrat here
will rise and name great national doc
trine his party has advanced within that
time, that is now alive and believed in, [
will yield to him. Applause. In de-
fault of an answer [ will attempt to prove
my negative.
What were the great central doctrines
of the democratic party in the presiden-
tial struggle of 1860? The followers of
Breckenridge said slavery had right to
go wherever the constitution goes. Do
you believe that to-day? And is there
man on this continent that holds that to-
day? Not one The doctrine is dead and
buried. The other wing of the democracy
held that slavery might be established in
the territories if the people wanted it.
Does anybody hold that doctrine to-day?
Dead-absolutely dead
Come down to 1864, Your party, un-
der the lead of Tilden and Vallandigham,
declared the experiment of war to save
union was failure. Do you believe that
the doctrine to-day? That doctrine was shot
to death by the guns of Farragut at No
bile, and driven in tempest of fire from
the valley of the Shenandoah by Sheridan
less than a month after its birth at Chi
cago.
Come down to 1878. You declared the
constitutional amendments revolutionary
and void. Does any man on this floor
say SO to-day? IF so, let him rise and de-
clare.
Do you believe in the doctrine of the
Broadhead letter of 1868, that the social
ed constitutional amendments should be
disregarded? No; the gentleman from
Mississippi accepts the results of the warl
The democratic doctrine of 1868 is dead!
walk across the democratic campaign
ground as in a graveyard. Under my
feet resound the hollow echoes of the dead.
There lies slavery, black marble column
at the head of its grave, ON which read:
Died in the flames of the civil war; loved
in it's life; lamented in it's death; followed
to it's bier by it's only mourner, the demo-
cratic party, but dead And here is a
double grave: Sacred to the memory of
squatter sovereignty. Died in the cam
paign of 1860. On the reverse side: Sa-
cred to the memory of Dred Scott and the
Breckenridge doctrine. Both deaths at
the hands of Abraham Lincoln! And
here monument of birthstone; Sacred
to the memory of the rebellion; the war
against it is failure; Tilden ct Valan
digham fecerunt A. D. 1864. Dead on
the field of battle shot to death by the
million guns of the republic The doc
trine of secession. of state sovereignty,
dead Expired in the flames of civil war,
amid the blazing rafters of the confede-
racy, except that the modern Eneas,
fleeing out of the flames of that ruin, bears
on his back another Anchises of state
sovereignty, and brings it here in the per-
son of the honorable gentleman from the
Appomattox district of Virginia (Mr.
Tucker. Laughter All else is dead.
Now, gentleman, are you sad, are you
sorry for these deaths? Are you not glad
that secession is dead? that slavery is
dead? that squatter sovereignty is dead?
that the doctrine of the failure of the war
is dead? Then you are glad that you
were outvoted in 1850, in 1864, in 1868
and in 1872. If you have tears to shed
over these losses shed them in the grave
yard, but not in this house of living men.
I know that many southern man re-
joices that these issues are dead. The
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Lamar)
has clothed his joy with eloquence.
Now, gentlemen, if you yourselves are
glad that you have suffered defeat during
the past sixteen years, will you not be
equally glad when you suffer defeat next
November? Laughter. But pardon
that remark; regret it; | should use no
brayado
| A<OWt SCAClChICA, COAIC WioAA IiC 1Ol G.
moment into the camp of the republican
party and review its career. Our central
| doctrine in 1860 was that slavery should
never extend itself over another foot of
American SOIL Is that doctrine dead? 1t
is folded away like victorious banner,
it's truth is alive for evermore on this con-
tinent. In 1864 we declared that we
would put down the rebellion and seces-
sion. And that doctrine lives and will
| live when the second centennial has arriv-
ed Freedom, national, universal and per-
| petual-our great constitutional amend
ments, are they alive or dead? Alive,
thank the God that shields both liberty
and the union And our national credit!
saved from the assaults of Pendleton,
| saved from the assaults OF those who
struck it later, rising higher at home and
abroad, and only now in doubt lest its
chief, its only enemy, the democracy,
should triumph in November.
Mr.. Chairman, ought the republican
perty to surrender its truncheon of COM
mand to the democracy? The gentleman
from Mississippi says ifthis were England