Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-09-03
GarfleId's Appeal to Young Men.

General Garllelu delivered stump
speech in Cleveland last October. 1t
was magnificent piece of popular ora
tory. Every sentence struck with the
force of trip-hammer. His closing
appeal to young men is here given. 1t
is full of pathos, humor and stirring
eloquence, and just as appropriate now
as when delivered:
"Now, fcllow-citizens, n word before / leave
you, on the very eve of the holy day OF God
u ilt moment to cunsccrate ourselves finally
To the great work of next Tuesday morning. |
see in this great audience tonight great
many young men who are about to cast their
irst vote. j want to give you a word OF Sug-
gcstion and ndviCe. / heard n very brilliant
thing said by boy the other day up in one of
our northwestern counties He said to me,
General, have great mind 10 vote the
Democratic ticket That was not the brilliant
thing | said to him, 'WhyP Why, said he,
my father is a Republican, and my brothers
are Republicans, and I 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, aud have half mind to vote the
Democratic ticket Just to prove my independ-
ence. did not like the thing the boy sug-
gcstcd but did admire the spirit of the boy
that wanted to have some independence Of
his own -. ....,.. ,..,.,.....
Republican ticket just because your father
votes it. Don't vote the Democratic ticket
cvet, if he docs vote il. But let me 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
hopes now, and | beg you, when you pitch
your tent, pitch il among the living and not
among the dead If you are at all inclined
to pitch it among the Democratic people and
with that party let me go with you for mo-
mcnt while we survey the ground where L
hope you will not shortly lie. 1t is II sad place,
young man, for you to put your young life
into. 1t is TO me far more like graveyard
than like camp for the living. Look mt it!
billpNpl
dead issues, of buried opinions, of exploded
theories, of disgraccd doctrines. You can-
not live in comfort in such Il place. Laugh
teri Why, look herel Here is little double
mound. look down on it and read, Sacred
to the memory of Squatter Sovereignty and
the bred Scott decision. A million and Il half
of Democrats voted for that but it hns been
dead fifteen ycars-dcd by the hand of Abra-
ham Lincoln, and here it lies. Young man,
that is not the place for you.
But look little further. Here is another
monumental black tomb-and beside it, as
our distinguished friend said, there towers to
the sky monument of four million pairs OF
human fetters taken from the arms of slaves,
and | read ON its little headstone this: Sacred
| to the memory of human slavery. For forty
| wears of its Infamous life the Democratic par
| ty taught that it was diVine-GOd's institu-
| tiun. They defended II, they stood around it,
| they followed il TO its grave as mourncr. But
! here it lies. dead by the hand of Abraham Lin
| coin. Dead by the power of the Republican
| party. Dead by the Justice of Almighty God.
! Don't camp there, young man.
But here is another-a little birthstone
/ tomb, and l read across its yellow face in lurid,
| bloody lines, these words: Sacred to the
/ memory of State Sovereignty and Secession.
! Twelve millions of Democrats mustered
| around it in arms to keep it alive; but here II
| lies, shot to death by the million guns of the
Republic. Here il lies, its shrine burnt to ash
es under the blazing rafters of the burning
| Confederacy. Ii is dead! l would not have
| you stay in there minute, even in this balmy
/ night air, to look at such place.
| But Just before leave il discover new
made grave, a little mOund-short. The grass
has hardly sprouted over it, and ali around il
| | see torn pieces of paper with the word fiat
| on them, and look down in curiosity, Won
! dering what the little grave is, and | read on
| it, Sacred to the memory of the Rag Baby
nursed in the brain of all the fanaticism OF
the world, rocked by Thomas Ewing, George
! III. PendletOn, Samuel Cary, and u few Others
throughout the land But it died on the Isl
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 il
| down forever.
''Oh young man, come out of thatl That is
| no place in which to put your young life
| Come out, and come over into this camp ol
liberty, of order, of law, of justice, of freedom
of all that is glorious under these night stars
us there any death here in our camp? Yes
yesl Three hundred and fifty Thousand
soldiers, the noblest band that ever trod tho
earth, died to make this camp Il camp OF
glory and of liberty forever.
" But there are no dead issues here. There
are no dead issues here. Hang out our ban
nCr from under the blue sky this night until 1
shall sweep the green turf under your feet! 1
hangs over our camp. Read away up unde
the stars the inscription we have written on il
lOl these twenty-five years.
"Twenty-iive years ago the Republican par
ty was married to Liberty, and this is on
silver wedding, fellow-citizens. worthily
married pair love each other better on thu
day of their silver wedding than on the day o
their first espousals; and we are truer TO Lib
erty to-day, and dearer to God, than we wer'
when we spoke our first word of liberty. Reat
away up under the sky across our Starry ban
ner that first word we uttered twenty-tiv,
years ago! What is it? Slavery shall neve
extend over another foot of the territories o
the great West is that dead or alive? Alive
thank God, for evcrmorel And truer tO-nigh
| than it was the hour it was written! Then
was hope, a promise, a purpose. Tonight |
| is equal with the starS-immOrtal history an
immortal truth.
"Come down the glorious steps of our ban
ner. Every great record we have made w
| have Yindicated with our blood and our truth
II sweeps the ground and it touches the stars
Come there, young man, and put in youryoun
. life where all is living, and where nothing
dead but the heroes who defended it! l thin
these young men will do that.
"Gentlemen, we are closing this memora
bic campaign. We have got our enemie
on the run everywhere. And all you nee
to do in this noble old city, thi
capital of the Western Reserve, is to 70
, low them up and finish it by showing the re
bellion under once more. We stand on a
isthmus. This year and next is the narro
isthmus between us and perpetual victory.
; you can win now, and win in 1880, then tn
very stars in their courses will fight for IL!
The census will do the work, and will give u
thirty more freemen of the North in our Cor
, gress that will make up for the rebellion Z
, the South. We are posted here, as the Greek
were posted mt ThermopylP, TO meet this on
, great barbarian, XerXes, on the isthmu
Stand in your places, men of Ohiol Fight tn
battle, win this victory, and then one MOI
| fDrpVpr.b