Morning journal and courier., 1880-08-10
An Appeal to Young Men.
From a Speech of General Garfield nt
 Cleveland La st October.

CieVeIahO Last OcgOOefs
 ''Now, fellow-citizens, word before l leave you, on the eve of the holy day of God "a fit moment to consecrate ourselves finally to the great work of Tuesday morning. I see in this great audience tonight a great many young men, young men who are about to cast their first vote. I want to give you a word of suggestion and advice. I heard a very brilliant thing said by a boy the other day up in one of our northwestern counties. He said to me, General, I have a great mind to vote the Democratic ticket That was not the brilliant thing. Gaughter.) I said to him, Why p Why said he, my father isl Republican, my brothers Republicans, and I am Republican all over, but want to be an independent man. and don't want anybody to say, That fellow votes the Republican tick ct just because his dad does and I have a mind to vote the Democratic ticket just to prove my independence I did not like the thing the boy suggested, but I did admire the spirit of the boy that wanted to have some independence of his own.
 ''Now, I tell you, young men, don't vote the Republican ticket just because your father votes it. Don't vote the Democratic ticket, even if he does vote it. Daughter 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 hope now, and 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 go with you for moment while we sur vey the ground where I hope you will not shortly lie. Qaughter.) It is sad place, young man, for you to put your young life into. It is to me far more like grave than like camp for the living. Look at it It is billowed all over with the graves of dead is sues, of buried opinions, of exploded theo- ries, of disgraced doctrines. You cannot live in such a place. Daughter Why, look here. Here is little double mound. I look down on it and read Sacred to the memo ry of Squatter Sovereignty and the Dred Scott decision.' A million and half of Dem ocrats voted for that, but it has been dead
 fifteen years-died by the hand of Abraham Lincoln, and here it lies. Applause. Young man, that is not the place for you.
 ''But look little farther. Here is another monuments black tomb-and beside it, as our distinguished friend said, there towers to the sky a monument of four million pairs of human letters taken from the arms of slaves, and I read on its little headstone this: 'Sa- cred to the memory of human slavery For forty years of it's infamous life the Democratic party taught that it was divine-God's insti- tuition. They defended it, they stood around it, they followed it to it's grave as mourner
 But here it lies, dead by the hand of Abra- ham Lincoln. (Applause,) Dead by the power of the Republican party. Applause. ) Dead by the justice of Almighty God. Great applause and cheers.) Don't camp there, young man.
 "But here is another-a little birthstone tomb Daughter )-and read across it's yellow face in lurid. bloody lines, these words: 'Sa- cred to the memory of State sovereignty and secession Twelve millions of Democrats mustered around it in arms to keep 1t 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 blaz- ing rafters of the burning confederacy. (Ap- plause.) It is dead I would not have you stay in there a minute, even in this balmy night air, to look at such 8 place. Oaugh- ter.)
 ''But just before 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, Qaughter), and I look down in curiosity, wondering what the little grave is,> and read on it: Sacred to the memory