Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-10-28
Letter From Frank Leland.

DEAR STs:-Although / am tempo
rarily abseIt from our own country. |
have the sane abiding interest in public
affairs as ever, and feel as deep an inter-
est in the result of the approaching
presidential election as though at home
] taking haid in the work in which Won
are now engaged, as | did for several
years past. That there should be any
question as to the result is source
of amazemeIt to every intelligent Ameri-
can citizen. No truer axiom was ever
written than that .'we should Judge the
future by the past" And when we look
back to the shining record of the Repnb-
hcan party, we will not stop to consider
that that party put down the most
gigantic rebellion of modern times-a
rebellion that would doubtlessly have
destroyed any other nation upon earth.
We will not stop to consider that the
Republican party under the lead of the
greatest statesman that has ever adorned
the earth in a thousand years-ABRAHAM
LINooLN-inaugurated system of cur
rency which carried on the financial
affairs of the country successfully and
triumphantly, through all the dark DAYS
of the war, when Democrats and Copper
heads were growing and kissing about
Financial bankruptcy" and national
ruin" We will not stop to consider the
great homestead measure, inaugurated
and successfully carried out by
the Republican party under the
lead of Galusha A. Grow, Benz.
L. Wade and other Republican states
men-which has done more for the poor
of our nation, and for the poor of Eu-
rope, that have come to our shores by
hundreds of thousands, than auy public
measure that has absorbed the attention
of the people for the past twenty years.
But If the Republican party and its
leaders had not been the authors and
champions of any of these great meas
ures and many more like them (aU of
which owe their origin and accomplish
ment to the Republican party)-yet one
act atone, aside from all these-entitles
the Republican party to remain in power.
L refer to the resumption of specie pay
ment inaugurated under the administra-
ton OF Gen. Grant, in 1875, and success
fully carried out under the administra-
ton of President Hayes, and his great
financial secretary, John Sherman. in
Io79--ln spite of the most determined,
bitter, and persistent opposition of the
Democratic party at every step of its
progress. To that great measure the
country owes more of its present pros
perlty than to any other, for it gave all
the people faith III our financial system
-falth IN our glorious and beloved ma
ton, which could put down gigantic
rebellion, and honorably pay every dollar
of its Indebtedness as well.
A man who defends his home and his
family, and pays his debts, is worthy of
esteem and confidence, and so with a
nation.
But there are questions involved in
the present contest which far surpass all
these even. When the southern leaders
had lost all by war, and only laid down
their arms when compelled to, they said,
"we will achieve by the ballot what we
lost by the bullet" and for that they
have steadily contended since that time.
This is the explanation of the "solid
south, made solid " by tissue ballots.
This is why Wade Hampton, who "spoke
as one having authority, " in the national
Democratic convention. pledged the en-
tire 1873 electoral votes of the "solid
south" for Hancock. This is why the
same man who was put forward as the
mouth-piece and exponent of the s.solid
south in the national Democratic con-
vention said in later speech in advocat-
ing the election of Hancock, "consider
what Lee and Jackson would do were
they alive. These are the same princi-
pies for which Mey fought for four
gears" In response to this | would say
to Republicans, consider what the mar
ty~ed Lincoln and his great COM
patriots Seward and Chase and
Stanton and Sumner would do
were they alive. The same 9rinci-
pies for which they contended so valiant
ly and gave the best efforts of their lives
for, are now in peril, and unless the
patriots of the country rally as one man
TO the rescue, the old rebel elements now
marshaled under the lead of Hampton,
Ben Hill and Hamburg Butler, and the
brigadiers III congress, 2OiU g achieve by
the ballot what they lost by the bullet
Should Gen. Hancock be elected the
party that elects him aoiU control his
action. With 1873 electoral votes from
the "solid SOUTH" he requires only
.forty-seUen electoral votes from the
northern states to elect him. All ex-
perience in the past shows that the 1873
and not the AZ would control his admin
istration. This is clearly demonstrated
by the fact that in the present Demo-
cratic congress about two-thirds of the
chairmanships of all committees are held
by southern members, and upon nearly
every committee of any importance are
majority of southern men. l am opposed
to the Democratic party's being restored
to power because it would have ac-
guessed in and made successful the
rebellion-it declared the war for the
restoration of the Union " failure =
opposed the raising of men and money
during the war-opposed making the
nation free nation-opposed all the
constitutional amendments = opposed
paying the debt contracted in war to
save the nations life-and opposed re-
sumption, which has given the nation a
settled financial policy and its present
prosperity. Were the Democratic party
restored to power now, it would find
ample excuse for paying the millions OF
dollars IN Rebel elaine, winch the people
of the south regard as Legitimate" and
as not barred by the constitutional