Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1880-08-07

In 1870, Mr.. Nlblack, OF Indiana
in speech made in the Lower House
of congress insisted that the expendl-
lures and burdens of the wa! were
properly chargeablc to the republican
party. Mr.. Garfield Immediately
replied, and few of his words are well
worth quoting:
Il desire to ask that gentleman and
his party one question. Suppose that
in the year 1861 every democrat north
of thu Patomac and the Ohio had fol-
lowed the lead of Grant, and douglass,
and Dickinson, and Tod, and all the
great lights of the democratic party,
had thrown away the democratic name;
said that they would be democrats no
longer, but all would be union men,
and stand together around the flag
until the rebellion had been put under
our feet. / desire to ask the gentle
man, if these things had happened.
how long the war would have lasted,
and how much the war would have
cost? do not hesitate to say that Ii
would not have lasted a month and the
expenditures of the war would never
have extended $4,000, 900. | say as
matter of current history, thatit was
the great hope of the rebels of the
south that the existence OF the demo-
cratic party North would divide our
forces and overcome all our efforts:
that at the ballot-box the democrats at
home would help the cause which they
we're maintaining in the field. 1t was
that, and that alone, which proracted
the war and created our immense debt.
| come, therefore, to the door Of your,
party. gentleman on the other side.
and lay down at your threshold every
dollar of the debt. every item Of the
stupendous total which expresses the
great cost of the war; and | say if YOU
had followed Douglass there would
have been no debt, no blood, no bur
den."
Gen. Garield's logic is unanswer-
able. We have had occasion to speak
of the responsibility of the democrats
ofthe North in years past touching
the expenditures and loss of life oc-
casioned by the war and we have said,
as we still say, that had the democrats
of the North united as loyal men
should have done, as Douglas did, to
overthrow treason, instead of sympa-
thysing with treason as the party did,
the rebellion would not have lasted
more months than it did years; in fact,
it may be strongly questioned whether
rebellion would have been attempt
ed had not the democratic party North
aided, connived and sympathised with
the consplrators of the South.
We have said and we repeat it, that
the great portion of the dead of the
rebellion, of the manned living, died
and were wounded. because the
republican party North refuses to treat
treason as crime. Hundreds of
thousands of sons and fathers went
out to whip traitors and save a nation
and never returned to their homes,
their friends, their wives and their
children. The greatportion Of them
never returned simply because North
ern democrats stood by the South and
the traitors took heart and prot-acted
the war in hope that ''the fire in the
rear fellows would family get posses
sion of the government. BY no means
were the rebels who did the shooting
alone responsible for the existence OF
so many widows and orphans through
out the North. The democratic party
of the North are direct sharers in the
great woe which went over the land.