Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1880-08-21
AN APPEAL TO YOUNG MEN.
The Albany Evening Journal 81


was magnificent piece of popular or
atory. Every sentence struck with the
force OF trip-hammer. We subioin
its closing appeal to young men. We
do not know where to look Tor anything
equally effective III touching pathos, ir-
resistible humor and stirring eloquence:
AN APPEAL TO YOUNG MEN
Now. feilow-citizens, word before
leave you. on the eve of the holy day
of Coda lit moment to consecrate our
selves finally to the great work of next
Tuesday morning. see in this great
audience tonight a great many young
men, young men who are about to cast
their first vote. | want 10 give you a
word of suggestion and advice. ] heard
very brilliant thing said by boy the
other day up in one of our northwest
ern counties. He said to me, General.
| have a great mind to vote the Demo
cratic ticket. That was not the bril-
liant thing. Laughter. | said to him,
Why. Why, said he. my father is a
republican, and my brothers are repub-
hcans, and am a republican all over,
but want to be an independent man.
and dom want anybody to say, that
fellow votes the republican ticket Just
because his dad does. and have half a
mind to vote the democratic ticket Just
TO prove my independence | did not
like the thing the boy suggested but |
did admire the spirit of the boy that
wanted to have some independence of
his own.
Now. tell you, young man, don t
vote the republican ticket just because
Your father votes it. Don't vote the
democratic ticket, even ii he does vote
it. Laughter. But let me give you
this one word Of advice, as you are
about to pitch y)ur tent in one of the
great political camps. Your life is full
and buovant 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 1t among the demo
cratic people and with that party. let
me 30 with You for a moment while we
survey the ground where | hope you
will not shortly lie. Laughter. 1t is
IA sad place young man, for you to put
your young lite into. 1t is to me far
more like d graveyard than camp
for the living. Losk at it, 1t Is bill
lowed all over with the graves of dead
issues, OF buried opinions, of exploded
theories. Of disgraced doctrines. Yon
cannot live in comfort in such place
Laughter. Why, look here. Here is
little double mound. look down on
ii and read: Sacred to the memory OF
s5quatter Sovereignty and the bred
scott decision. y million and hal
OF democrats voted for that. but it has
been dead fifteen yearS-died by the
hand OF Abraham Lincoln, and here it
lies. | Applause.l Young man, that is
not the place tor you.
Bat look a little farther. Here is
another monument blac!; tonb--and
beside it, as our distinguished friend
said, there towers TO the SKY monu-
ment OF four million pairs OF human
letters taken from the arms OF slaves,
and ] read on its little headstone this:
Sacred 20 the memory Of human sIav-
ry. For forty years OF lis infamous
life the Democratic party taught that II
was diyine-1od's inatitation. They
defended 1t, they stood aroand it, they
followed it 10 ITS grave us a monrnei.
But here ii lies, dead by the hama OF
Abraham Lincoln. Applause. Dead
by the power OF the hepub!ican party
| Applause Dead by tie justice Of Al
mighty God. Great applause and
cheers. Don't camp there young man
But here is another-a little. brim-
stone tomb. Laughter. land read
across its yellow face in lt1i-id. bloody
lines, those words: Sacred to the mem
ory OF State Sovereignty anG Secession.
Twelve millions ofDcnvcrats mustered
around it il arms TO keep it alive: bu;
/ here it hes. shot 10 death by tie million
guns Of the Republic. Applause.
Here it lies. its shrine burnt to ashe;
under the blazing ratters of the burn
ing Contederacy. Applause. | would
not have You stay in there minute
even in this balniy night air. TO look at
such place Laughter.
But Just before leave it discover
new-made grave, u little mound
short. The grass has hardly sprouteG
over it, and all around it | see TORI
| pieces ofpaper with the word fiat on
Them, laughter and look down in GU
riosity, wondering what the little grave
Is, and | read on it. Sacred to the mem
DRY Of the Rag Baby. laughter nursec
in the brain OF all the fanaticism OF thu
world. laughter rocked by Thomas
Ewing. George Ii. Pendleton, Samue
Cary. and few others throughout the
| land Bat it died on the lst of Janu
airy, 1879, and the one hundred anC
forty millions OF gold that God made
and not fiat power, lie upon It's littl6
carcass 10 keep ii down forever. Pro
longed applause.
'Oh, young man. come out of thai
| Laughter That is no place in which
to put your young life. Come out. anC
come over into this camp of liberty. OF
order of law, of Justice. of freedom
/ Amen. OF all that is glorious under
these night stars.
is there any death here in our camp
Yes, yes. Three hundred and and fifty
thousand soldiers. the nobleSt band tina,
ever trod the earth. died to make thi,
camp "A camp of glory and of liberty
forever. Tremendous applause.
But there are no dead issues here
There are 10 dead issues here. Hang
out our banners from under the blue
sky this night until it shall sweep the
green turf under our feet. 1t hangs
over our camp. Read away up under
the stars the inscription we have writ.
ten on it, 10. these twenty-five years.
Gentlemen, we are closing this
memorable campaign. We have got oul
enemies on the run everywhere. Laugh
ter And all you need to do in this
nobleo Id city, this capital, OF the West;
ern Reserve, is to follow them up and
| finish it by showing the rebellion un.
der once more. We stand on an isthmus
This year and next is the narrow 18th.
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