The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-08-12
The speaker here asked if these same coust..

last Democratic administration (applause) to
force slavery upon the people and state of
Kansas.
Two parties, and but two parties are in the
field. 1 believe that two parties are necessary,
but three parties are not, any more
than three legs, and l know of moth
ing that needs three legs except
three-legged stool, and that is useful only to
mount an individual with cap and bells on
(Laughter9 But in the south there is but one
party and the result is-despotism In the
south no man is free to WRITE to print or to
speak freely on the Republican side am as
should be found acting with the Democrats,
Have they heard from Gen. Weaver? laugh
ter) 1t would appear not. He has been
south recently where it was thought that the
labor element might be tolerated better than
Republicanism. He devoted himself to the
state of Alabama and was sure that he
could carry that state among several others
(Laughter) The Democrats had 10000 ma
lority, and still the Greenbackers haven't
heard from Weaver. (Laughter) But others
have, and he reports that there was not a free
ballot, that there was not an honest or fair
count, and yet the Greenbackers of this state
have struck hands with the Democrats and the
Democrats of Maine are cheek by jowl with
the Democrats of Alabama, and let the Ma
tional election be carried by them and the
Democrats will meet and divide the spoils land
the Greenbackers will get their share-per-
haps. (Laughter.)
LILO 1lCpuUlCdu party Wucf0 IL Gall S0U
standing room has labored to secure the right
to every citizen to vote once, and to have that
vote counted. (Applause) This is the great
question without settlement of which it is in
vain that we discuss other issues. There must
be free ballot by which the will of the ma
jority may be expressed, and then that will
must be honestly carried out. (Great ap-
planse.) You in Maine have had this question
to deal with more directly than have the peo-
pie of any other State north of what was once
the rebel line The attnmnt "a To 10
prive you of the right to free ballot, and
now will you reverse the decision of your Su-
preme Court and give to Governor Garcelon
and his Council q certificate of good moral
character after the condemnation passed
against them?
AT the close of Mr.. Matthews speech the
double quartette sang "God Speed the Right"
after which Hon. Nathan Webb introduced
Hon. Thomas Fitch who was received with
great applause. Mr.. Fitch is medium sized,
thick-set gentleman, with broad, high fore
head, merry sparkling black eyes, and while
his voice was little husky at first, it soon
cleared, and he showed himself an excellent
logician and a most taking speaker. He was
frequently interrupted with thurders of az
plause Mr.. Fitch spoke substantially as fol-
lows:
SPEECH OF MR.. FITCH
Mr.. Chairman, Ladies and Gentenen:-I am
here tonight at the request of man whose
wish, in all matters political, is the law of a
million northern Republican hearts; man
whom the great north west will join the far
east in 1884 in placing in the Presidential
chair l mean that Giant of the North
James e. Blaine. / say this in no spirit that
is not one of entire admiration and respect for
the soldier-statesman of Ohio who heads our
ticket to-day / say it, not that 1 honor GAR
field less, but that love Blaine more. They
are both young enc ugh to achieve the mighty
future which is in store for them, and the
country is great enough, and the Republican
party strong enough to set both of these ma
tional jewels worthily for the nations wearing
in the highest place on earth. One fact is
most obvious, and that is, if Garfield and Ar
thur shall fail of the fullest support anywhere
it will not be through any lack of effort on the
part of Senator Blaine, for he seems to be
everywhere at once-on the stump and in the
committee-room, ubiquitous, untiring, and
effective.
We shall win this fight, fellow citizens, in
despite of all the Democratic guerillas who are
now making their attacks not only upon our
candidates but upon their adherents. We
shall win it because it is contest of principles
concerning which the American people are by
no means ignorant. After fifteen years of eff
fort, after fifteen years of shotgun and bonfire
argument the South has been made solid for
the Democracy, and the Confederacy having
thus procured the kind of home-rule it desires,
has embarked eagerly upon the business of
supplying the nation with the same. kind OF
political goods. Knowing that terrorism will |
not work well in the North, the Democracy
here propose Cancellation and compromise. |
They offer to give up secession, slavery and |
reputation and accept the situation provided |
they can abolish negro suffrage and have his
torical vindication by being accorded complete
control of the nation. The question whether |
their terms will be granted or not will depend |
upon the number of recusant Republicans in
the North and the number Of patriotic and
sacrificing Democrats in the North. If there |
shall prove to be more of the former than of |
the latter Hancock will be elected and the YER
dict of the war reversed. But Northern con-
cession would not stop there. 1t would be |
compelled to continue its course until |
Confederate pensions were allowed, Confederate
Indebtedness paid, negro suffrage abolished, |
and slavery practically restored by statutes of |
peonage and vagrant and labor contract laws. |
Thus would every part of the verdict be re-
versed in turn. There is nothing impossible in !
all this. A carpet which cost months of toll |
to create, would, if neglected, soon to be eaten |
to destruction by moths. A neglect to stop |
little leak in the North River tunnel sent |
twenty men to their death by the salt slime of |
a patient watchful, vindictive, destroying |
sea. One breath of flame in your own city |
years ago and the fire once set in motion swept |
the labor of generation into ashes Eternal
vigilance is the price OF liberty, and once the
tide is permitted to turn it is not given to NOR
tai man to say to the waters, "thus far shalt
thou go and no farther
If we lose this election the Confederacy will
be reinforced for a contest which ought to end
forever. Democrats are adrot and endeavor
to place the Republican part in a false position
by saying we oppose peace ard harmony. |
This is not true; we desire both, but do not be-
lieve in the justice or efficacy Of the
Democratic Der era plan ho,s Of obtaining them
can be secured simply by ignoring all
violations of law. Let peace come but not
based in dshonor. Let is be a peace that
visits the negro cabin as well as the white
that there shall be no form of slavery in this
land either by direct claim, or the indirection
of state statutes of peonage; that the right of
every man to change his residence at his
pleasure shall not be abridged, and that every
right the constitution gives whether of pay
ment to the public creditor of exemption from
rebel claim to the public treasury, of freedom,
of civil rights, or of suffrage to the citizen,
shall if assaied. be sustained by the armies
and navies of the United States These are
Republican principles and there shall never
be peace or harmony with those who assai
them, but to all who will obey the laws and
respect the constitutional result of the war;
peace and amity are rendered. We do not |
ask Confederates to admit they were wrong
but they must not ask us to say that they were
right We are willing to drop old issues, but |
if they insist upon discussion we cannot be ex
pected to keep silent concerning the facts. |
TcdCo Gall uof6f 10 r6SGOrou ny Juo DoInO-
cratic plan of ignoring assaults upon order. |
The ugly fact is that in seventeen States the |
war amendments are trampled in the dust.
This is crime against justice and the consti |
tuition, a crime which will either be winked at |
and suffered to proceed under Democratic rule |
to the nations disgrace, or else under Republi-
can rule checked and terminated.
Northern Democrats ought not to permit |
the Southern Democratic party to drag them
again into the dirt. The partnership has never |
been profitable in either a m oral or partisan |
sense to the Northern end of the firm Before |
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise Dem
ocracy held most of the Northern States; now |
they control but out of 81, and hold those by |
an uncertain tenure.
When the war broke out Democrats by thou |
sands went into the Union armies they left their |
Democracy behind when the country was in |
peril, and the hot airs of battle developed their
moral natures so that the Democratic clothes |
were not largeeenough when they returned. |
Grant, Sherman, Sherid an, Logan, and other |
less noted, but not less patriotic Democrats, re-
IL II