The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-07-23
A BOOM FOR GARFIELDl
The Hon. P. A. Orion, One Of the Most Promi.
nent Democrats Of Wisconsin.
AbandOns Hancock and Gives COgens
Reasons Why Garfield should
be Elected.
from the Darlington Republican,
DARLINGTON, Wis, July Q, 1880.

DARLiNdroN, WIS.,, July u, lS8O
Ed Republican:
After oil the thought am capable OF giving
the subject, have concluded it il my duty TO
vote for and do all in my power to promote the
election OF Hon. James A. Garfield ~ president
OF the United States, and shall do 10.
Having uniformly acted with the Democratic
party in the past, ii Is proper should give the
reasons which have impelled me 10 this course
which III brief will do
am fully aware Of the severe ccnsure which
IL almost universally visited upon those who,
for any cause forsakc old political associations.
Bad motives are generally assigned for the
change. / cannot expect exemption from such
ceIslIre. though fully conscious that am gov
erened only by sense of duty, which il would
DC positively wrong in me TO disregard.
Many of my Oldest, best and most cherished
friends are Democrats. | ask Of them the OK
ercise of that charity which our long friendship
and the confidence which l hope they have III
my integrity will inspire.
On the day Of the evacuation Of Now York
city by the British in 1888, at II dinner given in
honor of the event by GOV. Clinton. nj which
Washington and other distinguished revolution
lists were present, who knew full well the cost Of
the nation liberty, the following toast was given,
" May Justice support what courage has gained"
This sentiment 10 prominent in the minds Of
the forefathers, after their struggle for indie
ndencc, ought to have infinitely greater
history we have seen the manifold dangers to
which the Republic IL exposed, and have seen
the most formidable rebellion in the worlds
history, deliberately organized for its over
throw, only put down by sacrifice of life and
treasure, which il Is appalling to contemplate.
AT 10 time ought the American people To III
woke justice 10 protect what courage has gained
with the frequency which it il their patriotic
duty now to do. The grandcst results of the
late civil war are the preservation of the Union
and the abolition Of slavery IN the republic.
The all important principle established by il il
that no state has a right to scccde, that the
Uhitcd States IL union, supreme within its juris-
diclon, of the extent of which II Is the sole Judge
No grandcr results ever adorned the brow of
any comqueror. They are worthy the American
people, and justice imperatiyey demands at our
hands, that not one 10, or title Of these grand
achievements shall be surrendered Or placed in
jeopardy.
Whatever the Democratic party may have been
in the past, il is essentially and absolutely the
party of the south to-day. or the 1876 electoral
votes required to elect president this fall, the
Democratic party count the 1873 votes from the
solid south, made up Of the states which seced-
cd, or wanted TO seccde and dare not, solid in
advance for its candidate. The balance, AZ
votes, they hope to get in the north. Thirty
five of them they confidently expect from the
city of New York, for the state Of New York
outside the city IL as strongly Republican Wis
coHhtil hc icnldlhiS IL Notcs tllcy nope I'd re-
cciyc from some Of the doubtful northern states.
It's said the Democratic candidates are north
crn men, but IL 1t not true that the south were
compelled to nominate northern men in order
to give any assurance of success ut the election?
Could the south have done less, and have been
true TO their purpose, to get control OF the gov
ernment? II matters not who the president is,
if he is controlled by the south
The record of the Democratic party in con-
gress for the last four years has justly excited
the suspicious of northern men. The promises
to the people made in the Democratic platform
| of 1876, OF civil service and revenue reforms,
and upon which the people acted in giving the
party control III congress- arc entirely unfuliied.
Civil service reform has gone no further than
to unrcasonably restrict appropriations, by
which the efficiency of the service in some
branches has been greatly impaired, and large
appropriations to cover deficiencies have been
made necessary, while millions have boon
thrown away for the improvement Of rivers and
harbors all over the nation. Revenue reform
eliminated IN the selection of Mr.. Ran
dali as speaker of the house, pro-
| tectionist OF the most determined sort,
| by whom the house was 80 organized that
no measure for revenue reforms would DC re-
ported from the committee to which it was
necessari referred; while great part Of the
| time Of congress has been occupied i'll the dis
crssion OF measures unsought and unasked by
| the north, and Of interest only to the south,
| SUCH lOT ltihidicC Us iuucSty 10 MI. DuNlh, INT
| repeal of the test oath, and the repeal of the
election supervisor law, which were urged with
| a zeal worthy letter cause. their forced ap-
proval by the president being attempted by
tac%ing them to Appropriation bills. At least
| one OF thee measures WIS urged through con-
| grcss upon the Old 0mir bciium idea of states
| rights, dcayiaS TO cOngrcSs the power to eXcr-
else any control Of elections even when members
of congress and q pre- ii lent were to be elected.
10 DC sure this party OF the south has q re-
| spectacle followiE,; ut the north. There Is,
| however, this obvious difference between the
southern and northern Democracy. They
equally desire success; the south primarily
I that they may have political power, the north
| that they may have political place. They work
| together very tremendously nov. The south
must have help from the north to be successful.
70 secure this he the spoils of the victory are
promised to the northern Democracy. Both
sections are nov satisfied With the arrangement,
! but sooner OF later the good and patriotic men
| of the northern Democracy will see that they
| have sold iii invaluable bmthright for trinkets,
| and that they have been used as tools by their
southern associates. If the south had the
strength unadcd to elect president, will any
| body believe Wade Hampton would have stood
up, AZ he did, III the national convention of the
party at Cincinnati, and pledged the 1873 cleo
| tural votes of the south TO the candidate for
president Inc north might select? The temper
of the south Mt this time will justify 10 such
conclusion.
JEFF. Davis said but short time ago that the
principles of the Confederacy were eternal, be-
cause right. Beyond doubt, this is the opinion
! of the great mass of the white population of
the south. They failed on the battlefield to
maintain these principles, and now seek the
same object, substantially, by political manipu-
| lation through the Democratic party.
This practical question then presents itself to
every honest voter in the north: Is it wise or
just, and ought the American people to placethe
Republic in the control of this party OF the south
Will the national credit be safe'in its hands
Will the national treasury be safe i'll its hands
or will not rather its doors be thrown open to
satisfy the greed of thousands of southern
claimants, whose loyalty can be easily established
| to the satisfaction of the southern party? viii
the principle that the Republic is q nation be
honestly respected and acquicsccd in by people
who individually believe that it is q lie, cstGb-
lishcd by might and not right? Is the right Of
all classes of citizens at the south to vote re-
| Spcctcd, 20 that their elections can be consid-
cred a fam and intelligent expression of public
sentiment? or are such results simply dictated
| by a class, desperate for political power? VIII
the north be true TO the noble history it has
made, now to pass the government over TO the
control of the very men who fought to destroy
it? Will this be just to the memory of those
slain in its dcfeuse? Can the politicians of the
easy-going south appreciate the needs of the
great energetic, progressive norh2 and will
they bf disposed to regard them?
The policy of Cancellation Is urged. II will be
well to remember that not q single prosecution
for treason has followed the great rebellion.
| Universal amnesty has practically been granted.
The policy of the government has been lenient
in the extreme. 70 ask the north to yield to
the south any of the substantial results of the
war, is asking too much. This would be an
outrage upon the patriotism which secured
those results. II would be an evidence
of weakness, and virtual admission
that the north and not the south WIS in the
wrong in that great struggle, which am not
disposed to admit. Yours truly,
/ IL ni,,1