Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-06-30
YOUNG MEN,
LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF GEN. GAR
FIELD.

The following delivered in Cleve-
land, on Saturday evening, October
18th, 1879, just before State election
day, is so full of eloquence and good
advice that we cannot forbear to re-
produce it here, ard commend it to the
careful reading of every young man in
the land to-day:
Now, fellow citizens, word before
/ leave you on the very verge OF the
holy day of Coda fit moment to con-
secrate ourselves finally to the great
work of next Tuesday morning. 1
see in this great audience to night a
great many young men, young men
who are about to cast their first vote.
i want to give you word of sugges-
ton and advice heard very bril-
liant thing said by boy the other
day up in one of our northwestern
counties. He said to me, General, l
have a great mind to vote the Demo-
cratic ticket" That was not the bril-
liant thing Laughter. i said to
him, "Why ?" why" said he, my
father is Republican and my brothers
are Republicans and / am Republi-
can all over, but / want to be an in
dependent man, and don't want any
body 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
NV independence.o / did not like the
thing the boy suggested, but | did adj
mire the spirit of the boy that wanted
to have some independence of his own.
Now, l tell you, young man, don't
vote the Republican ticket just be-
cause your father votes it. Don't
vote the Democratic ticket, even if he
does it. Laughter. But let me
give you this one word of advice, as
You are about to pitch your tent in
one of the great political camps.
Your life is full and buoyant 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 Democratic people and
and with that party, let me 60 with
you for moment while we survey
the ground where hope you will not
shortly lie. Laughter 1t is sad
place, young man, for you to put your
young life into 1t is to me far more
like a graveyard than like camp for
the living. Look atitl 1t is billowed
all over with the graves of dead issues,
of buried opinions, of exploded theo-
ries, of disgraced doctrines. You can
not live in comfort in such a place.
Laughter. Why, look here! Here
is q little double mound. look down
on it.and read, "Sacred to the mem
ory of squatter sovereignty and the
Dred Scott decision" A million and
half of Democrats voted for that,
but it has been dead fifteen years
died by the hand of Abraham Lincoln,
and here it lies Applause. Young
man, that is not the place for you.
But look a little further Here is an
other monument, black tomb, and be-
side it as our distinguished friend said,
there towers to the sky monument
of 400, ,0OO, 900 pairs of human fetters
taken from the arms of slaves, and |
read on it's little headstone this: "Sa-
cred to the memory of human slavery"
For forty years Of its infamous life the
Democratic party taught that'i it was
divine-God's institution. They de-
Tended it, they stood around it, they
followed it to its grave as mourner.
But here 1t lies dead by the hand Of
Abraham Lincoln Applause. Dead
by the power of the Republican party.
CApplause. Dead by the 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 and / read
across its yellow face in lurid, bloody
lines these words: "Sacred to the
memory of State sovereignty and Sc
cession." Twelve millions of Demo-
Gratis mustered around it in arms to
keep it alive; but here it lies, shot to |
death by the million guns of the Re-
public. Applause. Here it lies, its
shrine burned to ashes under the blaz
ing rafters of the burning Confederacy
Applause. 1t is dead! l would not
have you stay In there minute, even
in this balmy night air, to look at such
place. Laughter.
But just before | leave it / discover |
q new-made grave, little mound
short The grass has hardly sprouted
over it, and all around it 1 see torn
pieces of paper with the word "fat'
on them daughter and look down
in curiosity, wandering what the little
grave is, and read on it: "Sacred to
the memory of the Rag Baby laugh
teri: nursed in the brain of all the ia
naticism of the world Tlaughter7
rocked by Thomas Ewing, George H.
Pendleton, Samuel Cary, and a few
others throughout the land But it
died on the lst of January, 1879, and
the $l40,OOO,OO0 Of GOLD that God
made, and not fat power, lie upon its
little carcass to keep it down forever"
Prolonged applause.
Oh, young man, come out of that
Laughter That is no place in which
to put your young life. Come out, and
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! Yesl Three hundred and fifty
thousand soldiers, the noblest band
that ever trod the earth, died to make
this camp camp of glory and of lib
erty forever. Tremendous applause. ]
But there are no dead issues here.
There are no dead ideas here. Hang
out our banners from under the blue
sky this night until it shall sweep the
green turf under your feetl 1t hangs
over our camp. Read away up under
the atara the inscrintion we have writ