Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-09-28
The Congressional Election,

elections as has devolred upon lt at any
| time for for many years. The State and
the Congressional electious must be car.
ried by the Republican party, and the
majority must be such that it it will dc
honor to the great State that has given
the two last Republican Presidents tc
this Nation. We must elect our State
ticket in order to sustain the principle
embodied in the Republican platform in
favor of regulating the liquor traffic and
observing an orderly Sabbath. We
ought to elect sixteen out of the twenty
one Republican Congressman of Ohio
because experience has proven that the
Democratic party is in no sense worthy
of being entrusted with the interests OF
sc. 100000 people. The Nation has been
under Republican rule during the past
twenty-one yeaIs and its prosperity has
been without a parallel in history. 1t
has grown in all that constitutes nation
al greatness. The Republican party has
brought the government safely through
, the most gigantic rebellion known in
history, has given the people sound
currency. has built up the industries OF
the country by means of wise legisla-
tion, until the Nation now stands fore.
most in commerce, industry, agriculture
and all the great arts of peace. These
results have been achieved in the face
of The persistent opposition of the Dem
ocratic leaders who were continually ac-
cusing the Republican party of running
the country. Through their constant
appeals to the people for power they
were, during season of stagnation in
our manufactures and commerce. en-
trusted with the control of both HouS-
es of our National Legislature. And
what did they do?. They had been tell
ing for years how our industries were
languishing for want of their care; how
the people had been oppressed by wick
ed tariff legislation, by vicious financial
laws. by grasping monopolies, by unjust,
burdensome, and corrupt taxation; but
wrongs of which they complained. They
did, however, go to work with earnest
ness and vigor to tear away all the safe.
guards established to secure pure bal
lot, to repeal the jurors test oath, and
to make substantial changes in mum
ber of laws relating to the election of
members of Congress. They spent
weeks and months discussing these
measures of pernicious partisanism, but
no earthly attention to the wants of the
country. Gen. Garfield, then a member
of Congress. denounced the conduct of the
Democratic majority on that occasion
as revolutionary in the highest degree
On this occasion he said in one of his
speeches:
The last act of Democratic domination il
this Capitol, eighteen years ago, was striking
and dramatic, perhaps heroic. Then the
Democratic party said to the Republicans
''If you elect the man Ofyour choice as Pres
dent oil the United States we will shoot youl
government to death;" but the people of this
country, refusing to be coerced by threats OF
violence, voted as they pleased, and lawfully
elected Abraham Lincoln President of tht
United States.
Then your leaders, though holding a ma,
jority in the other branch of Congress, wert
heroic enough to withdraw from their seats
and fling down the gage of mortal battle. W.
called it rebellion; but we recognized it a.
courageous and manly to avow your purpose
take all the risks, and fight it out in the opeI
field. Notwithstanding your utmost efforts
TO destroy it, the government was saved
Year by year, since the war ended, those whit
resisted you have come to believe that yol
have renounced your purpose to destre 7, anC
are willing to maintain the government. II
that belief you have been permitted to return
to power in the two Houses.
To-day, after eighteen years of defeat, th,
hook of your domination is again opened, anC
your first act awakens every unhappy memo
Iy, and Threatens to destroy the confdenc,
which your professions of patriotism inspired
You turned down leaf of the history tina
recorded your last act of power in 1861, ant
you have now signalized your return to pow
er by beginning second chapter at the sam
page, not this time by heroic act that de-
clares war on the battlefield, but you say, i
all the legislative powers of the government
do not consent TO let you tear certain law
out of the statute book, you will not shoe
our government to death as you tried to d.
in the first chapter, but you declare that i
we do not consent against our will.if you can
not cOerce an independent branch of this gov
ernment, against its will, to allow you to tea
from the statute books some laws put Their
by the will of the people, you will starve tn,
government to death.
What reason have we to believe thai
the Democracy will not do the same now
that it did when formerly in control Of
the government? Unless there is some
good ground to believe that the Democ
racy will completely reverse its former
policy no intelligent citizen should vott
to send Democrat to Congress.-Cleve
land Leader.