Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-06-22
The Campaign of Morality and Purity.

monwealth, said, "There is to be no de-
fense in this campaign, il you please.
1t means morality, purity. 1t means
victory" just what the General
meant by this campaign meaning "mo-
rality, purity" is not by any means
clear. If he means because |, Gen
eral Beaver, am the candidate, and
that in the campaign ! represent no.
thing but myself" the declaration,
while it runs high with egotism, is with
in ordinary bounds. But the General
is the standard bearer of the Cameron
wing of the Republican party, what
ever it is he represents. If this party
means morality and purity, then the
General represents these commeudable
traits Of political, as we'll as private
character. II, on The other hand, it
means corruption Of the public service
as well as of the people if it means
the prostitution of public office to base
personal ends +; if it means the subju-
CATION Of a great political party to the
will and control of one man, and he
the great arch-corruptionist of the age;
if it means the establishment aud per-
petuation of the boss system and it,
rule, with all the evil consequences
that must sooner or later follow, then
the General is their representative,
and whatever assaults they bring be
must bear. To try to escape the
consequences Of their evils as he
did in his speech at Towanda on
Thursday Of last week by declaring
" that in this campaign no man
shall question my manhood is
worse than nonsense. The General
having thus put himself on the record,
we may properly enquire what Came
ronism is in this STATE. For full half
a century it has been q stencil in one
form OF another in the nostrils OF the
people of the Commonwealth. When
the elder Cameron was entrusted with
a commission to the Winnebago lndi.
ans, his transactions were so covered
over with fraud aud corruption that
the department Of war would in no wise
recognise what he did. Every time he
has been n Senator in Congress, his
way to the Senate was the result Of the
purchase of some members of the Leg
islature. Daniel Dougherty in his
Lancaster speech in 1878, details how
in lS45, by securing combination Of
Wings, native Americans, and the pur-
chase of few others, he succeeded in
defeating George w. Woodward, the
Democratic candidate for the L. 5.
Senate how in 1854, after Bigler's de-
feat, he became a Know Nothing, aud
as such, tried to obtain the nomination
of that party as candidate for the US.
Senate how twenty.eight members Of
that party refused to support him, and
in giving to the public their reasons
for refusing to do so, declared that he
was n man whose whole history was
but the history of intrigue a man
who has defed all party obligations;
a man in whom there is not character
enough TO impose on credulity itself
a fit representative of nothing good,
and as a fit representative Of no homer
able principle" How in 1857, by the
purchase of Lebo, Wagonseller and
Maneer, he again became a Senator:
how as Secretary Of War, he was dis
missed by President Lincoln and cen.
sured by Republican House of Re
presentatives, for his corruption in of.
fee in the dread hour of our country's
history, and how again in 1863, he
had, after much negotiation, arranged
for the purchase Of the vote of 7. J.
Boyer for the purpose of again secu.
ring his election TO the United States
Senate. This is only an outline Of the
beginning of the Cameron Republican
party in this State. When the younger
Cameron came on the stage, as Secre-
tary Of War, under Grant, in 1876,
this power and policy and party was
greatly increased in strength. The
new Secretary Of War was q delegate