Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-06-28

tions among which are the following:
|. THAT the republican Iarty in preserving
the life of the nation, in giving freedom and
equal rights to all its citizens, In the recon-
structiOn Of the union, IN upholding the ma
tiOnal honor, In the generous provisions made
for those who have suffered for their country,
in keeping the national faith, and advancing
the national credit, in the speedy payment OF
the public debt, in the reduction of national
taxation, in the elevation OF the civil service,
in the enactment of series Of wise public
measures which have given the country uncx-
amplcd prosperity has given the best assur-
anCcs OF its purposes for the futurc.n
These claims to political wisdom and
virtue require little investigation.
They sound well but they won't
wash" when put to the test.
In the first place it was the success
of the republican party in electing
Lincoln that joopardized the life of the
nation-and in the second place the
democrats of the north did lust as much
rs the republicans TO preserve the union.
In fact, without the hearty co-opera-
ton of the northern democracy seces-
sion would have been successful.
Again, "in giving freedom and
equal rights to all its citizens" (Which
means colored men) it merely acted
upon an after thought, for the party
disavowcd in 1860 any purpose of in
tcrfering with slavery and enfranchiS.
ing the negroes it was merely seeking to
get negro votes in the south to offset
the democratic vote. That was the
long and short OF the 'giving freedom
and equal rights" to negroes.
''ln rccOnStruct:ng the Union" ii
managed TO oyer-run the south with
the worst lot of carpet-baggers, thieves,
scalawags, bummers and deadbCats
that any subiugated country was ever
cursed with. In "reconstructing the
Union it kept up for fifteen years Il
perpetual howl of abuse and on every
possible occasion Haunted the "bloody
shirt" by which it sowcd more seeds
of discOrd and ScctionaliSm between
the north and south than even the war
itself.
"In upholding the public honor" it
passed an infamous public credit act
by which more than one thousand mil
lion dollars have been taken FROM the
pockets of the tax. X.payors and put into
the Golfers Of Il set of hcartless shy
locks and Understanding robbers. 1t
''upheld the public honor" because the
bondholdcrs bribed republican con-
gressmcn to pass, and 4 republican
president to sign that infamous act con-
verting grecnback bonds into coin
bonds-conccrning which very act the
presiding officer of this same republic
can convention, John Sherman, said
that "hc who asked better money in
payment Of his bond than he gave for
it was Il arepudiatOr and an eXtortioner. "
Oh, yes, it made generous provi-
sion for those who suffered for their
country" OF course it did! 1t made
a contract with Il million soldiers to
pay them coin, and then compelled
them 10 accept deprecated greenbacks
worth sometimes only 50 cents on the
dollar in coin. 1t would take $1,000
100000 to-day to mako good TO the
old soldiers the difference between the
coin that it promised them and the
grccnbacks it compelled them to ac-
ccpt. 1t substituted grcenbacks for
coin when dealing with soldiers, and
substituted coin for grccnbacks when
dealing with bondholdcrS! That is the
way ii made generous provision" for
those who suffered for their country.
1t kept the "natiOnal faith and adj
vanced the national credit" In other
words ii resumed specie payments -
or pretended to. 1t presumed spe-
cic payments and by So doing
forced half million business men into
bankruptcy; couiiscated hundreds of
millions OF dollars to enrich the cred
itOr class; drove thousand of men to
suicide; filled the highways with
tramps; filled the pOor-houses with
paupers and the iails with criminals;
aud caused more financial distress and
hard times than were ever known in
the history of the world during the
same length of time"
And Just look at this for a moment:
in the speedy payment of the public
debt! The speedy payment OF the
public debt, indeed! Since 1870 by
every imaginable scheme, by every pos
sible device, the republican party has
tried to perpctuate the debt. Its cham
pion, Garfield, no later than 1879 tried
to force a bill through congress refund
ing the debt into 40-year bonds. Not
till the grcenbackcrs had awakened n
sentiment in favor of the speedy
payment of the public debt did the
republican party change its tactics and
inaugurate movement to decrease the
debt. And to cap the climax during
the last year the revenues were cut
down for no other purpose under the
sun than to stop the payment OF the
debt. There has never been time
within the last ten years but that the
debt could have been paid of inside of
three years-and that too without any
increase of taxation, any initiation of
the currency, or any disturbance of the
affairs of the commercial world.
"In the reduction of national taxa
ton" Yes-for the purpose stated
above. After having taxed the people
in the neighborhood of $3.50, 900, 900 per
year for the last twenty years, to carry
on the government and feed hungry
horde of Understanding bondholders,
il is poor time now to claim credit for
reducing taxation. The poor patient
has been blcd almost beyond endurance,
and now the party that has been doing
the bleeding is seeking political glory
for letting up while there is but just a
drop of blood left.
And to wind up with this general
clause is thrown ina sort of carry-all
concern "ln the enactment of series
of wise public measures, which has
given tho country unexampled pros
perity."
"Unexampled prosperity" is good.
1t sounds elegant! 1t sort of brings up
the recollcctions of 1873, 1874. 1875,
1876, and 1877, during the hard times.
And then 10 think that tho grand
results of American enterprise and
industry should be the result of repub-
lican rule! Wheat would not have
grown had it not been for the virtues
of the republican party. Corn and
cotton would have been blank failures
had it not been for the credit mobiler
jobs, and back salary grabs, the whisky
rings, the star route steals, There is
nothing like a postoffice or custom
house steal to bring forth good crop
of golden grain. Rain, sunshine, and