The Red Cloud chief., 1884-01-25
The Now I" Bloody Shirt"

for honest Republicans to see that their party
Is being eaten up by knavery, hypocrisy
aloud against the enormity of treason one
day, and the next reward q man who has beer
q rebel with place and power because hi
has been knaye enough to become q repudia
bloody shirts and Southern outrageS. and YET
elevate the very authors of what there is OF
the system they pretend to condemn! What
party can long stand tsaf ys sort or hypocrisy
Ignorantly or willfully. it is Difficult,
to say which, the writer of the above
has distorted recognized facts to serve
the purpose of his argument. The Re-
publican party does not honor ''rebelS"
because ''they are knaves enough to be
Republicans" but for the better reason,
that they have ceased to be bull-doZing,
night-riding Democrats and have be-
come American citizens. The "blOOdy
shirt" as signifying the discussion OF
the issues of the war, with all its hOr-
rors and enOrmities, is a thing of the
past in politics. Arguments are no
longer made against the Democratic par
ty on account of A~ndersonville and
Belle Isle. The hundreds of thousands
of Union dead are no longer laid anew
at the door of the Democratic party.
The thousands of millions of war debt
are no longer referred to as the legacy
of defeated Democracy. The burden OF
one hundred million dollars annually
for pensions is borne by all the people,
and mention is no longer made of the
party that made such a vast outlay nee
essary. The war is over and gone.
Andersonville and Belle Isle are recalled
only as a nightmare is recalled. The
grass is green on the graves of those
who fell fighting on either side. and
often the living blue and gray COM
mingle to honor the blue and gray that
are dead. The National debt has been
SO far liquidated that one of the ques-
tons nov to be settled is whether it is
advisable to still further reduce it. The
business Of pensiOniDg citizen sol
diery is progressing SO satisfactorily
that nobody feels the burden. and
scarcely a thought is given the matter
except to ask if all deserving men and
women have been found. The wal is
over, and the I" bloody shirt is buried.
If either of them rests heavily upon the
Democratic party. it has only itself to
blame. These mighty things have been
dropped; these crimes, for which no adj
eluate atonement has been or can be
made. are charitably ignored by the
Republican party in the interest of gen.
eral amity and National unity.
The Republican party has a hearty
welcome for all ''rebels' who abandon
their rebelism. Such action has q no.
BILE significance. The Republican party
stands for universal suffrage. North and
South; for a free ballot and an honest
count in every State in the Nation. 1t
believes that q white Democrat has rs
much right to a vote as has q white
Republican, and no more. 1t believes
that . black Republican has as much
right to vote as has any other citizen of
legal age. 1t believes that each of
these three classes should be equally
protected with the others. The Demo-
cratic party is the negative of all this.
of coming into power by
honorable means. it unhesitatingly re-
sorts to violence and fraud. The
once solid for slavery. has been
made solid for spOils. No intimidation
has been too fragrant, no violence too
no fraud too bold, to restrain
Democrats from the work OF
Republican majorities. 1t
is Of these fresh wrongs that the Repub-
lican party complains. and is met by
the cry of ''bloody shirt" There is q
shirt in the solid South whose
stains are not dry from outrage to out
rage The bulldozers of Louisiana were
initiated by the red-shirters of South
Carolina and Georgia in the slaughter
at Ellenton. In turn the ChishOlms
were assassinated while in custody be-
cause they dared to be Republicans. The
fraud in elections finally
captured South Carolina. AdOzen new
ly slaughtered colore1 Republicans are
buried at Danville, Va, and the Demo-
crat who assassinated the Chairman of
the COpiah County (Miss.) Republican
for daring to vote Mt the last
has been elected Marshal OF his
town as a testimonial of appreciation
by ellOw-DemOcrats.
1t is a waste of breath to cry ''bloody
shirt when these things are mentioned.
Such outrageous crimes against popular
government al not safely be condoned
until they are abandoned. and their
are willing to accord a
free ballot to every legal voter, white
and black. The Democratic party of
the North, as we'll as of the South, is
for each and all of these
A word of condemnation from
the proper source would put a stop to
Them. But they are not stopped, nor
will they cease SO long as the Demo-
cratic party upholds them and cries
seeks to point out political murderers
and asSassins.
The discussion and condemnation of
these grave otienses have properly no
more to do with the issues of the late
war than the emancipation proclamation
Of Lincoln had to do with the beheading
Of Marie Antoinette, and nobody knows
his more than the fellows who veil
. bloody shirt!" every time public
attention is turned to the matter.
The rebels" who are welcomed to
} place in the Republican party,
are SO welcomed because by so
changing their allegiance they unite
heir influence with a party that ac-
cords one free ballot, honestly counted,
10 every legal voter without regard to
MS political bias. The Repu alican
party has no sympathy with the meth
DDS of fraud, intimidation and violence
pursued by Southern Democrats and