Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1884-10-05
ELLIsOS's SPEECH.

land grapts by the democratic party
and the sad lack OF enterprise and
thrift in democratic states, reminds us
of Mark Twain's favorite saying that
ITS the hit bird that ilutters, the gald-
ed jade that winces, and the pelted dog
that howls. AS friend Ellison's
speech was but hot-bed production,
and the claimed facts which were
gathered but the week of delivery, and
as he promises to give further proof
of his unprovable affirmations, we will
only notice in this few of his state.
ments.
We call attention in the first place
to the spirit of his speech as reported
in the Dem0e,ut, This phase of his
address is bad to begin with. 1t will
be sorry day for free America. when
such spirit becomes general on the
part of political leaders. The attempt
to meet cur statements of fact by the
following style of statement "Our
two radical papers here = p" contain an
article each, which for unfairness and
gross dishonesty of assertion is not
equalled within ths range of my obser-
vntion." This is but sample OF the
spirit OF the article as whole. And
this, too from man asking to be an
elector, who, with others, is to choose
for the great republic president. Mr..
Ellison shows that he has some know
ledge OF figures. We ask him to solve
this problem If the entire number of
democratic electors for Cleveland shall
equal the number gotten by Horace
Greeley-'66, and each possess the
amount of gall shown in your article,
how many men would 1t require Of
Cleveland's capacity to contain the
sum of the gall We submit, that the
practice of denouncing an opponent
as "robber" and coming from hell"
and acting under countless hypocrlt-
ical devices" lily becomes an Ameri-
can citizen. We notice, now, his
question "Why has this writer chos-
en- dates so far apart - lie. 1880 to
1861 and from 2S6I to 1850. We an.
swer frankly, because the democratic
party controlled the government dur
ing all OF the period from 1880 10
1861 and the republican party ha:
controlled the government from 1861
to 1856. These parties are, therefore,
responsible for whatever happened to
the injury Of the government on the
one hand, and are to be credited with
whatever benefit the government re-
ceived on the other hand, during these
terms. In fact, each patty is to be
blamed or praised for the entirs record
of the party, whether it be one decade
or ten. Mr. Ellison refers to the war
and condones the stagnation of busi-
ness, and lack Of enterprise and thrift
In the southern states, by the claim
that the war shut them from trade,
barter, intercourse and commerce with
the world" We had not referred
to the war, but had included that period
of shame under republican rule, but as
is being done, especially in Missouri,
Mr.. Ellison forces the old issue into our
present canvass. We only refer to this
fact, that of the 1870 electors for ]. c.
Breckenridge in 1860, that both the
electors and their constituency were
democrats, and they were the persons
who organized the confederate govern
ment and confederate armies and
their being shut out from the com.
merce of the world became a necessi-
~ to save the nations life. Notwith.
standing this, we include the years of
the suppression of the rebellion in the
in the term ofrepublican rule
| Nh. Ellison has a peculiar way of
putting things. Representing the re-
publican administration of civil affairs
in the southern states, he says: "When
we consider that they kept the country
inscon,inuous disorder, that they took
possession Of state municipal offices ::
pilfered all the treasures, and hypothe-
Gated the income of future generations
| by wholesale issue of bonds of indebt-
edness," and then in the next sentence
says: Alabama gained between
1870 and 1880, I12 per cent, and
Georgia I26 perc Verilv Your
rhetoric or your statistics are out of
joint. If your statistics are correct,
then republican rule in these states
has been most beneficial But rail-
road land grants. THE democratic
party" says Mr.. Ellison, "never gave
an acre of land to railroad corpora.