The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-08-13
The Shallow Cry for u Change.

of the Government by the Republican
party. As matter OF principle an oc.
casional change of the party in power
is desirable, but no change can be ad-
visable that will bring the rebel South
into control of the Government which it
sought to destroy. If the Democratic
South and acquiesced in the election OF
Abraham Lincoln, and accepted the
verdict Of the majority of the American
people, is altogether likely that the Re-
publican party would not have retained
its long hold upon the Government,
notwithstanding the wisdom and
splendor Of its career. But the
Democratic South, with the SYM
pathy of the Northern doughfaces, re-
belled against the fundamental princi-
Piles of American liberty, by refusing to
submit to the will OF the majority of the
people. 1t revolted against the very
principles upon which it now pleads to
be restored to power. More than this,
to sustain itself in its rebellion against
free ballot it plunged this Nation in
70 one of the most wicked, bloody, and
uniustlfiable Of wars. resulting in the
killing and wounding of hundreds of
thousands OF brave men, the numbering
by inches, by starvation, of thousands
of Union prisoners, and in the destruc-
ton of thousands of millions of treasure.
That war left sorrow and mourning in
nearly every household in the North,
and our cities, towns, and villages are
still painfully reminded OF the terrible
struggle by the daily presence in our
streets of crippled soldiers. That war
was solely the work of the Democratic
party, in the bosom of which treason
was Graded, nursed, armed and sent
forth upon its mission of devastation
and death. Can the men Of the North,
who bore the burden of that struggle,
with the bloody battle scenes still WV
idly before their eyes, be expected to
place the authors of that war in powerp
Is change of government so desirable
that true, honest and loyal Union men
must be thrust from positions of honor
and trust to be superseded by disloyal
traitorsP Is a change of such para
mount necessity that it must be pur-
chased at the cost of degrading patriot
ism and rewarding treason? As well
might citizen be expected to give the
control of his, household over to the bur-
glar who sought TO rob and murder his
family. The loyal people of the great
North have not yet forgotten the DEM
ocratic rebellion. They will not forget
it rs long as there is q man living who
marched with the boys in blue against
the hordes Of treason.
Another insuperablc obstacle in the
way of such change as would bring
the Democratic party into power con-
sists in the fact that there is no freedom
of elections in the South where the bulk
of the Democratic electoral votes must
come from. The situation in that Sec
ton is not the outgrowth Of the institu-
tons of liberty, nor is it in conformity
TO the immortal principles set forth in
the Declaration of Independence or &C
cording to the requirements Of our Fed
eral Constitution. The situation in the
old Confederate States is, however, the
Legitimate and direct outgrowth of the
accursed institution of human slavery
and the war against the Union. The
men who formerly owned human beings,
who sold men, women and children pub
licly from the auction-block, who sepa-
rated husband from wife, parent
from child, brother from sister with the
same lack Of human sympathy that they
would manifest in the sale Of dog or
horse, and who went to war 10 preserve
their right TO barter in human chattels,
still form the controlling element in the
South. The opinions concerning the
inferioity Of the negro and the right to
enslave him were handed down to them
by their ancestors; they were the
growth Of two centuries, and that
which the course of time has so deeply
implanted in the human mind, timo
only can extirpate. In the North the
negro is regarded as citizen endowed
with rights equal 20 his white neighbor.
In the South he is still treated as
an inferior being, and his vote
is not counted. The will OF the
minority there overrides the ma
iority. Is this rightP Our Govern
mcnt is based upon the right Of the
majority to rule. II the Southern meth
ods of conducting elections are just,
then our Constitution and the Declara-
ton of independence are wrong. If
the Southern methods are unjust, ille-
gal, and contrary TO the spirit of our
Institutions, then the party which has
its greatest strength in the South should
not accede TO the control OF our Gov
ernment. Such is the opinion OF the
great masses of the intelligent people
throughout the North. There is no
such necessity for change as TO require
the restoration to powerof the old party
of slavery, treason, lawlessness and
Southern election frauds. No amount
OF talking can convince the in
telligent liberty-loving masses OF
the North that they are any the
less fit to govern this country than
the old slave holders and ex-rebels. In
the natural course of events there will
some time be change Of the party in
power, but It will not be this year, nor
four, nor eight, nor twelve years hence.
The war OF the rebellion dealt shock
to the Nation from which it will not re-
cover for many years to come. The
treason Of the South destroyed the con-
fidence Of the Nation in the political
trustworthiness Of that section. That
confidence can not be restored until the
States which were made solid for the
destruction Of the Union, and have been
kent aolid nv oDnreaeion murder and