The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-08-23
To Young Men.
From a speech delivered by General Garfield
in Cleveland, October IL, 1879.


| see in the audience tonight great
many young men-yOung men who
are about to cast their first vote. /
want to give you word of sugges-
ton and advice. heard a very bril-
liant thing said by a boy the other
day up in one of our Northwestern
counties. He said to me, General,
| have great mind to vote the Dem
Ocratic ticket" That was not the
brilliant thing. laughter
l said to him, why ?" "Why''
said he, my father is a Republican,
and l am Republican all over, bat
l want to be an independent man,
and / don't want anybody to say,
That fellow votes the Republican
ticket just because his dad does and
l have half a mind to vote the DEM
ocratic ticket just to prove my indie
pendence." / did not like the thing
the boy suggested, but l did admire
the spirit of the boy that wanted to
have some Independence of his own.
Now, tell you, young man, don't
vote the Republican ticket just be-
cause your father votes it. Don't vote
the Democratic ticket even if he does
vote it. Laughter. But let me give
you this one word of advice as you
are about to pitch your tent in one Of
the great political camps. Your life
is full and buoyant with hope now.
and beg you, when you pitch your
tent, pitch it among the living, and
not among the dead. Applause. If
you are at all inclined to pitch it
among the Democratic people and
with that party, let me go with you
for moment, while we survey the
ground where l hope you will not
shortly lie. Laughter.
1t is bad place, young man, for
you to put your young life into. 1t
is to me far more like graveyard
than a camp for the living. Look at
it ! 1t is beloved all over with graves
of dead issues of buried opinions, of
exploded theories, Of disgraced doc
trines. You cannot live in comfort
in such ii place. Laughter. Why,
look here! Here is little double
mound. look down on it and rad,
Sacred to the memory of Squatter
Sovereignty and the Dead Scott de-
cisiOn." A million and a halfOf Dem.
OcratS voted for that, but it has been
dead fifteen years-died by the hand
of Abraham Lincoln, and here it lies.
Applause. Young man, that is not
the place for you.
But look little further. Here is
another monumental black tomb
and beside it there towers to the sky
a monument of four million pairs of
human letters, taken from the arms
of slaves, and | read on its headStOne
this: "Sacred to the memory of hu-
man slavery" For forty years of its
infamous life the Democratic party
taught that it was divine, Gods in
stituti0n. They defended it, they
stood around at its grave as mOuners,
But here. it lies dead by the hand of
Abraham Lincoln [Applause.l Dead
by the power Of the Republican par
ty. Applause. Dead by the justice
of Almighty God. Great applause
and cheers. Don't camp there young
man. But here is another-a little
birthstone tomb laughter and l
read across its yellow face in lurid +.
bloody Tires these words: "Sacred
to the memory of State Sovereignty
and Secession"
Twelve millions Of Democrats mus
tered around it in arms to keep it
alive ; but here it lies. shot to death
by the million guns of the Republic.
Applause. Here it lies, its shrine
burnt to ashes under the blazing raft
ers of the burning Confederacy. APP
plause, 1t is dead! l would not
.haYe you stay in there minute,
even in this balmy night air, to look
at such place. Laughter. But
just before l leave it discover new
made grave, a little mound-short.
The grass has hardly sprouted over
it, and all around it see torn pieces
of paper with the word "fiat" on
them laughter, and look down in
curiosity, wondering what the little
grave is, and 1 read on it "Sacred
to the memory of the Rag Baby
Laughter, nursed in the brain of all
the fanaticism of the world, laugh
ter, rocked by Thos. Ewing. George
II, PendletOn, Samuel Gary, and a
few others throughout the land"
But it died on the lst of January,
1879, and the 81, 100000 Of gold that
God made, and not fiat-pOwer. lie
upon the little carcass to keep it
down forever. Prolonged applause.
Oh, young man, come out of that !!