The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-08-08
Sectionalism.

The funeral of General Grant will take
place to-day, and sentimentalists state that
the event, participated in as it will be by the
Blue and the Gray, by persons OF all parties
and of no party, will mark the cessation OF
sectional bitterness. 1t would be well If this
would prove true; we hope twill, butt pro-
bable that it is part of the sentiment and gush
which has been spoken and published for the
mast two weeks Sectionalism will be buried
for the time, and other events may happen
that may quiet it for awhile, but it will be
MANY years before it entirely disappears. In
1876. it was supposed to have been buried
during the centennial celebrations of that
wear. when men met and celebrated the indie
pendence declared and maintained by their
grandsires and great grandsres. The Blue
and the Gray marched side by side, the men
from the South and North clasped hands, and
orators of both sides and of all parties, spoke
from the same platforms. Sectionalism, to a
casual observer, was buried, and good will
and friendship was mutually pledged When
the fall campaign opened the most vigorous
bloody-shirt crusade was waged against the
South that had been known. Republican
orators and organs could scarcely find words
of sufficient expressiveness to properly convey
the bitterness they felt towards the Southern
people in particular and Democrats in gen
eral. That bitterness became so intense that,
after Tilden had been fairly and honestly
elected, the rampant sectionalists set to work
to change the result.
In 1880, four years later, and four years
further removed from the fratricidal strife,
sectionalism again was aroused. Garfield was
beaten by Hancock, as public opinion stood
in August of that year, and badly beaten NO
effort to stir up the memories of the past had
been made, and the calm, cool judgment OF
the people had sway. An alarm was sound
ed-the Rebels are about to seize the govern
ment! Instantly the old warehouses of the
Republican party came to the front-Grant,
Conkling, Cameron, Logan, Chandler. They
went about the country stirring up sectional
ism, arousing the soldiers by calling up the
memories of the war, advising them to ''vote
as they shot," &C., while Dorsey and others
set about collecting corruption fund to aid
in another success.
Four years later, i'll 1884, and still further
removed from the fratricidal strife, Blaine
and Logan, seeing that defeat was inevitable,
struck on sectionalism and awakened the
spirit of hate and intolerance as much as they
could, while the leading Republican Journals
of the country took up the cry all along the
line.
Even in 1885, even since Gen. Grants
death, Republican papers have been keeping
up the sectional feeling. The appointment
of ex- Confederates to positions under the
government, has so riled some of the Repub-
lican editors and orators that they can't re-
strain themselves Thus it goes on, and will
continue to go on. Sectional bitterness is al
layed for time by events such as the cele-
brations of 1876 and the death of Grant, but
it is not buried.
SectionaFism is dying out slowly, but sure
ly. Every year sees less of it, and as the OBJ
servance of Memorial Day in the South and
Decoration Day in the North decreases, so
will bitterness decrease. 1t will decrease in
the ratio that army reunions decrease, war
speeches and orations decrease, and in the
ratio that old hot head politicians die out.
BIT there will be no sudden cessation.