The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-05-09
A Dead Question VS.. Live Issue.


The Journal prints three-quarters of a
column of scandalous and brazen false
hoods about the democratic party, and its
attitude during the war of the rebellion,
under the caption of "The Truth of His
tory" 1t asserts, among other things,
that "historv shows that the war for the
preservation of the union was prosecuted
by a republican administration, backed
and aided by the loyal people OF the
North, OF lrhOm ninety-fUe per cent. acre re-
pubtico,s." Such unblushing mendacity
as is here displayed has rarely found a
parallel, even in the columns of our super
latively mendacious contemporary. THE
SENTINEL is paper of to-day, and
deals with the questions of to-day,
but If it were paper OF yesterday, and
had the space and the inclination for a
discussion of the issues and events of yes
terday, it could easily demonstrate, upon
unimpeachable authority, the utter false
ity of the above assertion. 1t is suffi-
cient now to say that the statement
that ninety-ive per cent. of the loyal
people of the North during the war
were republicans is an absurd and
malicious fabrication and wanton and
gratuitous insult to the memory of hun
dreds of thousands of patriotic men who
poured out their blood and treasure freely
to preserve the union. 1t is fact, and
history has so recorded it, that the demo-
cratic party, as an organization and in
ba duo ~ no
who composed its membership, was
faithful to the union during the war, as it
has been from the very foundation of the
government to the present moment. The
democratic states contributed more men
to the union army in proportion to their
population than did the republican states.
There were as many democratic as repub-
Hcan soldiers in the union army The
bravest and most brilliant commanders of
the Northern forces were and always had
been democrats. The republican party,
as an organization, virtually ceased to
exist during the war in most of the North
ern states. There were but two parties in
the North for several years, one styled the
''union party" and the other the demo-
cratic party, both of which denied the
right of rebellion or secession, and main
tanned the integrity Of the union,
although they differed about measures
and methods. The sublime effrontery
with which for more than twenty-five
years, the leaders of the republican party
and its newspaper organs have claimed
that republicans alone put down the re-
bellion, restored the union and enamel
pated the slaves has never been equaled
in the annals of partisan warfare.
AS matter of fact, however, the mouth
ings of blaekguards like INGALLS,, and the
rawlings OF such papers as the Indianapolis
Journal are not so much the ebullitions
OF fanatical partisanship or malicious igno-
rance as the manifestations of a studied
design on the part of the republican man
ayers to divert the attention OF the country
from the real issue of the hour. The
question before the people is not "w-ho
suppressed the rebellion ~ but 'shall the
war taxes be reduced" The republican
leaders are afraid TO face this issue. But
they cannot evade it. The democratic
press and the democratic leaders will hold
them to it, The battle in Indiana and
throughout the country will be fought out
on this issue, and this issue alone.
Down with the war taxes. .,s.