Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1888-10-05
pAIsTY SPIRIT.


The greatest danger to The common
veal comes from an undue exercise Of
party spirit. A true patriot cannot say
"I will go with my party II II goes TO the
devil" ""my country right or wrong.n An
enlighteDed patriotic sentiment would lead
every man 10 say my country shall not 20
to the devil II l can prevent-if possible
will right my country when wrong,
This blind sticking TO party indicates a
deveiph spirit aud takes mans heart out
Of him. II this party spirit would have a
man without any heart at ali, the case
would not be 20 bad. Put n man who has
no heart Mt all against man who has
dcvelish heart and you have n cripple
pitted against demon. Inoculale a man
with the virus or poison OF party spirit
and you have slanderer, liar, and
murderer and n sneak thief and devil
incarnate-in short mn inhuman "crilter'
OF mex xpressible, fearful dimensions, who
would not hesitate 10 tear your sonl out OF
your body, chew il fine between HE teeth !,
swallow the pulp, grow plump and fat and
ugly, and cry ont and gnash his teeth he
cause he cannot kill and ent angles and
dethrone the Almighty. II the aforesaid
be a true picture of party spirit let us Gust
the demon out il il takes all summer and
then, alter ihe cold weather Is over, anoth-
er summer. How much OF this bad blood
may be in the political parties of the pres
ent day we may not be able 10 measure or
weigh. Evidently tins sort OF stuff can
he put into peck measures or estimated by
Fairbanks scales. II there il any medi-
cine that will purify the blood Of the body
polite, pray, let us have some and admin
lister II without delay. The first symptoms
OF the i'll humors Of party spirit are there
A disposition to obscure, distort aud deny
facls-to lay aside reason and resort to
personalities, TO call an opponent fool,
an ass, an old fogy, or II smart, cunnig de-
ceiver, or as II knock down argument to
say you're liar and you know it. There
are men who cannot tell what the term
democracy means who vote the ticket
did When border ruflians were burning
and sacking towns and numbering whole
families in Ksnsas there were men who
called the reports whig lies. During the
civil war some men would not believe the
Union army was victorious and even to-
day are somewhat dubious about Lees
surrender, Tell them that England holds
millions of Confederate bonds and paid on
thousands Of dollars to elect our Chief
Magistrate and has bought up nearly all
the ship timber on the lakes in order 10
huild more ships and secure the carrying
trade and remove the tariff go that Eng
lisI, manufactures may find market in
the United States and compel MS to pay
the Confederate war debt and these politi-
cal partizans will tell Won that the whole
thing is ID Republican lie-tell
them that the South is solid anil IN league
with the English who sent out the Ala
bama to drive our merchant vessels IRON
the high seas and send over powder and
shot and rifles to shoot down American
patriots and these men will tell you that is
another Republican lie concocted to deceive
the people for electioneering purposes
It is indeed a lamentable state OF things
when the people cannot get at the truth
because the politicians, having gone stark
mad, utter mendacious falsehoods, out
lying the devil in utterng develisll lies.
III man writes an article Tor the news
papers or makes a pol itical speech he
often finds his ideas 20 msconslrued and
distorted by willy politicians that his own
thoughts seem ss strange to him as the
widest dreams. Why not give the peo-
pie facts? What profit will it be to any
mortal man to lie for the sake OF party
Our country demands the truth, as Pat
rick Henry said, the truth and nothing
but the truth. II the South or any othe
part of the country are solid in their ef-
forts TO cheat the people out OF thei
rights st the ballot box and thus endangel
our liberties and 'the common veal" III
Seth Low says why not let every man say
30 too and search for remedy forthwith
| II Seth Low has told the truth, that at tn,
ballot box the North is fitted against til,
South and in voting ''s compelled to play
against loaded dice"-that "a sense o
this unfairness is especially galling"-ant
that, the situStion is evidently full o
danger to the common veal" Unless j
can be remedled, why not let all the peo'
pie see the danger ana meet it like mel
and apply the remedy even if the medi
cine should make the patient sick, sick al
over. Git.