The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-06-21

A Para''eI Between the Pa, 'iOiism o.
$ ephen \. Douglas About the CouNeu
zion of 1860 aud the Red Bandana Ticket
There is ore incident which occurred
in Chicago about the time of the con-
venton of 1860 which it may be not
without interest to call to mind now.
Nj. Stephen a Douglas had been nom
mated for President 10y the Democratic
| National Convention at Baltimore, June
IS 1860. Mr.LincoIn was nominated at
the Republican National Convention at
| the 'Wlgwam' Building at the southels!
corner Of Lake and Market streets, chi
cago, May IS 1860 Not far from this
time Stephen A Douglas, addressing a
meeting at Chicago in the 'Wigwam.
| Building, sad:
i beg you to believe that | will not do
you or myself the injustice to think that
this magnificent ovation is personal to
myself. rejoice to know that it ex
presses your devotion to the Constitu
tuition, the Union and the flag of our
country. will not conceal qualification
at the incUntrovertjble test this vast
audience presents, that whataOev,r pO-
litical differences or party questions
may have divided us, you all had the
conviction that when tue country should
be in danger, my pyally could be relied
upon. That pre-. ent danger is imminent
no man can conceal. II war must come
the bayonet must b. used TO maintain
the Constitution. say before God my
conscience is clear. | have struggled
long for a peaceful solution of the diff
Guilty. have not only rendered those
States what We their right, but | have
gone to the very extreme of magnanim-
ity. The return we receive is war:
armies marching upon our capital, dc
struction aud danger to our nav Igation;
letters Of marque to invite pirates to
prey upon our commerce: cOnCe. ted
movement to blot out tie United States
of America from the map of the globe.
TIE question is. are we to maintain the
country of our fathers or allow it to be
stricken down by those who, when they
can no longer govern, threaten to dc 4
strOyE The slavery question is mere
excuse; the elect on Of Lincoln a mere
pfetext; the present secession movement
is the result Of an enormous conspiracy
formed more than year sinCe-formed
by the leaders in the Southern Confeder
aCy more than tw elve months ago. But
this is no time for the detail of causes;
the conspiracy is now known; armies
are raised; war is levied to accomplish
it; there are only two sides to the ques
ton; every man must be for the United
States or against il. There can be no
neutraIs m this war-Only patriots or
traitors. Thank God, Illinois is not di-I
vided OF this question, | know they
expected to present a united South
against a diviGed North. They hoped
that in tie Northern States party ques
tiOns would bIlng civil war between the
Democrat and Republicans, and then
the South would step in with her guns,
I'd one party TO conquer the other, and
then make an asy prey Of the victors.
Their scheme was carnage and civil war
in the North There is out one way to
defeat this. and il Illinois il is being so
defeated-ey closing up the ranks. War
will thus be prevented on our own soil,
When the question comes, war in the
cotton fields of the South or the corn
fields of Illinois, say the farther off the
better, 1t is a sad task 10 discuss ques-
tions so fearful as civil war, but sad as
it is, bloody and disastrous as il Is ex
Dected it will be, express it as my
conviction before God that it is the duty
Of every ri zen to rally around the flag
of his country.
That was the Little Giants last pa'ri
otto appeal to his countrymen. At the
close of his speech he went to his rooms
at the fremont House, was taken III and
died June g. 1861.
The war cf which Douglas lived only
to see the commencement, lasted four
years, with results which the 81 ,veless
coats and the one legged veterans who
are stumping about the CiJy are wit.
nesses, And what of it all? 1t is not
necessary for any Republican writer or
speaker to make answer. Bradley T.
Johnson, in his address in Baltimore on
Confederate Memorial Day, took occa-
sion TO say this:
These old confederate soldiers and
their descendants elect nine out of every
ten Congressman; "a of the United
States Senators and the President of the
United States. The Guverhm, mt of the
United States is controlled by Confoder
ate soldiers
Spoken by Republican, that would
have been the language of the bloody
SHIRT. Spoken as ii was. it is the Ian
6uage of the red bandanna. And soon
after these words were uttered by a man
VINO 10 q leHutT VI 'he MdTy'lnu De-
mocracy the Democratic Natione' Con-
vention at St. Louis nominated for
President Grover Cleveland, and for
Vice-Presrdcnt Allen G. Thurman. The |
one sent a substitute to the war, which |
Douglas so described; the other was or
posed to coercion to reconstruct on to |
resumption of specie payments. Yet
we are told that Grover Cleveland. at
the celebration on the field of Gettys-
burg, is to read these words:
The world will little regard what we
say here. but it will never forget what
they did here 1t is for us, the living. |
rather to dedicate ourselves to the un-
finished work which they who fought
here have thus far so nobly advanced, to |
consecrate ourselves to the great task