The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-08-12
ILLINOIS EXTENDS THE OLIVE
BRANCH.
We Gladly Grasp it and Return Fra
ternal Greeting
HANOVER, ILL, , July, 1896

said there. This sectional bitterness
and strife must stop, and the men,
both North and South, who are
making political capital by keeping
up the remembrance Of the cruel past
must be relegated to the rear.
Now, Bro. Polk, what have to say
in this letter | want to address my
self to our brothers in the South, and
allow me to say [ served three years
in the Union army. When the boys
in gray laid down their arms, we of
the North turned our faces homeward,
flushed with victory. You of the
South turned to your desolate and de.
ssroyed homes. You believed you
were right; we believed you were
wrong. The god of war had decided
in our favor, but none can impugn
your honesty, or gainsay your bravery.
But the war is passed and its men
ories should be buried with the heroes
upon both sides. We have no North
or South, but one common country,
one common flag, and in this fight
between the producers and the man
who steals his reward from him, we
have common cause, but put them
down for the sake of our children,
and in the name of Almighty God,
for the good of humanity, wipe out
that imaginary line that politicians
have tried to divide US with.
When you read the rawlings of some
of our papers, do not take that as the
feelings of the great common people
of the North, but it is simply the
rawlings of some politician who was
too cowardly to go down and fight
you, and therefore have no idea of
your bravery, or else they are so
blinded by party that they cannot be
honest. Remember we have scoun-
drels in the North, and | suppose you
have them in the South, who would
not hesitate to plunge this nation into
another war if by SO doing they
could accomplish their hellish ends.
Bro. Polk has been among us, he has
touched the hand and he has touched
the hearts Of the great common people
of the North and West, and thou,
sands are the good speeches that have
followed him from the North and |
think he can testify as to the feeling
>ef the people here.
Now let me suggest that we 60 to
the national meeting next fall, and
form a soldiers Alliance, composed
of the blue and the gray. Let US
there clasp hands; let US dig a grave
across the Mason and Dixon line. In
that grave let us put the bloody shirt
with all it's bitter remembrances; let
us bury that shirt and it's bitterness
deep from human eyes and damned
be the man that ever resurrects it to
divide the people of this government.
Let the cry be for fraternity for
yourselves as we'll as our dear brother.
In the language of Washington, let
US guara with jealous eye and in
dignantly frown upon any attempt to
ALLEVIATE one part of this Union from
another. And if political blather-
sixties and wealthy scoundrels persist
in trying to array us against each
other, let us retire then from busi,
ness. The men who set themselves
up as common freemen and faced the
blazing batteries, belching out their
messengers of death, upon either side
have enough of it. Now if the
cowardly ours, both North and South,
who got under the bed, lurked on the
river or conveniently got into the hos
pital or run suttlers' camp or stayed
at home and robbed our wives and
children, want to take a hand at it,
let them do it, the country will be
better off if they can succeed in kill
ing each other. But you and have
had enough of it. Let us now turn
our attention to driving the rascals
out and building up and improving
our common country. We are
brothers of one household; We may
disagree and even fight, but that is no
reason we should always be divided.
And when any man or set of men
tells you that the soldier of the North
or the people of the North have any
such feelings towards the soldier or
people of the South as you see in our
papers, tell them that down in the
black caverns of their dirty hearts
they are liars. l am pretty we'll
acquainted with the sentiment of the
working people of the North.
Now, brethren, let me say in con-
clusion, let us drive out the politician;
let us refuse to vote for any man who
attempts to make campaign on the
bitterness of the past or calls up the
memories that we wish to bury. Let
us tell him if he knows no better than
to try to bring discord into our family