St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-27
Stephen A. Douglas bearing Oh the
above are the following:

Stephen A. Douglas bearing Oh the
above are the following:
/ now come to speak of the last great act in
his life. After the disruption of the Demo-
cratic party at Charleston and Baltimore,
Senator Douglas was defeated for the presi-
dency. We'll do we all remember the excite
ment that swept widely over the country i'm
medately preceding that election. Lincoln
was successful; Douglas defeated. lmHedi-
ately the standard OF rebellion was raised by
South Carolina and other Southern states.
and ordinances of secession passed until
seven states were arraycd in oDen rebellion
against the government. In that hour OF peril
and gloom all eyes were turned to Sen
atOr Douglas. What course would he pursue?
Would he in this hour of his country's dan
ger prove himself more patriot than partl-
san? The fond hopes of his friends were not
disappointed. He forgot the shaft of calum-
ny that had been aimed at him i'll the late
canvass by the triumphant party. He flung
from him the heartbutnin9s and hostIlltleS
that had been engendered in that dread or
deal through which he had just passed, and,
in language that sounded the knell OF des-
Tiny, he decla: ed Il am for my country
against her assailants' Can you doubt the
patriotism OF such man us thati The rec
objections of the past friendships ana asso.
eiatons were obliterated from his MIND III
moment Oh the side of country that country
by which he had just been rejected and
on the other the recollection OF loHg years
of friendship and attachment. Patriotism
required the sacrifice and Douglas was
found equal to the emergency. If you have
never felt in your hearts a gratitude to
Stephen A. Douglas. let me picture to you
what might have Deen the result OF MS op-
position and that of his friends to the pres
ent administration in his efforts to suppress
rebellion. War. destroying war. would have
been around your own hearthstones- Father
would have been arrayed against son and
brother against brother. The clang of arms
and the heavy tread of hostile soldiers might
have been heard in your midst and the des-
olating influence of invasion been changed
from the cotton fields of the South to the
corn fields of our own state.
A Tribute to Douglas
l challenge history TO show evidence of
by Senator Douglas during the few months
preceding his death. The victor can always
afford to be generous. But when before did
the world ever behold such spectacle as
that of the yanquished in the hour OF defeat
rallying his mighty energies to tie aid of his
victorious opponent. Less than one year
ago Senator Douglas ia the city of Norfolk,
Va, was eleetrifying an audience by
shower of his eloquence, surrounded by
thousands who are nov ranked as the enc
mics of our country. A leading lawyer of
that city asked him the following question:
IF Abraham Lincoln be elected president
of the United States. would the Southern
states be justified i'll seeding from the
Union?"
Instantly he replied: II emphatically an
swer, no. The election of man to the pres
ldencY by the American people i'll conform
ity with the constitution of the United
states would not justify any attempt at dis
solution of this glorious confeGeracy"