Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-11-07


owl of desolation and darkness built its
nest in the forsaken eyrie. Mexican EN-
pire--dead. French empire-dead.
WE, TOO, ARE THREATENED.
You see, my friends, it Is no unusual
thing for government to perish, and In
the same neurology of dead nations and in
the same graveyard of expired govern
ments will go the United States of Ameri-
ca unless there be some potent voice TO call
halt, and unless God in his mercy inter
feres, and through purified ballot box
aild widespread public Christian senti-
ment the catastrophe be averted. This ma
ton is about to go to the ballot box to ex-
ercise The right of suffrage, and | propose
to set before you the evils that threaten to
destroy the American government and to
annihilate American institutions, and il
God will help me will show you before
get through the mode in which each and
every one may do something to arrest that
appalling calamity. And / shall pillow up
the whole field.
The first evil that threatens the ami
hiLation Of our American institutions is
the fact that political bribery, which once
was considered crime, has by many come
to be considered tolerable virtue. There
is legitimate use of money in eleotinns
in the printing of political tracts, and ia
the hiring of public halls, and in the OBJ
tanning of campaign oratory, but is there
any homunculus who supposes that this
vast amount of money now being raised by
the political parties Is going in legitimate
direction? The vast majority of 1t will go
to buy votes.
Hundreds and thousands of men will
have set before them SO much money for
a Republican vote and so much money for
a Democratic VOTE and the superior finan-
cial inducement will decide the action.
You want to know which party will carry
the doubtful states day after tomorrow?
l will tell you. The party that spends the
most money This moment, while
speak, the peddlers carrying gold from
Wall street, gold from Third street, gold
from State street and gold from the Brew
ers' association, are in all the political
headquarters of the doubtful states, deal
Ing out the infamous inducement.
There used to be bribery; but it held Its
head in shame. 1t was under the utmost
secrecy that many years ago a railroad
company bought up the Wisconsin legis-
laturc and many other public officials in
that time received $5o,00o for his sigma
ture. His private secretary received $4,000.
Thirteen members of tho senate received
$175, 900 among them in bonds. Sixty
members of the other house received from
s., 600 to 1900 each. The lieutenant gov
ernor received $4,000. The clerks of the
house received from 5000 to $4,000 each.
The bank comptroller received $4,000.
Jnll
were divided among the lobbyists. You
see the railroad company was very gen
erous. But all that was hidden, and only
through the severest scrutiny on the part
Of q legislative cocnmieeos was this m
Equity displayed Now political bribery
deies you, dares you, is arrogant, and will
probably decide the election next Tuesday.
A TERRIBLE DANGER.
Unless this diabolism ceases in this coun-
try Bartholdi's statue on Bedloe's island,
with uplifted torch to light other nations
into the harbor, had better be changed and
the torch dropped as symbol OF universal
inccndiarsm.
Unless this purchase and sale of suffrage
shall cease the American government Will
expire, and you might as well be getting
ready the monument for another dead ma
ton and let my text inscrihe upon it these
words, ALAS alas, for Babylon, that great
city, that mighty city, for in one hour Is
thy Judgment comer' My friends, if you
have not noticed that political bribery is
one of the CHASTITY crimes of this day. you
have not kept your eyes open.
Another evil threatening the destruction
of American Institutions is the solidifylng
of the sections against each other. A solid
north. A solid south. II this goes on we
shall after awhile have u solid east against
a solid west; we shall have solid middle
statee AGAINST solid northern states; we
shall have u solid New York against a
solid Pennsylvania, and n solid Ohio against
a solid Kentucky. 1t is twenty-seyen
years since the warcloud, and yet at every
presidential election the old antaGonism is
aroused. When Garfield died and all the
states gathered around his casket in sym
pathy and in tears, and as hearty kilograms
of coincidence came from New Orleans and
Charleston ms from Boston and Chicago, j
said to myself, 81 think seCtionalism Is
dead" But, alas, mol The difficulty will
never be ended until each state of the ma
ton is split up into two or three great pc
ltical parties.
This country cannot exist unless it ex-
lists as one body, the national capital, the
heart, sending out through all the arteries
of communication warmth and lie TO the
very eNtremities. This nation cannot eX-
list unless it exists rs one family, and you
might as well have solid brothers against
solid sisters, and u solid bread tray against
u solid cradle, and n solid nursery against
solid dining room, and you might as well
have solid ears against solid eyes, and solid
head against solid foot. What is the In
terest of Georgia is the interest of Mas
sachusetts; what is the interest of New
York is the interest of South Carolina.
Does the Ohio river change its politics
when it gets below Louisville' 1t il not
possible for these sectional antagonisms to
continue for great many years without
permanent compound fracture.
HAS THIS NATION FORGOTTEN GoD3
Another evil threatening the destruction
of our American institutions is the low
state Of Public morals
What killed Babylon of my teNt' What
killed PEmnicia? What killed Rome
Their own dcpravity, and the fraud, and
the drunkenness, and the lechery which
/ have destroyed other nations will destroy
ours unless mcrciful God prevent. To
show you the low state of public morals
have TO call your attention TO the fact that
/ many men nominated for offices in differ
/ ent states at different times are entirely
F unfit for the positions for which they have
i been nominated
They have no more qualification for
! them than a wolf hJs qualification 20 IL
| professor Of pastoral theology in flock OF