West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1900-08-30
THE LIFE OF THE REPUBLIC At
STAKE.
Shall il Live or Die Shall the Ballot
Rule or the Bayonet Ruin An Open
Letter From A. w. Frederick to His
Preston County Friends.

| feel that have so many gooC
friends in West Virginia, woulc
like TO write each one persona
letter. This | have not time TO do,
but will address you through the
newspaper medium, the next hes
thing | can do. The life OF the Re
public is at stake. believe, and
therefore write. | would be glad
to think that the goddess OF Liberty
is not menaced by the vandal hordes
and the goths of greed, but / cannot
shut my eyes TO what is happening
in the Orient.
Many OF you are Republicans,
raised up Republicans as was.
The day was when | was proud to
be Republican, and | still exult in
the achievements of the Republican
party when it was the party of the
people, party of right and reason
doing valiant battle for freedom,
equal rights and the cause OF human
progress. | remember my last bal
lot cast in Kingwood, for James &.
Blaine. From Blaine to VIM. Nc
Kinley Oh, my good friends, what
tumble !
Only few days ago was called
to account seriously for leaving the
party whose cause my father had
espoused. | replied, al can go
you one better. | have not aban-
doned the party of my grandfather.
My grandfather was a Jefferson
Democrat. If | am to follow my
fathers example / am to quit his
party whenever it champions the
cause of oppression and turns its
back on humanity. My father was
Lincoln Republican. Whenever
the party puts slavery under the
protection of the flag and shouts
for Old Glory as the banner of the
free, sane people might well look
to their ways. | remember the
Fremont campaign. My father
told me he had not left the Demo
cratic party, but it had left him.
The Republicans claimed 10 be
the true Democrats, whilst the
party name had been borne away
by false leaders. The new Democ-
ocracy of the SOS appealed to the
principles of Jefferson, and adopted
The same name Republican by which
the Jeffersonian party had been
known for time. Just as persons
go wrong and make mistakes so do
parties. Why? Because the lead
ers of parties are persons, and as
such are weak, bungling, cunning,
false leaders, or they are courageous,
contentious, strong, true. The
Republicans started out with sim
cere veneration for the principles
of Jeffersonian Democracy-all men
equal; endowed with certain, in
allenable rights such as life, liberty,
aud the pursuit of happiness gov
ernments deriving their just powers
from consent of the governed and
strict attention 10 our own business
no entangling alliances with foreign
natlo is. Such was Democracy, the
hope of mankind, in the DAYS of nv
grandfather. Such was the Repub
licanism of Abraham Lincoln, whose
life was devoted to the proposition
that all men are created equal, that
no man is good enough to govern
another without that other mans
consent. My grandfather, my fa-
Their, and myself have always voted
for the right, equality and humanity,
so far, to use Lincoln's language
Gas God gave us to see the right
And yet we have affiliated with diff
ferent parties. Yes, parties go
wrong, too often. There is a con
slant menace to Republican institu-
tons in the tendency of false shep-
herds to tole partisans away from
the confines of Democracy, else
were eternal vigilance not the price
of liberty"
In all candor ask myself, / call
upon you to tell me, which is the
party adhering to the principles
held sacred by Jefferson and Lin
coin ? Which is the party inspired
by the great Declaration of indie
pendence, our century plant Of hu-
man freedom 2 Is it the party that
stands for alien and subject colo.
MES like Puerto Rico and the Phil
ippines, wrongs more grievous than
those against which our ancestors
fought9 Is not the same industrial
despotism at home demanding trade
abroad, no matter what the sacrifice
to be made Of .he tyranny inflicted
% secure it2
The Republican party of today is
surely not the party Of Lincoln. II
it is not the party Of plutocracy
back Of WIN. Mckinley, what is it
A party becomes what its leaders, a
tools or otherwise, make it. VIM.
Mckinley can no more force his
distorted Republican principle,
]