Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1904-04-20

diers who had surrendered and starved to
death thousands Of our prisoners Of war.
In 1854. Notwithstanding the rebellion was
crunbling to a close. Notwithstanding the glori-
Gus victory OF Meade at Gettysburg. of Grant
at yicksburg and Chattanooga, of the great
march OF the Army of the Potomac from the
Rapidan through the wilderness, to the James
and Petersburg. of the successes of Sheridan In
the Shenandoah, of the unprecedented march of
Sherman from Atlanta to the sea, shey declared
that the wartwas failure; that peace should he
made with the South any terms, aud they
nominated on that platform unsuccessful
Union general. who had not escaped the impu-
tation of having been a traitor.
In 1858 they declared that the national debt
should be paid In irredeemable paper currency,
that the reconstruction acts and the thirteenth
fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the
constitution. which abolished slavery and gave
citizenship TO the negroes, should be repealed
and they nominated on that platform the "bit
| terest copperhead" In the country. Horatio
Seymour.
In 1871 they nominated as their candidate a
lifelong republican, one OF the fathers of pro
lection, In the person of Horace Greeley, and
they declared that these same reconstruction
acts and amendments to the constitution should
| be maintained.
In 1876 they "blossomed out" as great re.
| form party. "Tilden and REFORM" you all re-
remember the cry. and they closed their cam
paigned by an effort, on the part of nephew of
Mr. Tilden and the democratic national commit
tee, to bride the republican electors in three
| states.
Failing to bribe the republican electors, they
| disputed the constitutional right of the vice
| a., no
ened war. and proposed an electoral commits
| sion which should count the votes. This propo.
sitlon was supported by nine-tenths of the
democratic senators aud representatives in Con
gress. and oppo ed by three fifths of all the re-
publicans. and when this electoral commission
decided In favor of Mr.. Hayes, they cried
fraud, and for four years they addressed one
o. the most upright Presidents this country has
| ever had as "His FIauduleney".
In $50. they nominated brave and success
| fal Union general who had declared that the
| tariff was local issue. on platform that
meant anything or nothing as you please to
read it, except declaration that the republi-
cans had stolen the Presidency In 1876
In 1884, nothing else being left TO them, they
came out free trade party, under an alias
| of tariff for revenue, and they conducted cam
| paign noted for nothing but vituperaton and
| SANDER. shot guns and tissue ballots, and by
| these methods succeeded in defeating one of
| the greatest men this country has ever pro
| duced.
From 1884 to 1892 they cried tariff for reve
nue.. They declared that ''the republican policy
| of protection was for the benefit of the few to
the injury of the many. They talked about a
taxed breakfast table and taxed dinner pail,
and they finally succeeded in convincing ma
jority of the voters of the country that the pro-
tective tariff was q robbery, and, for the first
time since the war, succeeded in controlling all
three departments of the government.
Then the trouble began. The business inter-
| ests lost confidence. the money centres became
demoralized and distrustful, the expenditures
Of the government exceeded its revenues, and