The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-11-23
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
Some History Concerning This Great
Organization

Editor of the Banner:-The Re
publican party was formed in the
most critical period in American his
tory. War was impending; Henry
Clay's notification act or comprom-
Use measure had STAYED it on for
long time, but it could do so no Ion
ger.
In 1856 the Wing party went to
pieces and the north and west be-
came much alarmed at the decision
of the supreme court in the famous
case of bred Scott, slave, the court
decreeing that congress had no pow
err to forbid slavery anywhere and as
slave was mere property.
The Shareholder had a perfect
right to take his property any where
he chose. The decree of the court
fastened the formation of the Re
publican party which was composed
of three different elements or fact
ions, all of which were more or less
opposed to slavery. The first and by
far the greater party advocated the
immediate adjustment of slavery
and were called Abolitionists. The
second faction advocated the gradual
emancipation of the slaves, claiming
the STAKEHOLDER had paid his money
in good faith, and should have the
use of his slaves for awhile. The
third and smallest faction was will
ing to allow slavery to stand as 1t
was but would concede no more
slave territory.
All of these factions uniting form
ed the Republican party and in 1860
selected Abraham Lincoln from the
people and nominated him for presi-
dent. The Republican party was
still in the minority and their only
hope lay in split in the Democratic
party which occurred. The northern
and western Democrats at the regu-
lar convention nominated Stephen A.
Douglass, who was called the little
giant and the southern wing of the
party which was bitterly opposed to
MIR. Douglass Immediately withdrew
and nominated Mr.. breckenridge,
who was a southern man, for the Of
fee. Mr. Lincoln was elected by a
minority of the total vote cast and
the war began in 1861. In four
years the Republican party with Mr.
Lincoln at its head, had carried the
country successfully through the
greatest war that ever was fought. Mr.
Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, but
the Republican party continued the
good work, reconstructed the south
along Republican lines and under a
wise Republican administration they
soon became a prosperous and con
tented people.
They paid the enormous National
debt, built the present great railroad
system and for thirty years was a
bulwark of strength to the nation,
and it seems almost impossible 1t
could have drifted into its present de-
plorable condition.
The party leaders have allowed it
to become a mere servant OF the
trusts and yet they rely on the past
greatness of the party TO carry them
through the present issue entirely
forgetful of the fact that two gener-
ations have passed and that we are
an entirely new people. far more so
than would seem possible at first
thought. There are two reasons for
this great change, emigration and
education. There are in our country
today hundreds OF thousands of vo-
ters whose parents were natives of
foreign countries fifty years ago and
in their childhood they were taught
the lore of foreign countries by their
emigrant parents instead of bits of
American history as they should
have been and they have not that in
tense love of America and American
institutions that the sons and daugh-
tiers OF veterans have.
We also have vastly superior
form of education than we had fifty
years ago. not only do we have our
schools and colleges, reading rooms,
free libraries and thousands of news
papers, but we also nave other ways
of educating The people Webster
defines education as instruction
along the entire course of physical.
moral and intellectual learning. Can
a man compare the splendid steel
fighting machine floating in Ameri-
can waters today with the old wood
en- vessel in which his father fought
the naval battles of the Civil war
and not be wiser for IL?
Let us note the difference between
the heavy ordnance of the present
day and the old fashioned morter OF
fifty years ago which threw a little
shell up in the air dropping any
where il happened The modern
breech loading cannon carrying g
proiectile weighing eleven hundred
pounds with a possible range of If
teen miles. Let us compare the ele
giant motor car with our grandfath
er's family coach. Are we not get
ting instruction along the lines laiC
out by Webster? Every imrovemen
every invention, every scientific dis
covery and every new appliance Civ
en- to the world is educating the PEG
pie just as truly as the schools ant
colleges. The result is. We have
nation OF people who are intelligent
we'll educated and we'll able to cop
with the problems of the day ant
who care nothing at all about tn
| past greatness OF the Republican pal
ty. What the Republican party |
going to do is what interests them
not what II has done and yet the RI
publican politician is banking heay
lily on the past record of the party.
IL has often been said that on