Year: 1871

In the dust and smoke and roar of ac-


tual conflict it is impossible for the soldier
IN the ranks to see the position he is
endeavoring to win but when the victory
is won the General himself can behold
with no clearer eye the path of advance
or estimate the cost in blood and life
Necessity and judgment alike require
that plans shall be laid now in the
moments of comparative quiet; that
wearied troops shall fud at least temporary
rest; that careful watch be kept lest
anything requisite for success in the next
engagement.


So to day, in the lull which follows the
seven weeks session of Congress, it be-
hooves US as good Republicans to see who
we are and what ourselves, or circum-
stances in spite of US, will make of U.S.
And this is no light or unimportant task
No man to-day can be a member of the
Republican party without incurring great
responsibilities. 1t is no child's play
that we have to do. IF we think so we
are not fit to do it.


The truth is we have fallen upon new
times. Ideas are demanding acceptance
and Offering rich harvests of future re-
nown to those who are first to grant them
acknowledgment. The day of leaders in
politics is past, never to return. No man,
however honest, or upright, or valuable,
can block longer the wheels of national
progress. Perhaps none to- day can WELD
and certainly there is no one in whose
perfect integrity the nation has greater
faith. His life is proof against the stings
Of SANDER, and there are none, even of
those whose views differ from his, who
dare hint at unworthy motives for his
deeds. And yet Charles Sumner himself,
were he to disconnect himself from the
party of progress-the Republican patty
and identify himself with its opponents,
would not for an hour delay the accept
ance of the Republican truths They are
independent of party. We do not sup
port them-they make us. We are what
we are because we have Joined ourselves
to them and they have carried us forward.
So long as we hold to them our advance
some other, more fortunate than we, will
take our place and be rapidly whirled
whittier our envious eyes cannot follow.
1t is useless for us to say "We have
done good work anJ are weary we will
rest awhile now" The good work is nev-
er done, and will not consider our con-
venience. Like time and tide it waits
for no man, and when We pause it will
leave US.


There appears, at stated intervals, in
Democratic journals, we'll written
obituary upon the Republican party ];
able, except that never having understood
it while living, the writer's can hardly be
expected to pass correct opinions upon it
defunct The constant recurrence of
these fattering articles would seem to
imply something amiss-either that the
writers were not proper judges of the
symptoms of demise, or that Repub-
licanism, like the Phoenix of old, will not
stay Dead" and takes grim sort of
pleasure in coming back in the spirit to
walk the earth and learn what men say
about it. The truth is it never was
stronger and healthier than it is now, and
the obituaries are written in the faith that
what the writers hope-if they only hope
it often enough and strong enough-will
surely come to pass. The discussions
over which they rejoice are the winds
which stir with healthful motion the
surface of this fathomless sea- Great
waves never rise on duck-ponds, and the
ocean is no less deep for its mountainous
pillows. 1t is because we are faithful to
our trust and seek the truth itself that we
disagree. Were we to follow human back
there could arise no Misunderstanding
but we do not. The President issues an
idea, and we test it by all means in our
power, seeking to discover if it be true
metal. If it prove counterfeit We reject
it, though it bear the semblauce of the
government stamp upon its sides. Today
Grant is right and is with us to morrow
he errs, and Wendell Phillips bears up
the banner under which we march next
day we shall find that some one from the
ranks has caught the staff when Phillips
stumbled and is himself at our head. If
we know whittier we are going we shall
not stray, though we follow any man who
sets himself before US.


We can point to noble record. Moth
ing less than the purest patriotism could
have crushed the shareholders rebellion,
backed as it was by Northern Democracy.
Nothing but the clearest foresight and
the most earnest devotion to duty, pure
and undefled, could have left US at its
close, even though victorious, anything
but shattered remnant of nation. But
we must not depend too much upon re-
cords. He who looks much over his
shoulder is apt to stumble. There are
mighty ideas knocking for admission
great planks ready hewn for our platform.
We must recognize the Importance of the
interest. We must foster and
encourage religious-not sectarian-
aatornr;co ,ro ,nnst odd uinor To aparu