Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 December 1885 — The Democratic Party and The Soldier. [ARTICLE]

The Democratic Party and The Soldier.

m ~ ■'' o ~ 1 I Borne still venomous Coppeihead whether it was the editor, or some high private of the rear ranks of Givens Hill brigade, we know riot, abuses find gives the lie to 1 Soldier,” in the last two issues of the Democratic Sentinel, because ..he 1 askerted that the Dciuocr itdc party. | utterly failed to support the. Union I Soldiers in their hour of ' utmost j • need-.-; There were, of course, I thousands upon thousands of 'no- - bib northern Democrats who broke j ;.\way from the traditions and j teachings of thei r party, and fought j bravely for file-life df the Union; i but at- the..sAme time there were as many, or more, northers.; Democrats (the opposite of noble) who stayed at home and cursed, abused and discouraged the~Dnibn /cause, | and many of them actually con-' j spired against it, and greatly pro- ► [longed the war by'the aid and eon- - fori-t-i-iov-gawFA-i lie re-bela. If ■ the Democratic party, of the north, as | a party, Can lay just cMiln'to credit" . because certain individuals of that party went into the Ufiion army, • tjieu they must also bear th'e:. ! discredit because'certain oilier members 'of that party wickedly conspired to bring v, ar ami desolation into the peaceful communities ,I)f ! tiro north, discouraged the-. Union cause, aud prolonged'the war. If they-claim Hie cmfii in the one case, they must bear the blame in the o her. But if we admit, forth; I'sak? Of the argument, tha , hs apar- ! ty, Hi : nortiieih Democrats should j have neither crodd for democratic l hit ji solilierg, nor blame.' for i.Dempcradc Knights of the Golden i Circle, Sons Of Rib; rty, and gram, t biers at, and oppostir's of Tire war; | tlie fact would still To 1 <in lu, uni jnj peach able in history,- that “the j Democratic ptirfy utterly failed to ' support the Union soldiers -hi the j hour of their ulmost need.” After the excitement and, ardor lof the first lew months of war had j subsided,-Dcnmcridic seiit-imeht at the north consolidated and . organiz'd into, a p rs's-teiit anti-war paidv. .the Democratic miuoiify- ! in Congress uni form: y vs.ted idmOs-t solidly' agaiirSt ,ev< vy iaipoifiint war measure. The Democratic members of themcriou Gate l.egi dUtPre - followed in the toil : the Democratic Congressman, aud 111 j -r • j our o-.vii state, .where tiie Demo.

crtUs nnfbriainjit&ly Trrd-nr nrrrority, the great war governor -was-, c unpeil'id to prorogue the dvliyalj horde, to ptevent their d >inv mischief to the Onion cause. At tip ir various patty convO Pious they d enounced the war ami the pi Inna isiratioii, rind i.n 1553, unitmany endorsed the course of the traitor Vailuiidigha'm mid abuse 1 cjm.governmenfc for having sent that m 0.41 : mischievous man across the line to ! his southern friends; and in .1864, 'at their only National e.thxenkon | -* J ** , lipid diiriug the war. and when b> * L n r T j’flie glonuas end ol a res roped I n- • ion was fairly wikiia sight, they declared ibe war a failure* In regard to the conditional, admission, above mad', that the JDemo--1 cratic pan v deserved as much credit I for the oartc. rtain individual Dom- ; ocrath took i-u favoring tiie war, as j it deserved discredit for the -part ; taken by- other individual i)emb- ; crats hi • opposing the wav, we : would say that we utterly.disclaim ; nnukiugvuA such admission r.bso- ' kite.' On the other hand wo hold ; that, acting 'asui party, the Demoj crats deserve none ol the credit in ‘ the one ease, and all the blame in- the other- The rea'stiti for this lis very plain. It is simply bey ; cause that those Democrats who ! supported the war for the Union, did so ance of the dictates arid official ! declarations of their party; while ■ • -in- * - ■ those Aviio opposed the war, and gave aid and comfort to the Snub, j were only carrying out** to their logical conclusions, the teachings, , traditions aud v precepts- of their party. And in the bice of all these facts the editor of the Sentinel, ‘himself

one of the bitterest, most persistent and exasperating supporters of the northern enemies of the Union, lias hardihood to repeatedly give the lie to one of our most ' honored citizens because lie stated that the Democratic party failed to support the Union Soldiers in tlie hour of .their direst need!