Search the Newspapers Browse Newspapers by Date Articles Indexed by Topic About the Newspapers Valley of the Shadow Home

Franklin Repository: July 22, 1868 Go To Page : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

The County Convention
(Column 01)

Summary: The paper announces the forthcoming meetings for Republican nominations for county offices. The editors express great satisfaction at the national nominations so far and predict that the Republicans will do very well while the Democrats will flounder in confusion. The article urges unity among the party to nominate the best men and secure Franklin county for the Republicans.

Full Text of Article:

In two weeks from to-day the Republican party of Franklin County will meet in Convention to nominate a County ticket, and to elect conferees whose duty it will be, with those from the other counties comprising the Legislative, Senatorial, Congressional and Judicial Districts, to name our candidates for these several offices. We have several times, during the short period the REPOSITORY has been under our management, called the attention of the party to the grave duty which the selection of the ticket imposes on them; and so greatly does the success of our party in the county and district hinge upon the perfect performance of this duty, that we cannot refrain from adding a few words more even at the expense of being guilty of repetition.

Since the nomination of Grant and Colfaxe by our National Convention, as especially since Seymour and Blair have been nominated by the Democracy, have the prospects and confidence of the Republicans been brightened and restored in a remarkable degree. The Party has been united everywhere, and an earnestness and vigor infused into it to which it has been a stranger since the days when threatening treason and Democratic disloyalty bound as together as one man for the safety of the country. In a like degree have the nominations made at New York discouraged and disaffected the Democratic ranks. Like a sudden flash of lightning or a terrible convulsion, it seems to have dazed their understandings and sent their wits a wool gathering. The leaders stand appalled and speechless, and grope about as if lost. The reckless political gamblers, who could nominate an original anti-war man and rebel-sympathizer like Seymour for President, and a notorious and offensive revolutionist like Blair for Vice President, may well startle the people, just emerging from the blasting effects of four years of civil war. When Grant, who conquered the friends of Seymour, says, as the candidate of the Republican party, "let there be peace" and financial prosperity and integrity; and Seymour and Blair say by authority of the Democratic party, let there be Repudiation, let there be Revolution; these things mean something which we can all understand and appreciate. If the people deliberately vote for and elect these repudiators and revolutionists they cannot say that they were deceived, as the Republican party was in the election of Johnson.

So far the action of the leaders of both parties has been greatly in our favor. That of the Republican party has been steadfast, wise and conciliatory. Men of undoubted patriotism, honesty and statesmanship have been chosen by the people, not by politicians, as their candidates. That of the Democratic party has been tumultuous, unsettled and revolutionary. Instead of desiring to secure peace, prosperity and the conciliation of all parts of the country, the Democratic convention strove to arouse the prejudices and passions of the conquered States, to destroy the confidence of the people in the government, and nominated the exponents of the very sentiments which created the war as their candidates.

It is now left with us to take advantage of the blunders of our enemies, and win a glorious victory. By proper and judicious nominations in county and district throughout the State, the Republican party can carry the election triumphantly in October, and wipe out the stigma of defeat which our own apathy and dissatisfaction brought upon us last fall. Let the primary elections on the 1st day of August be fully attended, and let the best men who can be found be sent as delegates to the Convention on the following Wednesday. Let them come resolved to make us the strongest and best county ticket possible, one that will honor the party and carry strength and confidence with it, and its election will be as assured as the rising of the sun. This must be the work of the people, not of cliques and "rings." It must be the work of the country people and the towns acting harmoniously for the good of the party, and not the result of hostile factions striving to secure or defeat the nomination of some special pet. There are not less than three persons before the people in the district seeking the nomination for Congress. One of this number will in all probability be our candidate. We do not deem it our duty in advance of the convention to discuss the merits or demerits of any of them, but simply suggest that it will be for the delegates to express the will of the county in the convention and name its choice for that honorable and responsible position. We have no doubt that they will weigh well the work that is before them, and ask, not who is most entitled to this gift, but who will be the ablest and best servant of the people of this district in the National Councils. If this rule be adopted by our County Convention in the nomination of the entire ticket, the people will be satisfied, our candidates will be elected, our county will be rescued from the Democracy, and we will have done our duty in the grand conflict of principles and error.

Chicago vs. New York
(Column 02)

Summary: The paper contrasts Grant and Seymour as candidates for President. The editors assert that the former represents the choice of the people and the pride of the West while the latter represents the choice of greedy politicians, traitors, and a city of foreigners.

Full Text of Article:

These two cities are not the representatives of the two great political parties of the country. Chicago is perhaps the most distinctively American city in the whole Union. It is a real child of the Great West, and breathes the pure, invigorating air of the prairies. It has a live, active American population, and was eminently a proper place from which to declare the candidates of the Republican party for the Presidency and Vice Presidency. The candidates themselves are representative men of the West, who have each made themselves a name in our history, the one in the halls of legislation, the other in the field. But they are not only representative men of the West. No two men of our day have done more to establish the supremacy of the political principles of the Republican party than they.

On the other hand, there was logical consistency in selecting New York as the place in which to nominate the candidates of the Democratic party. New York is least American of all our cities, as is the Democratic party least American in its politics. It is the great Commercial Metropolis of the United States, and is afflicted with all the corrupting influences peculiar to commercial centres. Its population is largely made up from foreign elements, whose intelligence and sympathies belong to an age and country which have nothing in common with this age, nor with our people.

The candidates there put in nomination for the offices of President and Vice President are the exponents of exploded ideas and semi-barbarism and in this aspect are also truly representative men. They are mere politicians, who never rise to the level of a principle, and therefore offer nothing about which the sympathies of loyal men can cluster and cling. Their lives have been barren of results, and if they have ever moved forward at all, it was because even the Democratic party advanced and they had to keep pace with it.

The contrast between the two parties, and their several candidates and the manner in which each was nominated, is great enough to impress every one. For example: the Republican party had virtually made its nomination months before the Convention met. The masses of the loyal people had designated with unmistakable directness the men whom they would make their standard bearers. The delegates to Chicago but gave formal significance to their choice. Whereas, when the Democratic Convention met in New York, the party was drifting helplessly without principles and without a candidate. The grave and responsible task of finding a candidate was left entirely to the politicians. As many aspirants were announced as there are States in the Union and almost as many and diverse platforms as there were candidates. Men who had been active, open traitors during the war, and are no less traitors still, did not hesitate to dictate the policy of the party. Old fossils whose bones were thought to moulder in the political graves they had dug for themselves years ago, came forth and jabbered over the dead issues that had been burried with them. They came to welcome their erring brethren and assure them of their sympathy in the lost cause. The politicians had a nice job on hand and they had no wish to consult the people. For six days they fought and wrangled, and when each faction despaired of nominating its own candidate, and was unwilling that any other should be nominated, a new man was agreed upon. He was not exactly a new man, but was as good as new, having been politically dead since 1863, when hostility to the war killed him.

The reputation of the Republican candidate is more than national; that of the Democratic candidate is merely local.--General Grant is known throughout the whole civilized world as the greatest military Captain of the age. Horatio Seymour is known in New York and the States adjoining, as a scheming politician. His notoriety comes chiefly from his sympathy with the rebellion, and with the New York riots in 1863, which grew out of the encouragement he gave to the rebels. General Grant is in favor of universal peace and harmony, and supports such measures as will secure them. Horatio Seymour was always opposed to the war to suppress the rebellion, and is now opposed to peace. The Soldiers and Sailors Convention, which met at Chicago, declared in favor of Grant, and the Republican Convention wisely approved of their choice. The Democratic Convention refused to listen to the wishes of the Soldiers and Sailors at New York, and nominated a man whom they despised and whose nomination they received with disgust. The nomination of Grant met the hearty approval of the Republicans everywhere, while that of Seymour is nowhere satisfactory. Disgusted Democrats are coming over to Grant every day, and the leaders of the Democracy are discouraged and dispirited.

What the Platform Means
(Column 02)

Summary: The paper charges that Democratic candidate Seymour plans to stand by the Pendelton Platform that advocates debt repudiation. "It is not asking much, only that the solemn covenant of the Government made with her citizens in an hour of peril, shall be deliberately broken. The farmers of Franklin County who loaned the Government their earnings, when without their patriotic assistance it must have succumbed to the hosts of treason, will have a splendid opportunity this fall to say whether they intended to make a gift to the United States, or whether they expect to be paid in the spirit of the contract. The small bondholders who loaned their daily earnings to suppress treason will be pleased to know that the same spirit of treason assembled in New York, demands that these loans shall be declared worthless."

Congress
(Column 06)

Summary: "Franklin" writes an article expressing his support for John Cessna for Congress. He is upset that other contributors scolded him for not supporting Col. Wiestling. The writer says he believes the nomination should remain an open question until the people decide rather than have it shoved down citizen's throats by party hacks.

Full Text of Article:

To the Editors of the Franklin Repository.

Two weeks ago I gave you for publication a brief article upon the Congressional nomination, in which I spoke temperately, as I believed, of the claims of Col. Wiestling, Gen. Koontz and Mr. Cessna, the only gentlemen whose names had theretofore been mentioned publicly in connection with the subject of my communication.

I was of the opinion that a free and full discussion of a subject so important to all the people, was eminently proper and at all times desirable, and that it could be indulged in without excitement or acerbity. It seems, however, that I have given offence to at least one person. This was not my desire, and I regret--not what I wrote--but that any one should have causelessly taken exception, for I appreciate as much as any person can the importance of harmony in our party.

A writer apparently in the interest of Col. Wiestling and hostile to Mr. Cessna, assails my views in your last issue. He even pretends to know my identity, as if that has anything to do with the subject under discussion. If I cared, I might guess at his identity; but what good could this do? I care much more to know what he says.

He seems to deny my right to write and yours to publish any views relating to the nomination for Congress that are not in advocacy of Col. Wiestling, and thinks the exploded copperhead doctrine of State rights has somehow in a diluted form found lodgment here in the shape of County rights. Now I propose to tell my assailant frankly that I know of no County rights that are not Patent rights. The difference between us seems to be that "Republican" thinks Col. Wiestling has preempted the Republican nomination to the seat in the next Congress, so far as this county is concerned, whilst I regard the right to such nomination as open and debatable by all the electors of the Republican party in the five counties.

Col. Wiestling is said to be a candidate for Congress. So far, so good. He is a candidate either because he desires to be or because some friends desire that he shall be, possibly for both reasons. Thus far, all is well again. It is a laudable ambition to want to go to Congress, and there can be no objection to a man's friends urging him for a position to which he may himself lawfully aspire. But how and why at this stage of Col. Wiestling's candidacy are all the Republicans in Franklin county committed to his support? Why am I assailed as a bickerer for expressing the belief that there are other soldiers in the county as much deserving its support, or that a gentleman living in another county would just now make a stronger and better candidate than any we could name from our midst? How has the argument been exhausted, the discussion foreclosed in advance of the Convention? If the Republican party of Franklin county is governed by a directory, let the directory nominate a full ticket, and not devote its attention solely to Congress. Our farmers would possibly be glad to be relieved of the public duty of attending a Convention in the season of harvest. Are we to come up to the support of Col. Wiestling, or any other man, as volunteers, or are we to be whipped in by an oligarchy? Verily if we are all to be conscripted, Col. Wiestling is an appropriate leader, because his chief military service, as I happen to know, consisted in the organization of drafted men. If the party is to have no choice and be allowed no discussion, it is well enough for Col. Wiestling's fugleman to talk of furnaces and railroads, for, in addition to their conveniences for melting up and running over, they are fond of having their own way, like other corporations and monopolies.

There is no question that Somerset and Bedford counties have had a fair proportion of judicial honors. Judge Tod, who was appointed in 1824, was, I believe, a Bedford man, and Judge Thompson, commissioned in 1827, although born in Franklin county, was at the time of his appointment residing in Bedford. Judge Black, appointed in 1841, was, as is well known, a citizen of Somerset. At the first election for President Judge, in 1851, Francis M. Kimmell, of Somerset was chosen. He ran as an independent candidate, and, although supported by the Democrats generally, he was not the adopted candidate of either party. The first person chosen President Judge of this district as the candidate of a political party, was Hon. James Nill, of Chambersburg, the nominee of the Republicans in 1861. Upon the death of Judge Nill in 1864, the Republicans of this county presented no candidate, but supported for the nomination Hon. Alex King, of Bedford, our present able and esteemed President Judge. The accumulation of businesss during the war, as well as the increase of causes in the district, having made an additional law Judge a necessity, the late legislature created the office and the Governor commissioned Hon. D. Watson Rowe. Before his party here has had an opportunity to formally present him as its candidate for election this fall, the Republicans of both Somerset and Bedford counties have made him their choice. Whilst the nomination of Judge Rowe by those remote counties may be due mainly to the admirable qualities he possesses for the judicial position, their action in anticipating his own county was nevertheless generous to the party here. The truth is that the history of the judicial district presents nothing discreditable to the Western counties, and exhibits no eagerness to carry off the honors of the bench.

To claim, therefore, that Franklin county is entitled now to the nomination for Congress on the ground that she has been deprived of her full share of judicial honors, is uncandid, and especially unfair to Judge Rowe, who needs, as I have stated, but the vote of his own county to nominate him.

"Republican" may sneer at the number of Mr. Cessna's supporters, but he will soon appreciate their strength. They compose nine tenths of the Republican voters in the county. Mr. Cessna has a very large acquaintance among our people, and, besides serving numbers of citizens as counsel in important suits, has spoken in almost every township. As a tribute to his earnestness in the cause, it may be mentioned that at no time within the past three or four eventful years has Mr. Cessna failed to respond to an invitation to address meetings amongst us. At the tables and bars of our hotels, in our stores and shops, on our streets and at our doors, in villages and at cross roads, wherever people congregate and converse, Mr. Cessna's name is mentioned in connection with the Republican nomination to Congress, and indeed in this county no one else seems to be seriously contemplated. It is not hard to tell why this is so. The masses have an instinctive perception of the right man for the right place. They know that in John Cessna are powers which when called forth will energize the whole canvass, and whilst carrying him away ahead of his Democratic competitor, will secure the success of every other man upon our ticket. We want a live candidate, an aggressive man, one who will deal not only blow for blow, but annihilate the enemy on every field. The people appreciate the importance of the campaign upon which they are entering and the energy with which the Democrats will battle to regain the power of which they have been so long deprived. Not only the people of the district but the people of the State desire and expect the nomination of Mr. Cessna, and the faction or clique that compasses his defeat in violation of the wishes of the party at large will incur a responsibility that they may wish they had not shouldered. FRANKLIN.

JULY 13, 1868.

The Somerset Herald
(Column 07)

Summary: "Franklin" writes to reply to the Somerset Herald, who attacked his dismissal of Gen. Koontz as a congressional candidate, and to "Republican" who was upset that he overlooked Col. Wiestling. "Franklin" favors John Cessna.
(Names in announcement: Gen. Koontz, Col. Wiestling, John Cessna)

The Congressional Nomination
(Column 08)

Summary: "Wayne" writes the paper to advocate Mr. Koontz's renomination for Congress on the principle that it is best not to swap horses in mid-stream. "The Republican party has not yet fully established the great principles upon which it is now engaged, the reconstruction of this Republic upon a right basis, and the successful restoration of every part of the Union; nor has it succeeded, judging from the action and affiliation of the New York Convention, in convincing the people of the North, that the war to suppress the rebellion was right and just on our part, that the rebels forfeited their civil and political rights, and they can only be restored to them upon such conditions as the nation may prescribe for its future safety and property." The representatives working on these issues should be allowed to finish the job.

District Attorney
(Column 08)

Summary: "Washington" writes to suggest Emanuel J. Bonebrake as Republican candidate for District Attorney. He argues that Bonebrake is a devoted Republican and an excellent lawyer and orator.
(Names in announcement: Emanuel J. Bonebrake)

Senatorial Candidate
(Column 08)

Summary: "Many Hamilton Republicans" write to suggest I. H. McCauley for nomination as Republican candidate for the State Senate.
(Names in announcement: I. H. McCauley)

District Attorneyship
(Column 08)

Summary: "Many Union Men" write to suggest S. W. Hays for nomination as Republican candidate for District Attorney for Franklin County.

Death of James Lesley, Esq.
(Column 01)

Summary: The paper announces with sorrow the death of James Lesley, long-time cashier at the Bank of Chambersburg. The obituary includes an account of his life and career in banking. He served as US consul at Lyon during the Lincoln administration, and was a member of Chambersburg's Presbyterian Church.

Railroad Matters
(Column 01)

Summary: The paper reprints an article from the Hagerstown Mail that reports that harvest season has put on hold plans for promoting railroad projects in Franklin County. The proposed road to Mercersburg, that will form a link "in the great chain from the National Capital to the Lakes," is on solid footing. The citizens of that town have formed a committee and raised $60,000 for its construction. The article also advocates extension of the Cumberland Valley road to Williamsport.

Origin of Article: Hagerstown Mail

Agricultural Fair
(Column 02)

Summary: A group of citizens has acquired some land on which to hold a county fair at Chambersburg. They are now hard at work improving the grounds. The paper exclaims that with so many prominent agriculturalists in town, the project is long overdue.
(Names in announcement: H. S. Gilbert, George A. Deitz, J. Heyser)

A Pleasant Occasion
(Column 02)

Summary: The paper reprints a notice that Isaac Snively, an Antrim native and Adams Express Company officer in Pittsburgh, recently received recognition for his business achievements. "He was a member of the gallant 126th Penna. Vols. and left his position in Pittsburgh in 1862 to volunteer in defense of his country." He is about to leave for an extended tour of Europe.
(Names in announcement: Isaac Snively)

[No Title]
(Column 02)

Summary: The Boys in Blue of Antrim organized recently in Greencastle and elected officers. They will meet weekly.
(Names in announcement: Capt. J. A. Davison, William Mellinger, Daniel Cleverstone, Isaiah Ilginfritz, Samuel Pratner, William Pensinger, Frank Wunderlich, Samuel Eby, George Pense)

[No Title]
(Column 02)

Summary: Lt. S. W. Hays has been elected to replace Col. D. W. Rowe as Franklin representative to the Pennsylvania Soldiers and Sailors State Central Committee. Rowe stepped down on account of his official duties.
(Names in announcement: Lt. S. W. Hays, Col. D. W. Rowe)

[No Title]
(Column 02)

Summary: George Eyster, president of the local Grant and Colfax club, announces that the organization will meet at their new hall in the building of Jacob N. Snyder on the public square.
(Names in announcement: George Eyster, Jacob N. Snyder)

Married
(Column 04)

Summary: William E. Hollowell and Miss Sarah M. Stouffer were married in Chambersburg on July 15th by the Rev. P. S. Davis.
(Names in announcement: William E. Hollowell, Sarah M. Stouffer, Rev. P. S. Davis)

Died
(Column 04)

Summary: Thomas Spencer died at his residence in Chambersburg on July 16th after suffering a lingering illness. He was 69 years old.
(Names in announcement: Thomas Spencer)

Died
(Column 04)

Summary: George H. Stouffer died in Greencastle on July 10th. He was 22 years old. "The deceased was a young man of promising talents and exalted moral and Christian character. During his sickness he manifested great Christian resignation." He died without a struggle and with a "radiant smile." He leaves a wife to mourn his loss.
(Names in announcement: George H. Stouffer)

[No Title]
(Column 04)

Summary: Rev. Samuel Huber died on July 12th at Rocky Spring. He was 86 years old. "For over fifty-five years he gave evidence of a christian life, and for more than half a century declared the Gospel of Christ from the pulpit. He was humble, amiable and unassuming in deportment; patriotic, a lover of liberty, a philanthropist and a christian; bold, ardent and zealous in promulgating the cause of christianity among his fellow-men." He was a good minister, citizen, and beloved grandfather.
(Names in announcement: Rev. Samuel Huber)