Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/47

 POLITICAL PARTIES IN OREGON 39 had honored and trusted him.* 8 Bush and Harding were looked upon at the close of the war as the leaders of the Douglas- McClellan men in an effort to reorganize the Oregon Democ- racy on the basis of President Johnson's policy. The States- man spoke of this as "a flank movement intended to capture our Union platform" and said, "Democrats are welcome to a place under the Union banners, with Andy Johnson as our leader, but we would much rather they would come in open day."49 The Statesman labored to show professedly loyal Democrats how impossible and unnatural was a union between them, under the leadership of Bush and Harding, with the secession, unre- constructed Democracy of the state, under the leadership of O'Meara and Malone. The latter was characterized as "the real Democracy of these latter years" which "will hang on to the old resolutions of 1798-1799 and vote with the Southern disorganizers, nullifiers, Mexican and English exiles arid the Booths and Surratts generally. They don't like the Govern- ment, never did and don't intend to." "What then, is your duty as citizens?" asked the Statesman in an editorial, "A Few Words to Democratic Subscribers. "$ "Plainly this: cast in your votes and influence with the party that has the ability and strength to conduct the affairs of the Nation successfully." But if on the one hand the Statesman was desirous of head- ing off Democratic reorganization along the lines suggested, no less anxious was the Copperhead Democracy itself. It desired Democratic reunion but not reorganization under the auspices of Bush and Harding, whom it characterized as "disorganizing reorganizes." Its attitude, was forcefully expressed by Malone in the Oregon Reporter, published at Jacksonville:* 1 "Let not the men who stood the brunt of battle for the last four years, allow the Salem nest of Puritan sneaks who led their followers into the abolition ranks and cannot now get them back take the lead of them. These infamous 48 Statesman, March 20, 1865. 49 Ibid., October 2. 50 Statesman, July 31. 51 Quoted in the Statesman, Sept. 25.