Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1852-10-13
The Campaign.

There are less than three weeks now remain
ing of this presidential campaign, the election
taking place two weeks from next Tuesday.
An unfal,erng confidence in the strength
and integrity of our party have induced us to
treat with too great indifference the indefatga-
Die, INSCRIPTIONS and unheard of efforts of the
wings. openly or secretly, fairly or fraudulent
ly, to make inrroads upon the democratic ma
iority of this state In all candor we can say
that we have 10 desire to diminish that conf
iencc. as we look upon it tif properly used) as
An elemcn, of strength There is a moral pow.
CT always with those who go into the contest
either on the field of war or Of politics conf
dent Of victory That power is in the hands
Of The democratic party i'll tins contest. They
have every assurance that they are marching
forward to certain and triumphant success.
But that confidence should not be allowed to
lull US into inactivity, while our enemies are
actively engaged Every democrat should be
,vlgient, and prepared to correct the false re-
presentations Of our principles. and es pecially
on R.vfr and Harbor improvements and other
questions affecting western interests.
The ylainous scheme Of bankrupting the
r,tion by general system of internal i'm
provcmen,s," should not be confcunded with
River and Harbor Improvements of national
character. The latter is q subject over which
Congress has undisPated power: it is not and
never has been party question, democrats and
wings voting indiscrimina,ey for and against
appropriations, in accordance with their views
of justice and expedency. Ts,a-s2Smer is the
scheme condemned during the administration
Of Gen. Jackson, by which the federalists at
temptd TO create Il permanent national debt,
in order to carry out the doctrine Of these imi
tators of the British government that "a nation
al debt is natioaal Blessing" The first pro-
jects under this system of outrage against the
,p1incip'e, of just and equal government was
estimate, as VII be seen by reference to the
article on our first page, at more than a hun
dred millions Of dollars; and these were Only
intended as an entering wedge to their magni
fcent g. heme, and the estimates only "a DROP
in The bucket of the vast public debt which
they intended to create. Providing for an ar
my Of office holders, place men and pensloner
4uartcred on the government, living in idle
Aess, with the assumed titles of assistant engi
neers and oyerseers, but in fact only govern
ment mercenaries and obscquious tools Of tho i
in powcr-and the government itself an instru
mcnt in the hands Of crafty men 10 rob the la
borer Of the products Of his toil--a tax gather
er, not for the benefit Of the whole people. Blu
to pay interest on debts created to make i'm
provements in favored localities. and those ia
vorcd localities being IN every instance the pc
pulops aud wealthy districts Of the east, and
no instance the weak and sparsely settled dis
tricts of the west. 1t was q cunningly devise'
plan to make the whole PEOPLE contribute t
improvements for the benefit of part, an
that the part 1aaost able to make their own i'm
provemeats to take from the weak and Civ
to ls,e strong-.o make the rich richer and tn
poor poorer This was to be the practical Of
feet of the scheme, as any one can see by looh
ing at the localities provided for in this FIR:
attempt. Is there single one of them locate
in the great west? Not one. And with a sir
gle exception they did not point towards til
west. and that exception, when it began
penetrate the west, was smothered by its ow
progcnitors and quondam friends. And Hell
ny Clay himself, the great embodiment of moo
ern whiggery, the champion Of all these pre-
jects, when he failed, in consequence of I'll
veto of President jackson, to get McAIap
zed road built at the public expense from May
willie to his pet city of Lexington, near his pr
waite residence, turned against the system all
voted against, even an appropriation for IL
continuation Of this great Cumberland roa'
which was to extend from Cumberland in NJ
ryland to jefferson City in Missouri. II
message of Pre- sident Jackson vetoing The May
willie and Lexington road bill, laid down IL
doctrine of the democratic party, the Peep
apuroyed it, aud from that time to the prese'
it has been incorporated into and made part