The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-01-16
The New York Herald and the Democratic
Party.


Party.
We are gratiied to observe that the news
paper organs Of the demoralized democracy are
beginning to be seriously annoyed with our
structures upon the forlon condition of their
party, party managers aud party leaders in
reference to the next Presidency. Among the
latest of these peculiar manifestations is the fol-
lowing, which we clip from the Detroit Free
Press
dozen or twenty years the NEW York HERALD has had
the democratic party smashed up and broken in frag
the habit the Ting 81 Somp na ap #
democracythis is about the language is fond Of en-
ploying-" Is completely and finally overthrown, from
Maine to California" We have now its first semi annual
says Of the broken rank and file of the national dem
ocratic party is gloomy enough the party has TO
seed and sooner or LATER like field Of dead vines weeds
and rubbish, must be removed from the ground This
is very melancholy.
Our Detroit contemporary next observes that
" the HERALD sees but one way of escape for the
country"-to wit, the union of the opposition
upon General Scott for the next Presidency.
Now, in answer to this facetious democratic
organ, our attention is first called to " the many
times during the past dozen or twenty years." in
which " the New YORK HERALD has had the
democratic party smashed up and broken into
fragments" We must also, to some extent.
plead guilty to this Indictment and to show how
far our predictions have been sustained by the
great political events of the last twenty years, we
are drawn to the following specifications
We predicted, in regard to the Presidential
election of 1910, that the democratic party would
be smashed up" and we presume that on
turning to the figures of that election our De-
troit philosopher will be satisfied that that pre-
diction has been literally fulfilled. We predicted.
in reference to the close and doubtful contest of
1874, that Polk would be elected, and that the
democracy would thus regain the government.
In lsiS we predicted that the democracy would
be smashed up again, and that General Taylor
would be triumphantly elected In 1852 We not
only predicted the recovery OF their lost ground
by the democracy, but such an overwhelming
electoral majority for Pierce that not even the
most sanguine of our democratic organs and DO
liticians could believe us. And vet we were
again completely borne out by the result In
1863 we predicted that the administration of
poor Pierce would be miserable failure, and
would "smash up the democratic party, and in
1854 the prophecy was fulfilled in the election of
an opposition House of Representatives, which
elected Massachusetts, republican Speaker
In 1885, at a crisis of generalization and dis
organization Of the opposition elements which
had created very general belief that the demo-
crazy would walk over the course, we actively
co-operated in the popular movement to bring
out Fremont. He, too, might have been elected
with three hundred thousand opposition votes to
spare in the general result but for the blunders
and treachery Of the Seward managers in the
business of the Pennsylvania October election.
AS 1t was, notwithstanding the great personal
popularity of Mr.. Buchanan, and the dead weight
Of Fillmore upon the back of Fremont, the demo-
crazy escaped an absolute "smash up by the
narrow margin of some two thousand votes out
ofhalf a million in that decisive October Penn
sylvania contest.
1t was not the party in 1856 that saved Mr..
Buchanan--it was Mr.. Buchanan who saved the
party. So low had it fallen ia the public estima.
ton, from the follies, imbecities aud bunders of
poor Pierce, that with any other candidate than
Buchanan it would have been "smashed up" be-
yond recovery
With the PRONUNCIATION Of Mr. Buchanan's con-
servative inaugural and Cabinet we predicted
The success Of his administration, and thus far
1t has succeeded against democratic trcochcries.
OBJECTIONS and conspiracies, without parallel
in all the previous vicissitudes Of the party,
and in spite Of the expensive legacies inherited
rom Fillmore and Pierce, aud the heavy fnan-