New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-06-25
THE DEMOCRATIC DISRUPTION.

GAN that bright must fades" and political
parties are especially subject to the general law of
mortality Next to an annihilating defeat, an
overwhelming victory is to be dreaded by those
who have pinned their faith and their fortunes to
any political organization The sober truth is that
an old party il almost necessarily more corrupt
than u young one, especially if il has been much III
power The veDal, the vicious, the unprlncpled,
inevitably gravtate toward o party that has
achieved prestige of even qualified inyincbility:
the ambitious cherish it as their 3teppng- to
power; the vicious hope TO secure some degree of
IMMUNITY for their evil practices by clngng to its
garments and bawlng its praises II il were pos
sible to dsband and dispense every existing party
80 often at least as every tenth year, compelling an
utter dsuse thereafter of its name, its banners, It's
watchwords, It's machinery, the cause OF good
government would UNNECESSARILY profit thereby.
For, in the absence Of such dispersion, personal
inquiry and Judgment are superseded by invet-
crate partisan bigCtry; the more ignorant
and solid the citizen, the srer and stancher the
partisan; and while he who reads, observes, and
thinks will sometimes hesitate, and halt, and dis
sent the ignoramus, once duly priined is eyermore
sound +" and - true blue" Others may vote for
or agains. The Bank or the Tariff, the Wilm0t-
Proyiso ar Slavery Extension: he votes the regu-
liar ficket-yotes il every time, without murlnur
or scratch. Thu hundreds of thousand vote for
this party or tina, rather as . matter OF tradition
of habit than from any intelligent vital faith in the
doctrines il prupouids or The measures it uphods.
Whatever tends 10 break up this mill-horse round
10 throw the masses back upon their individual
perceptions aud conyciions-s thus q great public
good tending 10 Undue our politics with vital
force, with carDestness and purpose, and to H.
crease the sum of popular knowledge and capacity
respecting public affairs. Hence We rejoice at the
issue OF the Democratic National Convention.
Whether il is suspicious otherwise 20 the Re-
publicans as party, is quite subordinate con-
s,deration. Oar own conviction is very strong
that no ticket that could be nominated on Slave
Code Platform could have beaten Lincoln and
Hamlin whit. il WIS long ago made manifest that
the Fire-eatng faction would not support Douglas.
While then, it is probable that Republican tri-
umph is rendered more absolutely certain by this
split, il is clear that lis moral force will be some
what broken by that circuU. lance. We may carry
ever so mary Electors, but we cannot now hope
for an absolute majority of the Popular Vote,
which We could have had against an uDequiVocal
Lecompton ticket. Mr. Douglas will receive votes
which no man representing the actual creed OF the
Democratic oraces could have obtained; while
hundreds Of thousands will vote for Breckenridge
who could never have been induced to vote for
Douglas The deYice of running two tickets will
thus break the tall of the party and enable the
leaders to say and the multitude to believe that, had
they not been divided they would have been in
vincble.
If the Democracy shall be- utterly routed in the
contest before us, they will owe their disaster TO
the foonh backing and filing Of the " Soft" mau-
ayers in our State. Had Douglas and Fitzpatrick
been nominated promptly at Charleston, and
their friends thus enabled to open the canvass,
they would have run many thousands better than
they now will. To all Discerning eyes, il was as
clear in April IA that the fight between Squat
| ter Sovereignty and Slavery Protection was Que
that could not be compromised, but must be fought
ont. All the determined Douglas men understood
| this and acted accordingly. The New-York maua-
| gers did not, would not understand it--toought
they could finally bring the two factions to unite
lovingly on HoraiioSe ymour AID ajugglugp platform,
and so kept the party distracted and fighting,
| throwing away two precious months, and finally
| had to do Just what they ought 10 have done at
! ii,t. The loss of those two months involves q