The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-03-25

Monday Morning, March 25, 1867.
Democracy as il Was nud n. i, H.
PORTLAND,

MONDAY Morning. March 20, 1867.
Democracy as il Was and ns il Is.
1t is proper to remark that the Democratic
party obtained control of the government in
1901. Hence the long and glorious career of
prosperity and power" which our country en-
joyed. When that party fell before internal
divisions and radical onslaughts, that "glorious
career of prosperity and power" departed !;
when the Democracy shall again obtain as
cendancy in the government we may look tor a
return to the principles and practices of the
fathers with the blessings which they secured.
The people needed the warnings of the Democ-
racy in those early days and escaped the evils
then threatened. IF they do not heed them
now, the worst apprehensions will be more
than realized.-Argus. aa nthnr .tf..r F.
Chalk is not cheese, though both have the
same initial letter. The moon is not green
cheese though they may resemble each other
in color and form, and though an occasional
antiquated lady in petticoats or pants may
not know the difference. Equally certain is
it that the Democracy OF the Democratic par
ty of to-day is not the Democracy of 1901, or
of Thomas Jefferson, who at that time acceded
to the Presidential Office and is sconsidered the
father of American Democracy. The two are
as unlike as day and night, light and dark
ness, truth and falsehood, loyalty and treason,
heaven and hell Jefferson's democracy en-
craced the rights CT man; the Democracy OF
to-day ignores whole races, and labors to Gle
vate one race upon the subjugation of anoth-
| er. -tHF q -re, a.I4s fs .-.,.f. -....- ... i. f
In arguing proposition so plain, and pa
tent to every intelligent mind, we feel an en-
barrassment akin to that of the philosopher
who is called upon to prove that the sun
| shines, when the eyes of his sceptical auditors
are made to blink by the very intensity and
brightness of the suns rays. The fact to be
| demonstrated, is itself palmer than any posi-
| ble demonstration, and yet because Of the
| persistent efferts of those whose interest it is
| to do so, or who ought to knoTn better,
| in misleading the masses by mere name, we
are calculated upon to prove that black is not
| white, that Belial is not Emmanuel.
In what remains of this article we propose,
as briefly as may be, to contrast the Democra-
| cy of 1SO1,-of Thomas Jefferson,-with
that of the present day; Democracy as well
! represented by Jefferson Davis as by any
| other man on this continent. Let no Demo-
cratic friend start back from this suggestion
| because of the antecedents of the gentleman
| named, for in the exercise of all candor, and
challenging successful contradiction of its cor
rectness, we assert that the somewhat distin- |
guished and certainlv very talented man who |
is now the central figure at Fortress Monroe,
in his past speeches, in his political creed,
in his efforts to uphold that creed, and in the |
views he is last known to have entertained, is |
as fair and able and truthful an exponent of |
the Democracy of the Democratic party of
the last live years, as any man now living. |
By this statement we are prepared to stand,
for its fairness and truth cannot be gainsayed. |
On this single point word before proceeding
to the leading thought of this article. No
one can doubt or is disposed to doubt, that
Mr.. G. l.. Vallandigham has from the start |
been in full accord with Mr.. Davis, in opinion |
and sympathy, and yet Mr.. Vallandigham |
was made the standard bearer of the Ohio |
Democracy, was their candidate for Governor,
was member of the Committee on the Plat |
form of the last national convention of the |
party, and actually penned the resolutions
which defined the political status of that con-
vention. Fernando Wood and James Brooks
of New York, it will not be denied, for years
have taken the Southern side of politics, jus
lifted the South and sympathized with Davis,
and yet both of them represent the Democ
racy of the Empire state III the present Con-
gress. The men of the Democratic party as
it was when the war commenced, who opros-
ed the course of Mr.. Davis and his confreres,
and supported the war, have either left the
party, or, as general thing, surrendered to
the opposite wing; at any rate, those men are
no longer influential in their party, except in
so far as they join hands with those who from
the first opposed the war. The States that
went off in rebellion under the lead of Mr..
| Davis, were the very ones regarded as the
| Democratic States by Democrats themselves,
and with five exceptions the only ones that
of the exceptional States being slave States,
and three of them-Maryla land, Kentucky and
Missouri-being held back from joining their
sisters in rebellion only by the invincible force
of Federal bayonets. ol i-f 1.a .-t.
| So much to show that, in holding up Jeffer-
son Davis as fair exponent of Democracy
as it is, we do no injustice to the party now
ready to receive into full and loving fellow
ship the very men who drenched themselves
in the gore OF our Union soldiers in an in
sane effort to make rebellion a success ito
receive them without baptism, without pro-
baton, without question even, while their re-
beilious spirit is unsubdued and they openly
fbo;r <,f
means they would reopen the strife and again
plunge the nation into all the horrors of
civil war! One of the leading papers of the
South-the Macon Ne,v Era-a Democratic
paper, in full sympathy with the Democracy
of to-day, says:
The only good reason for not appealing to
arms in this conjuncture is the hopelessness of
| success. ll 90 fr1ll lIs 90
Another leading paper-the Charlottes-
vile (Va.) Chronicle-says: sH
There are three courses for the Legislature
| to take: The first is to fight. Tho second is to
fold arms and do nothing. The third is to call
| State convention. H.
There would be unanimous voice in favor
of the first, if we had any power to make a de-
cent resistance. .-l3t-f'
This is the spirit dominant among men
whom the Democracy of to-day would well
come into its councils, sit in fellowship with,
and whose demands 1.-THE Democracy
would yield to but for the overwhelming loyal
majority which alone keeps Democrats both
South and North in even nominal subsection
to the Constitution and Laws of the land.
We have said the Democracy of to-day is
as different from that of Jefferson as night is