The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-07-17

days are past. The Democrats who vara 1
not attached to the party by principle, held
up their dishes while it was raining por- |
ridge. But those Democrats who have |
stood fast during the political perseoution
OF the last five years are not likely 10 |
go-over to the Republicans now. wbsn
that party, having accomplished its objects.
must soon dissolve. No party can live ON
obsolete issues; and the slavery issue with
all its associated questions will be obsolete
from The moment the reconstructed stStss are
admitted. ----..-
That the Democratic party is no longer
formidable, and is destined TO -speedilv p9ss
away, is certainly not the opinion of the great
body of its opponents. If It were, they would
not take such infinite precautions against its
early return to power. Why are the Southern
States so resolutely kept out until after the
Presidential election unless they will consent
to vote the Republican ticket For no other
reason in the world than because the Republi-
cans are afraid of Democratic victory. IL the
continued ascendancy of the Republican partv
were as assured as the Times pretends, there
could not have been the slightest risk in
readmitting the Southern States. The Repub-
hcans have only to keep their control Of the
North to retain the government of the country.
Their unconstitutional reconstruction policy
proceeds entirely from their fear of the Demo
cratic party.
That these fears of Democratic ascendancy
are well grounded, is proved by the election
returns, which show that fuctuation of votes
smaller than often occurs from year to year
would destroy the Republican majority in the
Northern States. Foolish predictions that the
Democratic party is on the point of dissolution
| go for nothing in the face of such figures.
| Such annual fluctuations as often take place
| from one side to the other could not, in any
event, destroy the Democratic party, as the
temporary loss of a few thousand voters would
still leave it great and formidable organiza-
| ton. But gain of few thousand voters
would give it control of States enough to make
it majority both in Congress and the Elec-
| toral Colleges. The Times confuses and mis-
| leads itself by confounding the difficulty of
converting the whole Republican organization
to Democratic principles with the difficulty Of
| bringing over few thousand voters who hang
! on the outskirts of the Republican party. 1t
| is not the former achievement, but the latter
that is essential to Democratic success. And
the vigorous radicalism of the great body of
the party is favorable to this result by its
| tendency to repel moderate, reasonable men.
In many of the States there are special
causes and local questions which tend to dis
\ rupt and weaken the Republican party. We
7 will take our own State as an example, be-
| cause we are better acquainted with its politi-
| cal condition. A transfer of less than seven
| thousand votes from the Republican to the
Democratic side would give the Democrats the
! victory. Fenton's majority over Hoffman was
| 13, 7S9. As every vote changed makes a diff
| ference of two in the result, half this number,
| or $685., are all that need to be won over to
| insure the Democrats the State The rigorous
| enforcement of the odious liquor law will
alone change votes enough to wipe out the
Republican majority. A large portion of the
German population of the State, which has
heretofore voted the Republican ticket, will
desert in disgust the party which thus forbids,
under severe penalties, their habitual and
harmless indulgences. The enormous and
| hideous corruption of the Republican
! Legislature last winter is another reason
why it will lose many votes among moderate
partisans who have not ceased to regard
honesty as qualification for Office. Another
new source of party weakness is the course of
the Republicans on the negro suffrage ques-
ton. They dare not make separate sub
mission of that question to the people, for
fear it would be voted down; and as forcing
negro suffrage upon the South has become the
chief feature of their party policy, the vote OF
! New York against negro suffrage would show
that the party in this State had lost the con-
fdence of the voters. The fact that they dare
not submit the naked question to the people
is symptom of conscious weakness. 1t proves
that the Democratic party, so far from lying at
the point OF death, has so much strength that
its opponents dare not risk battle with it on
their own favorite ground.
Nor is it in New York alone that the Demo-
cratic party is behind bya very narrow margin.
In Pennsylvania the next greatest State, the
Republican majority last fall was only IL ,439.
1t requires therefore only change of five or
six thousand votes to recover Pennsylvania.
These two States, New York and Pennsylvania,
are entitled, together, to SO Presidential
Electors; and taking SO Electors away from the
Republicans and giving them to the Democrats,
will make a difference of lis in the strength
of the two parties in the Electoral Colleges.
When we consider how slight change in the
popular vote is necessary to produce so great
a result, the pretense that the Democratic
party is ''played outs seems sufficiently