The Portland daily press., 1867-06-03
The Claw of perioaici.y. i'm poli,ic.

II me ''AaW OI r FerhOuscsty' IN H-Oththchs
Out of the thorn-bush of statistics certain
observant persons have plucked clusters of facts
illustrating what they call the "law of periodi-
city" that is, the tendency of all phenomena
even the most irregular and apparently acci-
dental, to recur in some fixed order of success
sion. There is no difficulty of course in show
ing that the law of periodicity applies to such
hum drum affairs as the sunrise and the sea-
sons. The law of the moons motions is a lit
tie more occult and the weather is proverbial-
ly tickle and uncertain; nevertheless moonrise
is as accurately predicted in our almanacs as
sunrise, and it is found that the total rainfall
in given locality hardly varies from year to
year. A comparison of the harvests in France
for three hundred years SHOWS q septennial
failure, hitherto unsuspected, and which here
after may be guPrded against. The worlds har-
vest was very light last year; people who be-
lieve in this manifestation of the "law Of peri
odicity" will buy flour early in 1873. Not only
do these natural phenomena exhibit regular
ity which might well enough be expected, but
accidents, properly so called, are found to re-
cur with astonishing uniformity. The annual
sum of losses by fire and tempest, it is known,
varies within fixed and generally narrow linn
its. The business of insurance is built on this
idea. The periodic law appears also to en-
brace apparently abnormal confagrations, like
those Of last year, though the period of these
great disasters has not yet been accurately de-
termined. Accidents on railways recur with
great uniformity. The number of killed on
the English railways in each of four years was
216 1874, 222, 221. Railway accidents, it has
been observed, occur in remarkable clusters
| weeks of exemption and then a rapid success
| sion of disasters.
1t thus appears that not only purely natural
phenomena, like the motions of the planets
and the comings and going of storm, but the
| crops with which man NEEDLES, and the rail
ways he builds, and the houses he carelessly
| burns down, are all subject to law. One can.
not suppose then that man himself is exempt
from its influence. He, too, is a part of the
eternal order of things, and his social and pol
itical manifestations may to q Ger tain extent
| be predicted. The clearest indication of the
law of periodicity in human affairs is found in
the unhappy fate which constrains the Demo.
| Gratis of this country to make fools OF them
selves annually. What particular act of folly
they will commit in any given year it is o
course impossible to foretell, but the assurance
that they will exhibit some fatuity grows
stronger with every years experience.
Look at the facts. In 1861 TIE Democrats OF
| New York who controne.i and control the na
tionai machine, met at Tweddle Hal in Alba
ny, and twaddled. Already" said Governor
Seymour, "six States haze withdrawn from
this confederacy." Gov. Seymour has learned
since that the six States were only trying
to withdraw, and that the United States are
nation and not a confederacy In 1862, the
Democrats were organizing lodges Of the
knights of the Golden Circle throug hout the
North, preparing to carry out Mr.. Pierces
prediction and inaugurate war in our own
streets. That mad adventure terminated
disastrously for some indivi duals. and
in the political death and burial of
the party. In 1862, the Democrats of Ohio
selected for their candid ate for Governor
MIR. Vallandigham, who was then living in ex-
lie on account OF open and noisy disloyalty.-
They were crushed by popular majority Of
over hundred thousand. In 1864, the same
| party declared the war failure, and went into
the Presidential canvass with Mcclellan and
4
for his war record and the latter for his anti
war record. This exquisite tumble, resulted il
a new and improved Democratic defeat afte,
which the party revenged itselfby abusing Mr.
johnson as petty despot, a mean white, q
drunken sot, and so ON to the end of very LONG
chapter. In 1866, the same party devoted itsel,
for some months to the task of swallowing Mr..
Johnson-the silliest blunder yet, for the
President, to say nothing of his rather rank
flavor, is most indigestible morsel In the
| summer of 1866, the act of doglutition being
accomplished, the Democrats appeared in ma
I tional convention at Philadelphia. The ex-
hibtion on that occasion and its consequences
| in the fall are too recent to need any comment.
We hold that the law of periodicity is clearly
shown to apply to the man@Ures of the Dem
ocratic party. Once year, at least, the lead
/ ers of that party are fated to make asses OF
| themselves. What has been, will be. Their
annual demonstration for 1857 has not yet
GENE of, but it is coming as surely as the
regular supply of railroad accidents, confa-
| grations, shipwrecks, bloody murders and 9TH
\ er villainies and mistortnnes.