The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-10-30

III
On na,,lv avery question of public policy
tho t,,o narties now before the people are dia-
rnatricallv opposed to each other. The meas
ures which one loves the other mates. what
ona considers the height of perfection the 9TH
ar considers the depth of infamy. We do not
claim that one is the embodiment of all that is
good Of the other OF all that is bad. There is
one thing, however, that every voter should re-
member in considering on which side he should
throw his ballot. With the Republican party
the good is the substancethe main thing; with
the Democrats it is incidental and exceptional,
while their whole line of policy Ind the primer
pies upon which it is founded are anti-repubh-
can and at war with all the progressive ideas
of the age. Long allied with the slave power,
they were in effect if not in design, cooperat-
ing with the slave holders reoelloh curing the
war For our victories they had no reioicings.
For our defeats they hal only sneers. When
Horatio Seymour tauntingly asked, "Where
are the victories you promised us?" he but
reached the sentiment of the Democratic
masses For all the great achievements of the
Republican party which have made the last
eight years all epoch in the history of the hu
man race, their opponents have not one word
of praise, while every mistake made by the
party in power is caught up, exaggerated and
ascribed to the worst motives. When delay
was destruction, the Democratic leaders de-
manded time to bubble about the colstitu-
tionality of measures calculated to save the
nation, and have not yet ceased to Willy the
Republicans for saving the nation by the
adoption of those measures. Now that the
war is over they openly fraternize with the
late enemies of the country, who now claim to
be the only defenders of the constitution!
These men, if the Democratic party succeed,
will dictate it's policy alter election, as they
dictated the platform before.
What this policy would be- is secret to no
one. One feature of it 10 the payment $50 call
ed) of bonds bearing interest in broken, dis
honcred, promises bearing no interest They
propose to perpetrate the infamy of continuing
to repudiate the promise to pay greenbacks on
demand for the sole purpose of swindling the
men who subscribed for government bonds,
and thus saved the nation from destruction.
The words of their platform taken in conpec-
ton with the nomination of the revolutionary
Blair show that they originally intended 10
overthrow Reconstruction by force. The re
traction now made is an afterthought, intend
ed to counterfeit the damaging effect of their
revolutionary talk. 1t is extorted from them
BY their fears, not by any genuine repentance.
Gen. Blair and "Brck" Pomeroy still refuse
to retract and the masses of the party still be
lieve in white mans government" which
means that loyal black men at the South shall
be subject to Jaws made and executed by white
traitors.
With such platform it is not strange thai
they conduct the canvass by appealing to the
cupdity and to the lowest prejudices of the
people. They act upon the supposition that
we are a nation of misers, beggars and thieves
Nor is it strange that they wish to divert the
minds of the people at times from the foul dog
mas of their own creed by dwelling upon and
exacgerating any evils which may attend the
policy of their opponents. To make their sys-
tenn compete they have placed at the head
their ticket man without boldness and with
out decision, sklllful only in the rhetoric OF
grumblers.
The record CT the Republican party on the
other hand is one of unblemished loyalty. Its
mastery achievements testify to the vgor that
animates it. Springing into existence but
fourteen years ago, and enjoying power but
eight years, it has in that short time carried
through reforms which in the ordinary course
of human events would have required half
century for thesr accomplishment. 1t has sup
pressed the rebellion. 1t has freed the slave
and elevated him to the rank of citizenship
1t has done what could be done toward restor-
ing peace, and if its efforts in this direction
have not been entirely successful it has been
owing to the yet unsubdued spirit of the late
slave holding aristocracy at the South encour-
aged as they are by the sympathy and support
of their Democratic allies at the North.
1t would be too much to claim that the Re.
publican party has made no mistakes But
they are mistakes into which it has been hur-
ried by the necessities of war or the exigencies
of the public service. 1t has never proved
false to the country or to liberty. 1t has never
repudiated the Declaration of Independence
by DISTINGUISHING race. II claims for men OF
every color and every nationality equal rights
civil and political. Its policy is honest and
progressive. With such principles and such
record its errors are as spots upon the bright
ness of the sun. They are not mistakes to
which the party blindly cling as do its oppo-
nents to their mistakes. A flank acknowl.
edgement of their past err ors at least is likely
to pre-ent repetition of similar mistakes in
the future.
The people will not discard such party for
the sake of putting in power those whose poll
cy in the past has been either shortsighted or
unpatrIotic, and promises in the future to lie
reactionary.
All the signs indicate that the people will
rally to the support of the great chief, sublime
in his simplicity.
"-Who cares not to be great
But as he serves or saves the State"