The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-02-21
PRESS.
PORTLAND.
Friday Morning, February q. 1883.
PORTLAND
Who Are The X Eeoaomi.,., ,

j Who Are the Ecoaon,isist
1 The disposition evinced by the Republicans
in the National and in the State Legislatures
to reduce expenditure and taxation 10 the
| lowest possible limits compatible with due
observance of all the nations contracts, taken
in connection with the indsputable fact that
an exactly opposite. disposition is eynced by
| Democrats oleeags and erergachere when they
attain to official positions, seriously interteres
with the proselyting schemes OF the Copper
head party. 1t spoils their whole case.
They virtually concede that they have been
uniaithful TO truth, Justice and progress dur
ing many years, by maintaining profound
silence in regard to the war and the events
that preceded i. and that attended its prog
ress, unless irritated into making ill-natured
disclaimers By The suggestion of those topics
I by their political opponents. They don't
want to talk. about The war, OF 10 heal about
fGit. The Republican party being in power
throughout almost the whole North, Demo
cfa's and 1t much more to their taste to urge
upon the poor mans attention the not very
specious fallacy that the Republcanssare re-
isponsibe for whatever OF unusual expendi-
tore Of the public funds there may be. They
promise with crafty but .nsincere. expressions
OF sympathy, TO relieve the poor iron, the bur
tdens of taxation Immediately upon their ae-
/ cession 10 power s-a.f.sssptl ssi s. s.s.. .
/ These professions can be made with but
small show of reason in any case, hut their
whole force is nulIfied by an unfortunate but
constitutional weakness Of Democrats for
| plunging into the most unheard of profiIse-
ness of expenditure whenever opportunity
/ offers. The number of instances of this is on
" limited by the number of places where an
opportunity for its exhibition exists. We re-
peatedly call attention 10 this fact, which
clearly lies al the foundation of the whole
controversy about the relative economy of the
/ two parties, and the only reply our Demo
cratic contemporaries make is in the publica-
tion, Republication, Encouragement, and gen.
| el'al cooking up OF the figures from the treas
nry reports, showing the immense sums
| which are required to pay debts aud liabiH-
| ties occasioned directly and solely BY Dem
ocratie rebellion in which not one RepnbH-
can was eL gagged. taE ta1W la tsofr ~
| Let us rccapitulate some of the Instances
| where Democrats are in power, and see how
their sincerity stands the test. II they fail in
the limited field for retrenchincnt which is
now acce -sible to them, would they be more
faithful in broader one? They have every
Incentive TO effort in this direction now, for
it is their only lever for removing the obsta-
cles that o5struct their path to empire If
the promptings of selfishness and cupidity
are too strong TO be resisted now, when so
tempting prize is hoped for as the result of
repressing them, what madness of prof,tsion
and corruption might not be expected, If the
| Immense patronage of the general govern.
meDt were entrusted TO the same hands?
Democrats dislike to be brought to con-
| sideration OF the financial condition of New
| York city almost as much as they dislike to
hear oil the war. We take corresponding
pleasure in referring to il, not out of malice
but because it is a test case. 1t is not a ques-
| tionable proposition that the local govern
ment of New York is the standard by which
| all llextravagance and corruption are measured.
! Neither is it a questionable proposition that
/ New York is the strongest Democratic CITY in
the North. We remember that reply was
once attempted to the inexorable logic Of
these propositions. II was said that the me-
tropolltan boards which the State had raised
UP to control the city, had emptied its treas
uly ;but the force of the reply was somewhat
impaired by the demonstrable fact that the
State was forced to establish these boards to
1 preserve the city from absolute bankruptcy
So much for Democratic retrenchment in
municipal government where they have full
| control. la1Ha EEsa 1r .H
Maryland and Kentucky are conceded to
be reasonably strong Democratic States. Iowa
and Indiana are Republican States. Iowa
is out ofdebt; Indiana has paid fifty per cent.
of her war debt; Maryland and Kentucky
are still buriened with an Indebtedness far
exceeding the average in the Northern States.
| New York and New Jersey last fall elected
q Democratic majority to their State legisla-
tures, the former to the lower House, the
latter to both Houses. What measures of
reform have been instituted in either State
Can anybody name one? On the contrary,
she New York Assembly has plunged into
extravaganza hitherto unknown even to Al
bany, and it is only prevented from repeal ling
the metropolitan excise law, the revenue
from which last year gave to the public char
| tiles of the cities OF New York and Brooklyn
more than two and half millions of dollars,
by Republican Senate.
In most of the State legislatures the DEM
oerats have minority. There are no rec
ords of their efforts TO reduce taxation. They
sometimes try TO raise their compensation
contrary to the provisions of the constitution
as they lid at Augusta, the other day. So
much for Democratic retrenchment in State
/ governments.
We have previously explained that the Re-
| pubicans ofthe Congressional Committee Oh
| Appropriations have matured bill which re-
duces the expenses of the government to a
sum smaller than that required By Buchanan
| in the first year OF his administration. The
reply to this is that Congressman have in
creased their pay. The reply is strictly DEM
/ ocratic, but not fair. Is it or is 1t not fact
that Republicans enough voted against this
increase to defeat it, IL the whole Democratic
| vote had not been thrown in its favor? is
this your Democratic disinterestedness and
economyf If this and the other cases we
have cited are no. fair ones, point out those
that are, Messrs. Democrats, or give up your
foolish claim to be "a poor mans party"
~ Washington Receptions. tsua
A Washington correspondent gives the fol-
lowing account of the different kinds OF re-
/ ceptions at Washington: