Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1868-02-05
THE STRENGTH OF THE oPPo-
SITION.

masses. That firm hold vas looscd for
ever when, in 1854, its leaders shaped its
policy to the making slavery the object
and freedom the incident of growth.
Its gradual decline dates from that
grand misstep. The crime its leaders
then committed can never be forgotten
BY the intelligent masses Of the ,Amcri-
can people.
The teaching Of that decline aud fall
from n frSt-class to a third-class power
in the State, ought not to pass for moth
ing. 1t should inure to the benefit OF
the majority party to-day, and to that
of all parties which may arise hereafter.
II was permitted US n warning to oil
men mott to prostitute power to base uses,
But for its own rash action the Demo-
cratic party could have retained its hold
upon the affections Of the people for
nan years. 1t had no rival and no
formidable enemy. The obsequious
crooking Of the knee to slavery perpe-
trated by the Wing party at Baltimore
in 1852 had disguised the anti-slavery
wing of that highly respectable organ
ization, and tho process Of disiutegra-
ton then commenced, proceeded rapid
Is. a new element found its way to
the surface of the agi.ated pool Of poll
tics. There was then rising that great
awakening Of the American conscience
which resulted in making freedom ma
tioual and universal within our borders.
The wave passed from east to west,
burst into ensauguined foam upon the
plains of Kansas, passed on, after strug-
gle, aud met the Pacific surge. Its next
direction was from north to south, and
after heroic struggle it touched the
shores Of the Gulf. But no man and
no party foresaw the event as to manner
and time. The old a~nti-slavery leaders
of the Democracy were either dead or
withdrawn from the leadership of that
party. It had not enough Of statesman.
ship in its organization to forecast
events and seize the golden opportunity
to p~erpetuate its %asccndancy. Rather,
it found mire waiting for somebody to
roll in it, and its leaders went down as
prone on their faces, and rs utterly as
the minority party Of the country had
done. 1t was no credit to that party
that it could endure more abasemen'
and degradation than its more exclusive
opponent; for its powers Of endurance
in that respect grew out the vast
amount Of ignorance in its organization
1t is not wonderful that he who fellow.
ships dirt can wallow in it longest with
lcas. disgust. And this fact accounts
for the slow decline Of the Democratic
party.
W need not 60 into the historic de-
| tails Of the downward progress Of this
once great party, now alas ! MS q party,
no longer great, or beloved by the in
telligent masses. Its betrayal of the
country into the hands Of its would-be
destroyers, its desperate efforts to Grip.
pie public credit during the war, its or.
ganized effort to prevent the organiza.
ton of an army to preserve public liberty
| from the malice Of its enemies, and Its
browning act Of Observation-Disclosures are
matters of incontrovertible history.
| Why should we read and re-read the in
| dictment found by the country sitting
as u Grand Inquest upon its acts? 1t is
with the party as it stands to-day that
we have to deal. Its record is public
property and the people in every neigh
borhood understand it well. AS that
party presents itself to-day, on the eve
of another desperate struggle to reclaim
its squandered birthright, we must meet
it, and the strategy with which it pro-
poses to win or lose must engage our
attention.
The strength of our opponents must
not be mistaken or moderated. It lies
in the marriage of Vice, educated and
trained, with profound ignorance and
uumanly prejudice. A triple marriage,
or alliance, which gives a great deal Of
power for evil. It is not the first time
that such a marriage has been celebra-
ted since the world began. History re-
cords many such alliances all over the
world. But it does not appear that it
has ever been called upon to record an
alliance so powerful in the political
world. We have only to turn the eye
toward the city of New York, and mark
how the increase of Copperhead MAORI
ties follows the devious course Of the
slums of that modern Sodom, and our
proposition is illustrated. Draw the
line around the greatest amount Of de-
pravity to be found there, and you will
include the district where the per cent
age Of the Republican vote is the small
est. Nor is this the exceptional case ;
outside of that city tho rule is invariable;
and while it would not be fair to say
that no ignorant and depraved men vote
the Republican ticket, it is not ovcrsta-
ting the fact to say that the number Of
such Republicans is so small compared
with the number who vote otherwise,
that it must be classed under the head
of exceptions. 1t is against such an
enemy that the Republicans must be
pitted in the coming campaign.
THAT LARGE BRIDGE.-Some Of our
cotemporaries refer TO the bill lately