The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1868-09-24


It is little more than month sine
the Democratic nominations were made
The Convention declared for repudla
tion, and asserted that the Reconstruc
tion acts were revolutionary and void
1t nominated for President, man wht
held that i; was the duty Of the Execu
tive to promote union by "trampline
into dust the usurpations of Congress.
1t then adjourned. Its leading mem.
bcrs instantly took the stump and ex
plaine the purposes Of the party, and
the Democratic newspapers everywhere
swel|cd tho chorus. Those who had
hoped that time and events would have
taught the party caution at least, if no,
wisdom, found that their only hope Of
party favor lay in the promptest sub.
mission to the party will aud with ri
diculous haste they ate their own words
sneered at their oTn arguments, and,
by showing that they were contempt.
bly, insincerc before, proved that they
were only the more contemplate aud
false now. A month ago tho .Conven-
tion adjourned. Meanwhile the land
has rung with the declarations Of the
party, and the country has seen, and
sees, that there is really but a single
issue la the election, and that is the re.
newal of the rebellion. As in 1864,
the sole ovcrshadowing question was,
shall the Government surrender to the
rebellion, so now all other interests nee.
essarily disappear in the fundamental
inquiry whether the rebellion shall re.
gain at the polls what it. lost in the
field.
Mr.. Seymour and his supporters
struggle in vain to hide the issue. His
orators aud his papers attempt to make
the financial question paramount, and
to frighten and disgust the country by
the grossest Misrepresentation of the
expense of the government, and by
magnifying corruption. The public
expenses, no one denies, are large, and
the Democratic party, from which the
rebellion and its support proceeded, is
responsible for the burden. The Ad-
ministration is, at some points, tainted
with corruption fault to be admitted
and deplored, but not fault likely to
be remedied by intrusting it to the par
ty Of Floyd, Cobb, the New York mu-
nicipality, and the Tammany ring. But
these questions, although ordinarily of
the highest importance, are, in the ma
ture Ct things, secondary to the recon.
s'ruction Of the Union. So long as the
integrity of the nation is ia debate, so
long as the problem is, whether the
friends or the. enemies of the Union
shall control the government, all eco
nor .ical questions within the Union
are inevitably postponed. The public
burden can be ightened-tlat Is, tax
alton can be Enthusiastically as the
wealth of the country Increases
Wealth increases only by production
and industry and enterprise are essen
tial to production. But confidence is
the cardinal condition of steady
industry; and until confidence is
established there will be neither a
movement Of capital into the disorder
cd states, nor continuous and sufficient
labor. The Republican party has taken
the great, primary steps toward the
paci6cation upon which peace and con-
sequent confidence depend. The Dem
cratic party proposes to undo everything
that has been done; to exasperate the
no ti]ity Of race, and to give, by force,
the disordcred states into the hands oi
those who hate the Union, and burn
with the desire Of revenge.
The Democratic policy is necessa!i,
Jy one of civil war. 1t DIES not prc.
pose peaceful solution of any Difficult.
ty. And that this is distinctly under.
stood is evident. Just before the Dem.
ocratic Convention assembled Mr.. &. G
Langdon, delegate from Alabama
wrote, with an instructive knowledge o1
his party: "The Democratic doctrine
is, that the reconstruction measures o.
the present Congress, and everything
done under them, are unconstitutional
and, of course, null and void. Thi4
declaration, take it, will constitute
the maiu plank in the Democratic plat
form, and whoever is nominated mus
pledge himself to stand by it and en-
force it. That the Supreme Court vii
eventually (probably at its next term
decide all these acts to be unconstitu
tional is now universally conceded
Then ell VIC want is President who's,
views are in accord with that decision
and who has the will to do his duty
1t will be his duty to enforce the dc
cree of the court, if need be, at tn
point of the bayonet."
But the party was ripper for a NOR
decidedly revolutionary and anarchica
policy. Mr.. Laugdon proposed tha
: The President should act in defe,
ence to judgment of the Suprcm
Court, ovcrru'iug the reconstructio
acts. But Gen. Frank Blair went ful
ther. He would not wait for any jud
cial decision. "Lct the election itse
. Decide" cried he. Let it be unde
# stood that the question which We su1
NIT at the election is whether tho ne