The Opelousas courier., 1868-03-21
Wholesome Truths,

A recent number of the The Round
: Table contained an article entitled Dem
ocracy on trial." which tells some plain
truths. We quote the following sen.
tenceS:- g
i The trade of politics is, therefore, con-
tlnually becoming less reputable among
us, and our experience justi1ies the as
sumption that the wider the extension
of the suffrage the more degraded the
political trade will become The en-
phatle instances now rising before our
eyes througout the South should bring
conviction ON this point to all whom par
tisanship does not render blind. The
theory is as simple as the practice is
manifest. In proportion as suffrage is
extended downward, the amount of is-
norance and prejudice in the aggregate
voting body is increased, with the direct
! consequence that politicians will become
more and more demagogues-men who
appeal to ignorance and prejudice and
not to knowledge and reason. There is
no escape from this tendency or it's re-
suit. The progress, like that of stream,
may be swift Or slow and sometimes tor
tuous, but the natural goal will be attain
Ell as inevitably as that stream seeks
and finds the sea. Who can doubt that
the public mind is becoming more and
! more educated to the idea of submitting
to the rule not Of the worst necessarily,
but OF the coarsest and lowest intelli-
gence III the community A short time
since the two individuals who, in their
Official capacities, We must recognize as
the foremost men Of the nation, had a
difference. A correspondence ensued
between them, afterwards officially sub
mltted to the United States Senate, in
which each practically gave the other
the lie. This correspondence has been
published throughout the country. 1t
has been accompanied by direct charges
OF habitual drunkenness against both
parties in tho controversy, each of whom
stands in the position of being O candi-
date for the Presidency. These charges
and countercharges, emanating, as they
respectively do from bitter political foes.
we would gladly disbelieve. That, how
ever, to which we would call attention.
and which is equally pertinent, whether
these allegations are true or false, is the
apparent insensibility of the public mind
to the shockingness of the situation.
The most exalted personages of the na-
tlon are charged with two of the gros-
sest vices that can disgrace gentleman,
yet no one seems to think either that
this will or ought to affect their chances
for the Chief Magistracy of the nation,
or that it is worth while to have any in
vestigation with a view to determine the
facts. Is,fa stz.az. - i, ,.s.-=-E y -
An optimism prevails, even among the
more Intelligent classes of the country,
that is fraught with peril A prosperity
that was partly the resultant of previous
political forces, and partly that of physi-
cal advantages, has been mistakenly at
tributed to the perfection of d system.
Because the machine has run on through 1
thick and thin tolerably we'll for a time,
1t is supposed that it will never run
dowp. 1t has gone at rapid pace du-
ing the last ten years, and tits assumed
that, as5lt can scarcely be but to a severe |
STAIN, ats strength and pernIanancy may
be regarded as assured. But it remains
TO be seen whether this very accelera-
tlon has not hurried the country to a cri-
Sis that might otherwise have been de-
ferred. 1t has certainly hastened it to-
ward the adoption of those leveling prin-
ciples OF univ ersal equality which are
the logical ultimates of our system. That
That we have not yet completely solved
our problem, has probably been due to q
certain partia!ity or incompleteness in
Its terms; but we are. likely soon to be in
a position to know whether the greatest
good Of the greatest number can really
be brought about by the people them
selves. = s.es.sss. s@,zss -