The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1868-09-24
Party Platforms and Pledges, and
their True Tests.


Party Platforms and Pledges, and
their True Tests.
DEFINITION.
A party platform may be defined to be
that form Of words, with or without sub
stantiative, clear and definite meaning,
which the delegates consider best fitted at
the time to WOO and win the sweet voices
and votes of the people, and to ensure a
party victory. Partisan promises and
pledges, clear, and definite, form, of
course, usually, some part OF the platform.
TESTS OF THE PLATFORM.
Where party is or appears to be now,
it may fairly be tested, to some extent, by
the antecedents OF its leaders; but of ne
cesslty the people must rely mainly upon
its promises, or refuse to trust it altogeth-
er.
Where, however, both parties have a
history, and have had some years of ad-
ministration, the real test of the platform
or the pledge is the party's past history in
administering the government Where it
is actually welding power, its whole plat
form is sham, except so far as it affirms
Its actual measures and the principles in
volved in them.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TESTED BY ITS
HISTORY.
That history, though longer than the
country's good required, is brief one,
and is a history of pledges broken and
platforms utterly disregarded.
1t came into power with an assurance
that It's triumph was the surest guaranty
Of peace-peace both from the clash of
arms, and even from the furious agita-
tions preceding years, the responsibility
for which it charged wholly upon the
Shareholder. Instead of peace, its triumph
bro't us war. Instead OF cessation of
agitation, Its whole career, with not a
stakeholder in the national councils, has
been one of wilder agitation and more in
tense conflict, both during and since the
war.
1t promised US diminished expenses and
superior economy in the administration
Passing over the war period, as test, it
has given us, during It's three years of
peaceful administration, instead of an ex-
penditure Of tens of millions under Demo-
cratic administrations, an expenditure of
hundreds Of millions under its own.
1t came into power amid denunciations
OF the alleged corruption of Democratic
administrations, based upon trivial and ex-
ceptional defalcations among its Office
holders. It's whole period of government
al administration has been one-grand car
nival of roguery and corruption.
1t came into power with professed hor-
ror Of wars generally, and their barbar-
isms. 1t refused ali practical adjustment
of vexed questions with view TO avert the
most terrible civil war of ancient or. mod
ern times, in which all the loss and suffer.
ing was that of their country only. in one
or the other Of its warring sections.
1t professed peculiar reverence for State
rights. 1t has usurped the most fundamen-
tai rights Of States, without the security of
which nore other of its rights can be Sc
cured.
1t professed especial devotion to the
rights of a free press, even to the verge Of
license, and to be an especial defender of
the liberty of the person, and an opponent
Of any denial Of the writ of habeas corpus.
No party in any country, through its Off
clal representatives, or by mobs, ever in SO
many cases administered summary puni-h-
ment for distasteful opinions and utteran-
ces. None ever imprisoned SO many citi-
zens without indictment or legal cxamna-
ton from States in whose borders 10 war
ever eAislcu. NOue ever 50 perSlSlcUtly
and in so many cases denied the right of
habeas corpls to its victims. Even now
its Congress viii permit no investigation
as to the numbers now held in durance, or
their alleged offences. And so We might
go on through an indefinite catalogue Of
promises and pledges, made before the war,
to show how utterly nearly every one of
them was broken both in war and peace!
Ii pledged its faith to hesitating reo-
pie that the war was not for the abolition
of slavery or to invade the rights of
States, but ouly to preserve the Union,
with the rights and dignity of the several
States unimpaired. The abolition of sla-
very began during the war, was perfected
after the reace aud the reorganization of
eight States and exclusion from all parti-
cipation in either their local government or