New-York tribune., 1869-06-28
DEMOCRATIC RENOVATION.

The leading Democratic journals are earnestly
discussing the policy of a radical change in the
party programme. "What use," ask the new
lights, "in running our heads forever against
" the same stone WALTZ Why not at least re-
solve to break them next time against sand
stone or gness instead of the identical gran
" ite in cOlliding with which we have butted
" out whatever brains they once heldY
The new-lights have certainly reason on their
side, which renders their defeat almost certain.
The party has so long subOrdinated its reason
to its spites and prejudices that it is not likely
to change now Had it, in 1861, followed Doug
las, f. NJ. Stanton, Logan, B. f. Butler Daniel
6. Dickinson, John Cochrane, David Tod, d. +.
Sickles, Lyman Tremain, and others of It's old
chiefs, in saying, 1--WE are for the Union now
land forever: its friends are our friends, It's
"enemies our enemies" it might have ruled the
country since 1854 but the greater portion of
its members chose to sympathize with the Re
bellion; so that, when that went down, the
party fell with it. Even so late as 1854, had
it's Chicago Convention listened to no speeches.
and passed but one resolve to this effect:
"Pesolred. That we are for the Union, in War and
in Peace now and evermOre, Slavery or no Slavery,
negroes or no negroes, and insist on the earliest
restoration of Peace that can Dc eHeCtcu "llhOut
consenting TO Dlsunon-
and had nominated a ticket to match, we believe
they might have beaten Lincoln and johnson.
1t was their platform, with the placing thereon
of Pendleton, that broke them down. No cool
politician supposed them beaten till he read
that platform; then, he knew they had no
chance.
Lincoln being reelected, Slavery was doomed.
1t could not be preserved; and it was no ones
real interest that it should be. The World
saw this, and urged its party to "accept the
situation !" but the party would do no such
thing, aud The World was compelled to back
down.
Next came Reconstruction; and the DemOc-
racy did its utmost TO have the Rebels restored
at once to all the rights in the Union which
they had renounced by Secession, putting the
Blacks completely under their feet. The party
did its very best for this programme in the
XXXIXth Congress, and, Outnumbered there,
appealed, with Johnson's Administration at its
back, to the elections of 1865, and was beaten
worse than it had been in "a. That should
have ended the struggle for Black Dis
franchisement and so The World argued:
nay, even The Chicago IimeS-as bitterly Rebel
as The Charleston Mercury ever was-sad the
same backed by The Boston Post; but no
there was the stone wall right ahead, and the
party insisted in rushing at it like catapult.
1t might have made platform and ticket
in '69 that would have given it at least a fair
chance of success but the Northern delegates
were so enraptured at finding themselves once
more dining and wiDing, cheek by jowl, with
Howell Cobb, TOOmbs Gen. Forrest a. Co.
that they gave their senses a furlOugh,
and most enthusiastically doomed themselves
to hopeless defeat once more. Their ticket
was beaten from the word Go, and every one
not a frantic partisan knew it the day it was
nominated just as well as the day after it
was MT elected.
Now, supposing the party, in spasm of
common sense, to recognize the fact that the
Blacks arc enfranchised and can't be Temanded
into serfdom, what Of it7 This concession has
been refused till too late to have much effect
"Thank you for nOthing!" will be the very
general response. We would dssuade no one
from doing right, even at the eleventh hour;
but q negro must be very idle, very vicious,
and very drunk, to impel him to vote the
Democratic ticket in full view Of the history
of our last ten eventful years. Doubtless,
some will do it-for among them there are
many degraded, worthless, trifing fellows
but these will do 1T about as readily without
as with the proposed Democratic recognition
of their rights. 1t is too late to make any
considerable capital ont of that.
And, if it were done and ended tomorrow
done so that there should be no remaining fear
that it might be undone-the Democratic party
would still be very far in the rear of public
sentiment on other vital issues. For instance ::
This American People heartily believes in the
War for the Union-beleves it was, on the
Union side, righteous, necessary and unavoid
able-that those who fought bravely for the
Union were heroes, and that those who died
| for it were martyrs-but the Democratic party
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