The union Democrat., 1869-01-23
The Democratic Party And lts Ln;o
Defeat.

ErlrcR DEMOCRAT Many and various
reasons have been assigned for the late defeat
a, the polls Of the national Democratic party
While II is difFealt to understand the object
If the people in continuing the Radicals 10
power If indeed they had snT object beyond
mere personal considerations it is not hard
10 see the reason Of the defeat, as party, OF
the Democrats. As | understand the consti-
tuition Of the Democratic party, it Is made up
of at least two conflicting clements--a war el-
ement and peace elemen,-speaking with
reference to our late domestic armed conflict.
believe this cannot, in truth, be denied.
In this view Of the making up Of the party.
the difficulty Of making ticke, to suit both
sides is easily seen. While Mr.. Seymour
had rot enough Of the fighting element in
him to suit the war division Of the party, Mr..
Blair was decidedly TO much Of a bloodhound
to suit the southern men and the peace men.
did not believe we could elect the ticket. 1t
was one entirely unexpected, and fell heavily
and coldly upon majority, at least, of the
Democratic party know there was 4 rear
ing of cannon, sending up Of rockets and
shouting by the body of the party over the
il was because we had nothing else to rejoice
over the thing was done and we had to make
the best Of il. We did well under the cir
cumstanccs, but we might have done better.
The ticket was mistake, disastrous blum
der, and should admonish all future conven-
tions to be more careful in the selection of
candidates for high and responsible positions.
We ought to have taken clean men-clean of
the miserable, dirty war, mean-and had
we done so. we should have made a clean
sweep of the party and triumphantly carried
the day. the convention had given us the
patriotic and able Pendleton of the West and
the pure, unstained Adams of the North,
we would have consigned Radcalism to its
long, long home--deep down in the receptacle
of things lost upon earth.
But although Objectionable to me, | voted
the ticket, as it represented the platform Of
the party. looked upon the issue as being
Democracy versus Radicallsm, and of course
my choice of tickets was easily made. And
right here | am going to say that every Dem
ocrat in the nation ought to have voted the
ticket, in justice and good faith to his party.
There was not enough Of the spirit Of conces
sion to insure success-too much fine hair
splitting defeated US. l am one of the "old
settlers in the Democratic camp. None of
the bleareyed, bandylegged, spawned, ring
boned, bobtailed, sorebacked, miserable,
nolylooking political hobby-horses that have
passed along the Democratic lines in my time
ever had any charms for me. | never mount
ed one of them, believing them not worth? to
be rode by any honest respectable political
equestrian. When am seated in the saddle
of the good old Democratic steed feel safe,
and believe | am so. Therefore | say to all
Democrats in the land, stand together firmly
in the ranks of he party, and cote for its can
diddtcS 1t is the only course to be taken to
insure success. If the nominations do not
exactly suit ALL make concessions. stand
unitedly together and vote the ticket as being
the best that could be made under the cir
cumstauces 1t is not to be expected that
the Democratic or any other party can always
nominate their best men. Experience has
taught us that they cannot. Ii any doubt
the sonndness of my advice, let me refer them
to the terrible consequences that resnlted
from disruption of the Democratic party
about the year 1860. Think of the broken
down. depressed and embarrassed condition
of your country now, Democrats, and attrib-
ute it all to demagogical deviltry and divis-
ions in the ranks of the party. Let US put
the foot down firmly against such proceed
incs in the future, stand unitedly together,
and fight it out on the good old line OF Jeiler-
souian democracy and craftsmanship. Let
us do exactly this--nothing more or less
and ultimate victory will be the result. NJ.