Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1870-07-07
1elalrare Triba,te
Thursday, July n, 1870.
THE DEMOCRATIC CoNGREssMEH ACCEPT
THE 18TH AMENDMENT.

The Democratic members Of Congress- have
;ss,1ed an Address, concerning the fall elections
IL was prepared at caucus, held on the evening
of the 23d Of June, and is signed by Messrs Bay
ard, Salisbury, and Biggs, together with their
Democratic colleagues. We print the whole doc
ument elsewhere, in order to show the Democra-
cy of Delaware, precisely what questions are con-
sdered important, by their leaders, and especi-
ally to show that there is not the faintest sign of
n purpose to attack or even argue, in the country
generally the issues settled by the 18th Amend
ment This Address, signed by all the Democra-
tic Senators, and by all the Democratic Repre-
sentatives, and sent forth, in this manner, is a
formal and official document. It represents the
views and opinions Of the most prominent gem
tlemen in the Democratic organization, men who
have been honored by their party with high and
RESPONSIBLE positions, and whose familiarity with
public AFFAIRS and acquaintance with the popular
feeling must naturally be extensive.
What, then, says the Address? Upon what
subjects does it touch Does it attack the me-
gro' Has it any unfavorable reference tonegro
suffrage? Does it propose ''white mems par
typ Read, and see. Mark he fact that not one
,oord, directly or by influence, adoances such
propositions
On the contrary, the Address especially urges
that there shall be no time lost in The discussion
.'of dead issues" This evidently refers to the
suffrage question. II is a dead Issue, and the
Democratic Congressman see nothing to be gain
ed by discussing it. Lose no time, say they,
over such questions. Moreover, they Immediately
direct that their party followers shall make mo
manifestation Of narrow or proscriptive feel
ing They evidently mean by this to condemn
the malignant and bitter dislike which few Of
their newspapers, such as the Gazette and Della
na,paa in this State arc showing toward the
colored voters. These folly-stricken sheets ex-
press the most marrow" and ''proscriptive"
feeling" toward the Ave thousand colored citi-
zens of Delaware, and now their members Of
Congress- rebuke them, for the offence.
Further than these illusions, no ground is
touched upon, relating to the 18th Amendment
No proposition is made to repeal that Amend
ment No complaint is uttered against its char
acter. No objection is made to it's results. No
opposition 10 expressed or implied to the great
and extraordinary change it has wrought in the
organization Of the voting citizenship. This may
be seen by any Democrat who chooses to read
the Address, and it proves, conclusivey the error
any one will make who hopes that the Democra-
tic party will take national position in oppose
ton to the 18th Amendment. It will do no such
thing. Regarding that as a settled, and dead
issue" the leaders Of the party direct that time
shall not be ''wasted" in discussing it.
1t is worthy Of remark, just here that the
Gazette, of this city, in publishing this address,
has not had the common honesty to print it, as
Messrs. Baysrd, Saulsbury, and their colleagues
wrote it, Toward the close Of the address, they
advise the Southern people not to elect Con-
gressmen, 'who cannot take the Test Oath, or
who are under the disability, imposed by the
Fourteenth Amendment" The Gazette, in
printing it's version, deliberately changes the
document, and in place Of the written word,
Fourteenth" (Which will be thus found,
spelled out, not in figures in the New York World
of June 25th) il inserts "Fftccnth, " in order to
induce the Democrats Of Delaware TO believe
that their Congressman had made some refer
ence, however remote, to the last Amendment
Any one who desires to see this palpAble forgery
may compare the World Of the 25th, and the
Gazette, of the 2sth. The trick is detected at a
glance yet it is, at any rate, a feeble and foolish
one, since there is no disability" whatever,
imposed by the 18th Amendment, and to print
it, in the connection stated, was an absurdity,
which the intelligent reader would at once cor
rect The 14th Amendment does impose disa-
biliy, and to that the Democratic Congressman
referred.