The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-02-10
Then and Now.

The reigning party i'm the United States
claim to be the party of moral ideas They
belong to sect called "The Perfection
lists" They are the saints of the land j.,
and all Democrats and Conservatives are
the sinners. They are pure and chaste
like the Summers, mild like the brakes,
temperate like the Chambers and Yatescs,
refined and discreet like the Wilson's, dis
interested and virtuOus like the Wendell
Phllllpscs, modest like the lIamlins, be-
You'd temptation like the Fentons and
Camerons-in word, the very saints of
the land, and as such the original of that
immaculate party who many years ago
met in the old Bay State and resolved
First, That the world and the fullness thereof
belong to the saints, and
Secondly, Resolved, That ace are TIE saints.
We do not question that great many
of the Radical leaders sincerely believe
that they are saints, and that all the rest
OF the world are sinners. "Sce," said one
| OF them, call these Democratic grog
shops" Behold" said another, "all
these Democratic semi paupers," and SO
the Radical Pharisees run the round of
ghteOusness and vituperatiOn. "See,"
we might aud, "the frightlul increase of
| corruption in Federal and State Legisla-
public life, shoddy contracts and work for
the government and people" Behold
we may add, the growing decentralization
since the Republican party was born
The Radical party may not sell as much
rum, sut they drink as much and present
a much worse example They are as pro-
fame and indecent, as immoral and impure,
as extOrtiOHate and unjust, as those upon
thnU he no of
ton If there is "a woe unto them who
call good evil, and evil good" they are not
likely to stand above their fellows. Pre-
tension is not virtue, and preaching right
e0usness is not practicing it. This is not
the first epoch in which we have heard the
doctrine of universal brotherhood" from
the forum and pulpit The same cry with
many is but another name for the old
Casarism, and with others but another
name for the old Pantheism The new
name or new fact is Federal Capitalization
III the name OF the people, for whose real
welfare 1t cares not at all. 1t absorbs
States, weakens free Government, segTe-
gates the people, combines the purse and
the sword, establishes military rule in
place of civil rights, fights for power,
maintains power, lives on power, claims
everything Of individual and civil liberty,
and yields nothing.
We should be very sorry to despair Of
the Republic, or to be considered as mere
croakers in discussing its welfare, but his
tory, reason, and nature alike teach us
that we are human, and therefore not in
fallible. The theory of our Government is
that of representative dcmOcracy-a
Republic. The theory of the Roman En-
pire was, upon the contrary, that of
representative despotism. But, as names
are not things, let us ask-in what do we
differ? The Roman Empire had Sen
ate, which was the depository of great
power-and SO has the United States.
There were political spies and private ac-
cusers in old Rome-and there arc hosts
of these in the United States. Augustus
and Tiberlus were not worse cOnfiscatOrs
Of property than were Messrs. Seward