The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-04-22
Tho Manifesto Of the Democratic Mem
hers Of C0nsress.

4
Congress, which we published yesterday, is
not quite up to the standard Of expectation or
tse exigencies Of the party and the times.
We supposed 1t would be more explicit and
comprehensive on the political situation,
issues before the country and the programme
of future action of the democrats-that 1t
would be, in fact, pretty well defined plat
form of the party for the Presidential cam
paign. 1t is, however, simply an address to
the people OF the United States, signed by the
fourteen democratic Senators and ninety-four
Representatives of Congress-, expressing their
views on the legislation and policy of the radi-
cal party and the conduct Of the admiuis-
tration, and defining in general terms the
position of the democratic party in reply to
the charges made against it by the radicals.
The address has the merit Of brevity, which is
an Improvement upon such political manifes-
toes generally, though it might have been
more iorcble and explicit. The democratic
Congressman thought, probably, 1t would be
best to leave the work of making platform
to the National Convention, and intended this
movement as only preliminary. In view of
/
present time and next spring, and the neces-
sity of harmonizing the party in the different
sections of the country on general course of
policy, it was deemed prudent, no doubt, to
wait the upshot of events. The democratic
Congressman act upon the principle that
sufficient for the day is the evil thereof"
We do not see, however, as some Of the
radical newspapers pretend, that this COM
parative negative action of the democratic
leaders implies fear of meeting squarely the
issues determined by and since the war. The
language Of the address does not admit Of
such an inference. Whatever certain imprac-
ticable democrats may have said against
the constitutional amendments enfranchising
the negroes and placing them on an equality
with all other citizens, the representatives OF
the party In Congress declare plainly their
purpose 'to protect the rights of every citizen,
to preserve kindly relations among all men and
to discounenance and discourage any viola
ton Of the rights of any portion of the people
secured under the constitution or any of its
amendments" Not merely under the consti-
tuition as it was, let it be remembered, but the
rights secured by that instrument ''or any of
its amendments If this does not cover the
ground we do not know what can. Then,
again, they say, in another part of the address,
''No indignation can be too stern and no scorn
too severe for the assertions by INSCRIPTIONS
radical leaders that the great democratic and
conservative party ofthe Union has or can have
| sympathy with disorders or violence in any
part of the country or in the deprivation of
any man of his rights under the constitution.
1t is to protect and perpetuate the rights which
every freeman chershes, to revive in all
hearts the feeling of friendship, affection and
harmony which are the best guarantees of law
and order, and to throw around the humblest
citizen, wherever he may be- the protecting
@gis of those safeguards of personal liberty
which the fundamental laws Of the land assure,
that we invoke the aid of all good men in the
work of peace and reconciliation" So far,
then, the democratic leaders in Congress,
representing all sections of the country, are
committed 10 carry out tho ama ndmants tn the
constitution and to enforce the laws made to
that end.
But the address is mainly denunciatory of
1
! rupiion and extravaganza of the radical party
since 1t has been in power. Here the demo-
Gratis have ample ground to stand upon, and if
they know how to make use of the facts that
lie broadcast before them they can break
down the dominant party, whether General
Grant can succeed or not in the Presidential
race Of 1872. Apart from the necessary
expenditures to prosecute the war for the pre-
servation of the Union, the radicals have
squandered during the ten years they have
been in power an incredible sum of money.
Nothing like the reckless extravaganza was
ever known in the history Of nations before,
and now, six years after peace has been
restored, the current expenditure of the gov
eminent, Independent Of the interest on the
debt, is nearly three times greater than in
1850, when the radicals first came into power
SIN five years of peace following the war;" as
the Congressional democratic address says,
''the radical administrations have expended
twelve hundred millions for ordinary purposes
alone, being within two hundred millions of
the aggregate amount spent for the same
purposes, in war and peace, during the sew
enty-one years preceding June 80, 1861, not
including in either case the sum paid upon
principal or interest of the public debt" But
that is not ALL Hundreds of millions of acres
of the public landslide most precious
inheritance Of the peopls---haye been lavished
upon railroad and other grasping corpora
lions without anything like an equivalent, and
to enrich the pariisans of the government
The most burdensome system Of taxation is
kept up and an army of ofaceholders employed
| in order that the administration and marty NAV