Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-10-23

Prospects Of Political Parties.
Those whose wish was father to the thought,
have proclaimed very often and loudly of late
that the republican party was dead or near its
end On this point there has been a surprising
unanimity among all its enemies and some luke
warm friends Wendell Phillips was even more
sure of it than the democratic newspapers, and
his confidence in its early demise was hardly ex-
ceeded by that of the various factions of
specialists and self-styled reformers. Accord
ing to these people the signs OF its dissolution
were too plain te be mistaken The party had
outlived its usefulness; it had accomplished its
mission; the issues on which it had claimed and
received support were dead; it had become
demoralized and corrupt by long continu-
ance in power; it had lost the confidence of the
people; its leaders were either political
tricksters or men Of one idea and that no longer
practical; its apparent vitality was only a
struggle for office and the sooner it was decently
cofined and buried the better. 1t was very
pleasant for these prophets of evil to believe
their own predictions and no doubt they sue
ceeded in doing so. The death of party is not
a new Or strange thing. Men much below
middle age have seen the decease of more than
one, and the republican party must take its turn
with the rest Its DEATH like that of other terres
trial things, is only question of time.
But those who thought its end had come OF
was close at hand, must have been somewhat
disappointed at the result OF the elections this
fall. Everywhere from Kentucky to California
it has shown increased vitality, and, notwith-
r4av s1sv,sr ,1 1
successes greater than its friends had ventured
to hope. This is what is called the "of yea ~
in politics, too, when experience teaches that
parties unfriendly to the administration usually
make better show than their actual strength
would warrant. The republican party, if it is
so near dissolution, certainly shows a great
deal of vigor, and what may be considered
very unbecoming disregard of the logic of
those people who have demonstrated to their
own satisfaction that it was dead or ought
10 be.
That is an old and well worn story of the
steamster who, meeting another in narrow
track through a snow drift, with uncouth oaths
and an emphatic flourish with his whip, ordered
the latter 10 turn out or he would serve him as
latter, having turned out in dread of the vague
threat inquired how he served the man back
yonder. replied, "0h, | turned out myself''
There are some indications that the conduct of
the democratic party is 10 be like that of this
clustering, but not dangerous teamster. HAY
ing threatened his opponent with death, and
taken The trouble to show why it ought TO and
must leave the political field open bv an early
demise, finding it contrary 10 all prognostica-
hons, not only alive, but gaining in
vitality, the disappointed prophet SHOWS
some symptoms Of turning out himself and be-
ming a political corpse. There are some
reasons for the formation of a new party. to
make room for which one of the old organiza.
tiuns must take itself out of the way The dem
ocratc party has lost prestige by succession o.
defeats Some of its ablest leaders attempted
10 retrieve this by the flank movement which
made So much stir under the name of the "nev
departure" The hope kndled by this new
movement was soon impaired by the GOODNESS
with which it was received by the most of thu
older democrats in the north, and its positive re
Jecuon by almost all prominent men ofthe part,
IN the south. 1t was hazardous experiment
at the best, for it could only he interpreted as
confession that the party had taken tht
wrong side of the principal issue on which
parties had been divided. If if baf
been adopted universally and promptl,
this confession might have been disguised, bu
the discussion it produced gave this feature un
mistakabe prominence 1t is now an elemep
of weakness as an admission of former politico
unwsdom, and because while it is the oficie
doctrine Of the party in the northern states if i
by no means heartily accepted by all democrat,
here, and is Indignantly spurned by the leader
of opinion in the southern states. No form O
words, however ingeniously framed can hide tn
fact that the party is irreconcilably divided OF
this important question of principle and policy
Another trouble Of the democrats is the infa
nous notoriety which the leaders of the part,
IN New York have attained by their monstrou
political and civil crimes, and the influence the,
nave been allowed to retain in the councils o
the party 1t has been known for several wear,
quile as well as it is now, that Tweed and hi,
gang were thieves; that they organized repeat
ing az elections stuffed ballot boxes, and di
rected false counting of votes, aud yet they were
e'AiO"N0 ~ COntlot tue party in New York state
1t is not the knowledge of their guilt that ba.
caused such a spasm Of virtue among tbe lead.
ers Of the country democracy, but the prosnec,
that they might be actually convicted of crime nv
the Judgment Of court, when the odium
attaching 10 such leaders would become too in.
tolerable for any party to sustain Fear and
shame have prompted the effort to shake then
of; If it had been genuine righteous indigua
ton it would have manifested itself long ago
Bat it is not yet clear that the effort will be sue
cesslui' Iammany is very likely to carry tn
CITY, and If So the honest democrats viii hav
no choice, but either to accept the leadership o
weed and Norton and Ganet, or to repudiat
them aud unite themselves with the republicans
ia either case the name Of democrat must he
come Intolerably odious as the synonym Fl,
audacious and shameless abuse of official trpst.
These are some Of the causes which san N,
strength Of the democratic party One of IN,
symptoms indicating that some Of its member
recognize IFS precarious position is that the 81