The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1871-06-02
WHICH Is THE REVOLUTIONARY
PARTY7

Because the Democracy of the
country are opposed to the 18th
Amendment and desire its abrogation
by appropriate Legislation. believing
that it was never legally adopted
as part of the Constitution, and
that it destroys the object of that in
strument; because Democrats cry
out against the recent passage of the
infamous Ku-Klux Bill which gives
Grant more power than kings and
emperors WELD, our virtuous (?) Rad
cal opponents hold up their Puritan
ical hands in holy horror and cry out
s'revolutionr' streasonp s'disloyal-
ty,a and those many other silly ut
terances which We're potent power
in ostracising Democrats during the
passion-swayed days of the "late,
unpleasantness." Now, can there be
revolution in destroying that which
never legally existed? Is it revolu-
tionary to fight against that which
tends to reyolutionize? It certainly
cannot be. The Democratic party
has no desire to destroy or subvert
any portion of the fundamental law
of the land, but seeks only to main
tain and defend those principles
"upon which the perfection and en-
durance of our political fabric de-
pends. -
But no man who examines careful
ly and thoughtfully the whole drift
of Radical legislation can fail to per-
ceive that thas been in the highest de
gree revolutionary and destructive of
our republican. form of government
from the very close of the war; and
through the almost uncontrolled po-
1itical ascendency which that war
gave to the Radical party its leaders
have been moving stealthily, step
by step, toward consolidation of all
political authority at Washington
The conspiracy against the rights of
the States and the privileges of their
citizens must nave been entered into
almost as soon as the Radical party
came into power. It has been stead
lily and audaciously pursued ever
since, under cover of amendments
foisted into the Constitution and by
every conceivable pretext-with law
or without it, as the case might be.
While pretending to serve the
Constitution and assuming the most
devoted loyalty to the Union, they
have only used the power with which
a too credulous people invested them
to destroy the equilibrium of the
Coordinate branches of the Govern
ment and to make the will of con-
gress the supreme law of the land.
In all that they have thus far at
tempted-and, to a great extent,
have succeeded in consummating-
they have had this work of complete
centralization steadily in view. They
have sought to give Congress greater
authority than is exercised by the
British Parliament. In that country
there is no written Constitution. In
that country the principles which
stand In lieu of a written ConEtitu-
tion must be gathered from the laws
of the realm, limited by Bills of
Rights, by preceaents, and, to some
extent, by custom and tradition. In
this country the Radicals want to
make Congress not only paramount
-untrammeled even by those restric-
tions that limit the power of the
English Parliament-kut to establish
a new system of government. on
principles Of their own devising.
The Southern system of labor
stood in their way, and they have
abolished it by force. of arms and
Legislative edicts. The reserved
rights of the States stood in their
way, and they have trampled upon
them. They see in the National
debt providential institution for the
repression of Democracy, by secur-
ing the political adhesion of the men
who proclaimed it ga public bless
ing" OF the National banks; of the
entire community of untaxed bond
holders; of the manufacturing and
mining corporations that grow rich
by. a high protective tariff; of the
great railway corporations that have
been subsidized with enormous grants
of public lands; of the swarms of
offce-holders- ers-numerous, almost, as
loeusts in Egypt-that infest every
State in the Union, and they have
sought to strengthen themselves
further by enlisting the support OF
the four millions of negroes and mn
lattoes whom they have made citizens
and into whose ignorant hands they
have placed the ballot.
During all this time-but more
boldly of late-they have been con-
tinuously engaged in undermining
the reserved rights of the States. In