The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1871-11-30
The Democratic Party.


Of that party is cruel as, when we
speak Of The ambitious and danger
Gus political purposes of the Roman
Church, we do net, in any just sense,
accuse al adherents Of that Church OF
hostility TO our institutions A par
" is, 10 some points, but by no means
entirely, like an army. 1t has a gen.
eral movement, to which every soldier
must conform, and. the &C neral direc.
lion Of its march is determined by
circumstances which tho single SOL
der can not control, and TO which be
must submit In country like ours
the active political forces are organ.
lied 10 two bodies, and it is the ten.
dsncy and spirit OF each which are
criticised when tho name is men
toned.
Many persons call themselves Dem
ocrats because they approve the dem-
ocratc principle. But tho history of
the Democratic party shows little re.
gard for the principle. For a genera.
tlon the organization known by that
name was n body whose chief policy
was the protection, extension, aud per-
petuity of human slavery. The cep-
tral fact in the history Of the party
is not that it advocated Il revenue tar
ia, opposed the United States Bank
and was jealous OF the limits of 20.
verunont, but that it cherished slavery
aud caused the civil war The dem
ocratic principle ia fair play fpr all
men. The Democratic policy wa.
slavery. 1t il folly to try to escape
this tnis truth by saying that tho
North toisted slavery upon th, couu
try, and that he Constitution guar
anteed tue right of property in man
II all this hal been admitted, the
Democratic policy would logically
have been the restriction OF slavery
in every way, drawing line of fire
around it, AZ General Dix said, thai
like the scorpion, it might sting itself
to death. Ths would have been. as
sumiug that nothing more could have
beon done, the natu al pol c. of II
real democratic party-of party
that really sought fair play Bat this
was precisely the policy that the par y
rejected, because it was controlled y
the slave masters ; aud it was pre-, !, ely
tho policy which tho party bitterly
opposed as uuiraterhal when it ap.
pcared as the Republican policy.
This orlsnzai apology for slavery,
and justification Of it, aud passionate
hatred Of its opponents, are the chief
roots Of our political demorallziton
Nor will any Democrat who knows
the facts deny that his party is stron.
gest to day in those parts Of the coun-
! try where there is the most ignorance.
and where the cruel faith ani feeling
Of tho time when slavery WAS .uproma
H.
the Ku-Klux, for instance, are Re
publicaus nor that they intimidate
Democrats from the polls. Tho truth
is that tho Dem lcratic party doss not
now represent, and never has repre-
scented, the Democratic idea. Assum-
ing that the Republicans are rs cor
rupt, and that in tho dishonesty Of
administration they have bsttere the
Democratic example, it nevertheless
remains true that the Republican is
the only party in our history which
has ever asserted aud put in practice
tho democratic principle of equal bu-
man rights,
And the latent hostility to thar
principle survives, organized, in the
Democratic party. We are toll t,
let by-gonos be by ygones. We arr
reminded that tho year 1871 is moi
the year 1860. We are asked If there
is to be no end OF the old battles and
if wo really suppose that th,
Democrats wish to restore slavery
We are pointed to Republican cor
ruptiOn aud Capitalization Tho re
ply is simple granting it all, is tn,
Democratic party as We know it, anc
as it shows itself every day more ike
ly to protect and defend liberty or @
administer the government more hor
estly? Certainly we do not suppns
that all good meu ara in the Repub
Iicap party, nor that a Democrat ma,
not be honest aud patriotic. Bat W,
certainly say that those men sustain ,
, party to which The most dapgc,
GUS classes in the country belong, an
whose policy, were the party success
= ful, would be directed-as il alwny
has been, as il was 10 its last Nationi
Convsnton-by the moro positiv
aud mschlevous of its leaders. Th
! return of that party to power woul