Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-08-03
The Failure Of the New Departure.

The Failure of the New Departure.
The new departure of political party
can hardly be called successful if the whole
party does not depart. A new departure
is otherwise mere scism; and such the
movement of Mr.. Vallandigham and his
friends must now be considered. 1t has
divided the party instead of uniting it. 1t
has been nowhere, not even IN ONO,
where it was proposed, received with una
nimity and enthusiasm, while it has elicit
ed the most positive protests from able
leaders. At the Tammany performance 1t
was, indeed, urged by Mr.. John Quincy
Adams, who is, however, chartered liber-
tine in the party which he has recently
joined; and he is the same gay Mentor
who, in one of his many epistles to the
brethren, advised his new love, the Demo-
cratic party, to begin by being Democratic
which was very much as if he had advised
the Neponset River to flow the other way
The Democratic party has never been DEM
ocratic It used to call itself the poor
mans party and the working mans party
when it had its cruel heel planted upon
the hearts of millions of poor working
men, to whom it denied even right to
their mandood and to common humanity.
And even now the attempt to take new
departure by asserting the equal rights OF
men under the constitution has produced
serious differences in the party.
The difficulty Is one that we have more
than once ventured to suggest. A party
is not measured by its professions merely,
but by the probability of its performance
arising from various considerations. Ii IN
the midst of the war, if at Chicago in 1864,
instead of crying out for surrender to the
rebellion. the Democratic party had pro-
nounced for a vigorous prosecution of the
war, the country or the Republican party
would have replied, Every well, fall in. :"
But if the Democratic party had retorted
that, having declared for the war, it ought
to have control of the government, even
Sherman and his men lost in Georgia would
have heard the shout of derision that would
have rung through the loyal land. While
the leadership and general composition OF
a party remained unchanged, the profess
sion of different purpose is not very per-
suasive. What is the significance of ad-
vice to party to begin by being demo
cratic? Plainly that it is not democratic
now. And when new departure is de-
manded, what is it but a confession that
the old position is untenable? When,
therefore, we push the inquiry to the
sustained slavery and all the infamies that
sprang from it, who wished to retain in re-
construction as much of the root of civil
hate as possible, who wished to forbid
equal suffrage and to perpetuate class
privilege, who confusedly and aggressively
asserted State sovereignty against national
supremacy, who palliated and justified the
rebellion, and derided and perplexed the
government of the Union, have at last de
cided that they cannot recover power BY
such cries and positions, and hope to ac
quire public confidence by departing from
them.
Now as these are really the same
people, with the same principles, they
have found an insuperable difficulty: they
cannot persuade themselves, and they can
not persuade the country. A platform, as
these gentlemen all very well know, il
usually considered to be tub to the
whale. Its object is to amuse, and posi-
bly, to deceive. 1t must say neither toe
much nor too little. 1t must not disap
point the advance nor dismay the rear
And, whatever the platform says, it de
rives all its significance from those who
stand behind it. 1t is like the word of I
man. If his character confirms what h
says, it is enough. But it is also enough
w..
platform at Chicago in 1864 was an exac
expression of party sentiment. The coun
try knew that the party wished to surren
der The party character sustained tn,
platform. But the same character doe
not sustain, in the same sense, the new de
parture platform. The utmost that it con
veys is shrug and grimace that "w
can't help ourselves, and so we acquiesce.
What reason was there, if Mr.. Vallandig
ham had lived, and had been nominated
for Governor of Ohio upon his own plat
form, for any man who voted against hin
during the war to vote for him now? Hi
position was not one of conviction, but o
compulsion. And what was true of hin
is true of the attempted new attitude of hi
party. The question always remains
Why trust the men who were distruste(
yesterday because they declare to- day
that they will contend no longer? Th'
change itself shows them to be less trust
worthy.
The Democratic party, vainly trying tt
rally itself upon new line, hopes to con
test the election of 1872 upon the question
man ask himself this very practical ques
ton, els it safer to trust the Republican
party, even with this centralizing ten
dency, or the Democratic party, with it!
State sovereignty dogmas?" And beyond
and above all this, the question which
honest people all over the land will ask
themselves is, whether it is wise to aban
don party whose traditional policy il
liberty, union and fair play, which repre-
sents the political movement of the intel
Igence and the moral character and pur
pose of the country, which has the Amer
lean conscience behind its professions
and to favor party whose traditional pol
icy is slavery and inequality, and which
represents the ignorance, the prejudice, tht
hostility to the Union that still exists il
the country? An election is not a contes
of fine professions. 1t is choice between
what are believed to be convictions; anG
they are sought and found not in the rhet
oric of the convention, but in the careel
of the party.
No sensible Republican asks vote fol
his party upon the ground that it has beer
uniformly wise, that all its measures have
been unexceptionable, or that all its con
spicuous members have inspired respect O.
confidence. But he does ask it upon tn,
ground that that party contains the grea
mass of loyal citizens who honestly be
lieve in equal rights and would honorabl,
maintain them, with the great multitud
of intelligent and industrious people who's
good sense assurses them that those VIII
tried to destroy the government ten year
ago are not those who should control
now. And this is multitude and COZ
viction which are not likely to be disturb
ed by the loudest vociferation of ne1
policies and principles and departures upo
the part of their Harper
Weekly.
The Democratic Party.