New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-09-29
agetv Orleans 8eppltblita11,
sFFIcIAL JOURNAL or THE UNITED STATES
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS
LETTER FROM JUDGE CULLOM.
The issues and Struggles of the Pasta
Policy and Its True Objects.


The following letter was addressed b
Judge Cullom to a personal and formerl
political friend, and was not probably il
tended by the writer for publication; ye
upon beingurged thereto by several gentle
men who have read it in manuscript, h
has consented to have it made public:
New ORLEANS, March II, 1872
DEAR SIR-Your favor Of the sixth il
giant came to hand this morning, an
afforded me much pleasure. Your alIusio
to the issues and political struggles whicl
engaged our attention in years gone b,
brings very yividly to my mind the patri
otto aversiOns you and | entertained agains
the tenets of the Democratic party of tina
day | remember very distinctly how zeal
Ouslv, and with what honesty of purpose
we warned our cnuntrymen that the ark Of
Democracy would prove a PaDdOras box
from which would one day come forth all
the calamities with which we have since
been overwhelmed, leaving not even hope
behind to cheer our hearts and point us to
a brighter future 1t claims to be the same
party now, in all its theories OF the funda-
mental powers Of the government, that it
was then, except only as regards ''the pecu-
liar institution Its madness resulted as
we fOretold, and, strange to say, you find
reasons for supporting the party now with
as mnch zeal as you then displayed in your
opposition to it. | find more reasons for
opposing it now; for what was then but
conjecture as to the tendency of its
tenets, has been sadly verified by expe-
Tience and crystahzed into history. 1t
might be argued with much logical force
that if its theories Of government were
wrong then, they may be so now; but /
will not stop to discuss this proposition,
since you have made it incumbent on lne to
yindlcate my own course rather than to ar
raign you for yours. ! will remark, how
aver that all history is strewn with the de-
bris and wrecks of democracies, and that it
affords not one single instance Of a perma-
nent government reared upon the principles
OF a genuine democracy. 1t was this fact
alone, patent to the statesmen Of Europe at
the time of the declaration of our independ-
ence and the adoption of the constitution of
the United States, which induced them to
speak OF our government as the g great ex-
pertinent and to predict its instability.
This prediction was based upon the fact that
democracy and anarchy are so closely ASST
inflated that, to make the former pure, you
inevitably trench upon the characteristics
OF the latter. We know there is distinc-
ton, and so there is in sunshine and shade.
between the colors of the rain bow; never
theless, we would find it extremely dificdlt,
1t not impossible, to establish the precise
point where one begins and the other ends. !
The same may be predicated of liberty and |
righteousness, the latter beng identical |
with the former whenever the social and |
legal restraints are laid aside. But | must
return to the vindication of myself | do
not entirely concur with you in your analy-
SIS OF the points of conveyance and diver
gence of the old parties, but think thenum-
Der OF the latter greater than you have ad-
mltted. l need not stop to discuss this
difference, as it is not essential to the cor
rectness OF my position. The abolition
to which you refer was inaugur-
ated more than twenty-five years ago
The Wing party did not entirely disband |
until after the death of Henry Clay, and
when it did you remember very well that it
did not surrender to its old enemy. Far
from it. 1t rallied under the banner of on
position and continued to fight the Demo- !
cratic party and its favorite theory of uni
VersaI suffrage, some as Republicans, Others !
rs native Americans The Southern people
have been "overborne and crushed, as you 3
very truthfully remark, but had Wing :
IDEAS and principles triumphed in the adj +
OF our State and national GOV =
had the doctrine of the Union, q
he constitution and the enforcement of the i
avs prevailed instead of the Democratic +
logma of immediate secession. might we II
lot have had a very different state OF affairs II
Ow! Like yourself, Fallandigham Long. h
nd others Of the Democratic school of poll g,
lcians continued after the war to exert +,
themselves in the vain effort to vitalize the Il
nte-bellum theories of a defunct party: a
at the fact was finally revealed to them i
lat its soul lif it ever had one) had left it. &
Vhereupon they undertook the duty ito i
lem sad one no doubt of detentIy bury N
lg it. This necessity Won denounce as a n
eparturo more dreadful to you than the v
ash OF hostile armies upon our shores" p
OWt my dear sir, we may love to linger nj
bout the graves Of cherished dead ones, m
nd certainly it indicates redeeming trait NJ
our erring hearts, but we can not live on az
le simple contemplation oftheir attributed ot
rtues, be they real or not. The fire nc
I'll " new depaTture) of which Won ~
'eak, did not kill the Democratic n
srty any more than il kindles the fire al
calls the brave and noble fremen to III
,tinguish. 1t simply announced and her ro
ded fact which was that the party was he
lad, at least i'll all that related to It's old ma
ar cries. Ithad been shut out from all ac- in
IS to thepublic granaries and had actually
ed OF starvation. The nation had moved ss
to new ideas and more liberal prin-
lies. The pabulum of Office was all that
d ever invigorated it, and you are very
lch mistaken and deceived if you think
moment it owed its vitality to any
stract or inherent love of public
Icy, which did not, IN the opinion of its To
lders, infalliblY serve as a means Of Sc 81,
ring office. The old Wing party, of Spe
)riOus memory, persisted from the same '
nd Of physical exhaustion, and all others adj
Il pass away in the same manner, after a Pei
ne, and from the same cause. A post doI
'rtem held over any of them will lead to aot
ult in the same verdict. We the Jury of ma
quest, ETC., find that the deceased lost the at
lesiye power of public plumber, and con tan
uentiy died of physical exhaustion" pm
| experience, coroner So you need not Is
nplain of the new departure for it was by
essitated by gaunt famine first in the ing
lsehold of the Ohio Democracy, and Jorl
erward in that Of the other States | Cal
rtily agree with you that ''misrule ex- tioI
ion and oppression have distinguished yer
Radical rule in all the Southern States" ID
ar as it concerns those that have failed PIE
spouse the principles of a liberal Re fer
,lieanism since the war l regret that Is
b has been the case as much as any man the
ng-would do as much to prevent a re- Iett
renee Of it as any patriot in the land; so enc
as an honest purpose and manly effort buc
'ht enable me to do SO. But until mod oy
splntuallsm reveals more than il ever FeFl
mas as TO the powers of those who have pew
uttled OH this mortal coil must be TIN
mlttea TO look to SOME other succor than duel
Iaolhg ghosG OF the Democratic party 10 p
'serye that, IN your denunciations Of tie thar,
publican party. your mind seems to have Har
contemplating the measures of sn,pa and
It's members while in Office, rather than lishe
My considering its fundamental. princi- lette
j. if vou will examine the platform cf to he
party, Won will discover very little in il and
Oh you may not find in those of other sans
les and embryos. II admit, of course Gear
in that of the Democratic party of the sible
Presidential campaign, the fossil ideas Amo
past era were prominently paraded and Bucl
up for admiration. while they more are
belonged TO the museum of IN "
hnf