Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1872-06-19
THE PEOPLE VERSUS PARTT.


ual action than III any other upon ii
face of the globe. This is true OF o,
Ameri IAN life in nearly every phrns
OF it-social, political and cducationa
Foreign tourists of every nati0nalit
have remarked the tyranny of publ
opinion in this country, and tn
monetonous uniformity it has pr,
iuced in the habits, manners un,
opinions Of the people. 1t is said. u
doubt. with much oftrut1i. that Their
Is less diversity OF national ~rliarac
teristics 10 b. met with III pas~iu
from New York to z Fraucisr
Than il found IN the circuit of a fc,
English counties. Wcarr accustomc
10 cNult loudly Owe the i..c: tia
ms Is II free country, and 20 PLAN
ourselves immensely uro:l being adj
to do as We please, when in fact
ninety-Iinc Americans out of n hun,
arcd do nothing except by authority
whether it b. to hay 4 suit of clothes
to build n house. to give II party O.
10 elect Il president The subsrr
'itncv Of party spirit a. manifesto,
i'll the dociIity with Which tbs ritilc,
surrrnders his private Judgment. al
tho Gictation Of a !rw partisan leaders
has been chronic and glarinw evil in
Tie workings OF our political sN-triu.
1t,f l. -. ,,i,.I a.
Horace Greeley, under the rrrScn,
circumstances, Will tend tn ]hcutraliZc
If not wholly eradicate. \ glance q,
the history OF the country i'll show
that those acts which brought So
much trCuhi" and suffering. were not
Inc ac@s"Fthe people, but ofthc politi-
clans. " hen the country wa resting
contcnt with the tranquility secured
by the Missouri compromise. it was
the politicians, who repealed that
measure, and opened ANEW the flood
gates Of civil strife. 1t was the poll
ti,is6ss who broke up the Democratic
party at Charleston in 1850, thereby
assuring the election OF Abraham
Lincoln. Secession itself WAS til,
work Of politicians. and III our ori,l-
ion w"H! never have boon rcsortcd
to hy t." people Of the South. lad
they not been drawn into ii by party
trickcry and brow-tcalin@. And 50
likewise. after the war. when the
great popular heart wa. throbbine
with Il generous impulse to hca!
Kindly and mlagnanIriouSlv by tn,
strickcn south, it was the pnlitiri:iu-
who kept thr fires of hate aud scriion-
nj ~;ral"nsly burning. and thwaricu !
every movement looking TO Il rcstor-
alton of harmony and good feeling
Is there any one WHO Will say thai,
all the various steps in the process, of
reconstruction have been taken III
accordance with the Wishes and
feelings Ola mtjorit: OF the people:
TN the contrary. many of thea have
been i'll defiance Of their expressed
wishes. Foriustaucc, the question OF
negro suffrage was submitted asa
distinct issue 10 the people Of most ri
IT," northern states. and wa, tmrhati-
cally voted down in every case: vet
the politicians. III the various le"isla-
tur"s. in the face OF this popular pro-
test. proceeded with indecent haste
10 ratify the fifteenth amendment.
This is simply cited as an instance OF
the manner III which the politicians
have been accustomed to caiolc the
rcoplc.and set at u#uglit their drar, 5;
" isles. Hitherto it has only beer
necessary for the party leaders to ar
rang Il programme 10 insure it,
promptly execution By the rank and
file Of the voters.
The discipline exercised III political
organizations has been scarcely les
rigorous than that of a military camp.
obey order, without question. has
been esteemed the first duty Of the I
voter, "a we'll a. of the soldier. No
question Of personal iitmc>, was ever
10 interfere It'll the support
any candidate for Office. In this
way Henry Clay, by odds, the mos,
brilliant public man the country has
Produced, and N of the mos, honest
md patriotic of statesmen. was
to the claims Of an obscure
Individual without marked merits OF
my kind. a man by the accident OF /
or the bias of education. found |
Democrat. a Wing, or a
and so continued for
ears to vote rather for the party
'a'ne than for men and principles. r
u system as this, is the very 2
nockery of Democratic government.
nd is in fact, a most dangerous
lecies OF d~espo,isIn. Since, mo mat c
er how odiousthe measures adopted. |
or how disastrous their results, the a
viii never visit with mcritci $,
what they thcin.eives G.
ave been made to sanction by the C;
Avn iorInality OF a popular vote. 1
Consequently, We see deInagnguss all b
lac lime pushing their ncgariou, f
20 MI extent that would not il
I tolerated amy here else in the I;
'orld. One good effect Of the " a ..
as to weaken the foolish and mis- ;.
attachment UP to That time, >,
o prevalent for mere party name. =,
nd associations. That tremendous =,
.niiict blotted out. or coniouudcd .,
u tile old lines Of dcmurcati1u in 4
'oii,ics, aud men Of tho most diverse
creeds, found thcmselyc, .,
oreed by the Necessities of their a,
Into intimate association o.
pom the suppression Of the rehc,l. y,
III, resort was attempted to he bad ~
gain I" the old party t%actic, ,na
18th eminent success, AZ regard. ~.
dominant faction, which b..
managed TO keep itself In power nv f'
ysiein combined OF force and fraud
= ~disgraceful a. il 10 Unparalleled "
ut not 80 with the opposition Or. :
apizstion; though nominaIly Demo. y,
iaiie, it was, in fact made up Of re- Al
ruilz from slI III. sSn