New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-07-26


ished traditions Is simply too unreasonaDiy
heavy to be honOred. As the hour OF the
final struggle approaches the public minq
will become too intent upon the real ana
practical to yield passive submission to
the exorbitant behests of party held to-
gether solely by the prestige OF ancient re-
nOwn, and transDarently destitute OF any
living force within itself 70 deal with the al
tered conditions of the political world.
Active, earnest effort has neither time nor
inclination to dwell upon the contortions Of
galvanized corpse, or listen to maudlin in
vOcations to stand by name, however
mighty in the olden time. It's SaladiBs new
ermore will flash their bright scimetars IN
the face of the foe.
"The knights are dust
Aud their good swords rust
Their souls are with the saints, trust"
The seats of it's great statesmen and war
riOrs are empty; the pOnderOus battle-aXes
with which its braves were wont to hew
their road to victory are cOrrOded by the
must and mould of long disuse. May we
not still hSpe that wiser cOunsels will pre-
vail; that this empty pageant, so suggestive
of decay and death will be borne gently
from the field of living effort and buried
out of sight, in all honor and respect, as
becomes the Obsequies of the illustriOus
dead for it would be treason to history to
forget that the galvanized corpse once held
the soul of that great party whose deeds
have filed the trump of fame ever since the
formation of the government.
Speaking. from the battlements of an old
Democratic watch tower, to people who,
by themselves and by their sires, have held
this Democratic fortress against all as
saults, impregnable tor half century;
whose history is illumined by many vic
tory and stained by not single surrender,
| may readily be credited with wish to
abstain from any utterances ylOlatlve OF
their traditional opinions. Ii such have
escaped me, it was not in malice, but die
tated by the stern logic of events. That is
an altar before which we must all learn to
bow, upon which we must all be prepared
to offer up the hates and friendships and
all the ingrained prejudices of political
creeds framed for generations which have
passed away,
| know " hat bitter regret, the sacrifices
you have made have cost you, and honor
YOU for such an exhibition of disinterested
patriotism. Some of your old comrades in
other sections have failed to pass through
so severe an ordeal of selfdenial You
should have no word Of censure for them.
The spectacle of q fellOw-statesman cling
ing with undiminished favor to the tenets
of a cause which is lOst-Of a life long
Democrat, standing amid the graves of his
great leaders, cOnvulsively hugging the
name because it is the last sad relic, sym
bolizing a faith which was his from his
cradle, and his fathers faith before him;
challenges our admiration as an example of
unselfsh fidelity to the phantOms OF the
past, while it furnishes a bad model for
practical imitation. Surely, while we may
not blame, we may be permitted to express
our deep regrets that an element so viz
tuOus should, at such time, i'll spirit of
mistaken loyalty to a myth, withdraw itself
entirely outside the active currents of
practical struggle.
In Justice to this element, it is proper to
remark that there is another element CO.
operating with it, to which these observa-
tiOns have no application. Reference is
made to the old Wings and Know NOtbings,
who, for want of a spell more potent, have
with marvellous facility for TRANSFORMATION.
become ''Old line Democrats" By a leger-
demain peculiar to themselves they seem to
have snatched the tattered old standard
out of the hands of the lineal heirs, and APP
propriated in block the entire Democratic
inheritance of traditions and glorious memo
ries. Talk of dying in the last Gitch-Of
mailing the flag to the masthead, and going
down with the old ship; none 50 ready as
they for the desperate venture. How pleas
ant to see them dispOrting themselves in
the old giants wardrobe; to see them look
ing 50 dandy in rays of glory reflected
from the old party they have alternately
cursed and fought into the last sad stage Of
all, second childishness aud mere oblivion"
1t is very difficult to fix any limit to the
new born faith of such fiery. ZpalOts.
Though it may not enable them to remove
mountains, it will doubtless sustain them
in discarding all personal considerations
when the appOrIiOnment of offices by the
united State ticket comes off. Such sacri-
ices are none the less creditable because of
the fact that the day Of performance is
rather distant.
You have been told there are already two
tickets in the field. Launched upon the
vexed ocean of public opinion amid salvos
of artillery and the rOuslng cheers OF en-
thusiastC but unskiltul architects, they
have signally failed to stir the ocean to its
depths.
No response comes up to their resonant
trumpet calls. Why is it that their pas
siOnate appeals to rally to the old emblems
Of political power have fallen u.On the
public ear rather as soothing lullabys than
as stirring invOcatiOns to their political
loyalty aud enthusiastic 1t is because the
heart of the people is not with them. Be
cause. instead of the blind, partisan zeal on
which they counted, they have found
young lion in their path, demanding 'by
what authority dOest thou these things|
Because the real representative of power
and popular will has made no formal APP
pearance upon the theatre of action as yet.
Because, enphatically, it is reserved for the
great Liberal party, as the only genuine
representative of the sovereignty OF the
people, to declare the reign of honesty and
equal rights-peace and good will to all
men-and, with merciful icOnOclasm, to
break up the idOlatrous images of greed,
intolerance and despotism which have eaten
like cancers into the heart of the old or
CARNATIONS. This is the work before the
fifth Of August convention. To aid in this
work you are here to accredit delegates.
Let us hope your agents, approaching
the vital Importance of their mission, VIII
strive TO discharge it wisely and we'll