The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-07-21
CONVENTION ECHOES.
FROM THE EAST AND WEST.


CRITICS = THE PLATFORM SEVERELY
OvERHAULED.
The following comments are principally
those which appear after a careful study and
examination of the democratic platform OF
the late convention.
The New York World wisely crlticizes as
follows: Home Rule, Free Trade, Hard
Money are the short summaries of old demo-
cratic doctrines which now emerge in the
living issues of our present politics. in the
immediate necessities Of the whole people,
and in the affirmative demands of the great
majority of democrats, North, South, East
and West. Home Rule. The fidelity of the
democrats of Indiana to this fundamental
and most essential article of demo-
cratic faith IS not surpassed by
that of any democrats in any state.
They ground their appeal to be Entrusted
with the admins ration of the state and fed
eral governments upon their pledge to MAIN
tain ga strict construction OF the constitu
ton of the United States and its amend
ments. and an impartial enforcement of its
laws" and to secure 'to every citizen ofthe
country the equal protection of the
law without violating the principle OF To-
cal seIf-government, or interfering with
the social cus.Oms OF the people
Free Trade Not sJntent with av0wing that
devotion to "a strict construction of the
Federal Constitution" which OF itself would
preclude the possibility of an anti-revenue
or so-called protective tariff, the democrats
of Indiana range themselves along the
democrats of New York and Maine, Of Ohio
and Connecticut, of Kentucky and New
Hampshire, an6 peremptorily and CURLY
demand "a tariff for revenue"
Hard money. That "strict construction of
the federal consti ution" to which the demo-
Gratis of Indiana declare their entire devotion
IL hrr a N
party would have saved the nation the doub-
ling of its war debt which we owe to the
legal tender act That act, defended as
war necessity which was in truth war i'm
pediment, and stupid blunder in mere
finance as well, has been reiterated by re-
publican congresses as a peace measure,
and S44 000,0 900 broken pledges of the ma
tion's faith have been added to the 1856, 000,
600 of debt without interest made into legal
tender money. But not one democratic
statesman of Indiana has ever found or pre-
tended to find in the coinage power con-
ferred upon congress aught but an explicit
denial of its authority to curse the
people with a currency ineonvertible
with coin. The Indiana republican platform
demanded an additional amount of currency.
The Indiana democratic platform favors "the
adjustment of the volume of the currency to
the commercial and industrial wants of the
the country" and "a return to specie pay
ments as soon the business interests of
the country will permit" Less sharply
than we could wish, but substantially, the
dividing line between Republican action and
heresy and Democratic doctrine and prom
Use, runs between these opposing popular APP
peals A very dead horse lies spread out stiff,
stark and cold, OH the Indiana platform 1t
is the Pendleton proposition to pay the five-
twenty bonds in greenbacks. Some rascal
ly Ohio politician dumped it there, we sup
pose, to destroy Mr.. Hendricks chances for
the Presidential nomination in 1876. That
dead horse had better be carted off to the
rendering watts as soon as convenient. The
stencil would not bs good for the health OF
the Democratic party.
The New York Herald comments as fol-
lows: The assembled Indiana democrats
have the amazing folly to declare that 1--WE
are in favor of the redemption of the five
twenty bonds in greenbacks;" that 1--WE are
in favor OF the repeal of the law of March,
1869, which assumed to construe the law so
as to make such bonds payable exclusively
in gold" and that I've are in favor
of the repeal of the national bank
ing law, and the substitution of
greenbacks for the national bank
currency" We can conceive of no greater
blunder which the democratic party could
perpetrate, in the present state of pu bile sem
timent, than to unbury the Pendletonism of
1868 and present It's corpse a candidate for
reception in living political society. Nothing
Is more certain than that the Eastern
democrats will never cOuntenance this
revival of defunct reputation, which they
rejected when it was fresh ana had
the seductive gloss of novelty. Its reindois Sc
ment in the west tends only to distraction
and division at a time when the moral infiu-
ence and political success of the party depend
on compact unity in defence of sound prin-
Piles. 1t is astonishing that political leaders
can be so misguided and throw away the
tairest opportunities. There was never so
splendid an opening for the democratic par
ty as is furnished by the present financial
condition of the country and the eyre
glous failure of the republicans to
meet 10 by any measures of relief. Party war
fare is never scrupuious or discriminating,
and when the democracy of an important
state like Indiana declare openly for rApudi-
alton tits mere customary tactics to hold the
whole party responsible. There is no west
ern state where this folly could have so dam
aging general effect as in Indiana. Its DEM
ocratic governor, who was the presiding Off
Ger of the convention, is one of the three or
four statesmen most talked of as democratic
candidates for the presidency. Ii has been
heretofore supposed that his financial views
were sound, and he ought to have had idfiu-
enee enough to prevent the passage of such
insane resolutions. There is too much rea-
son for apprehendirg that the democratic
party has lost all sense of the source OF its
ancient victorious strength, which consisted
in perfectly n of discipline, complete unity OF
action and sagacious perception of the
value of opportunities. What a mafnifcent
fight thoroughly united democracy
might have made against the financial ab-
surdities and imDecile legislation of its
opponentsi But when the handle of the
pitcher was offered them they have grasped
Its belly and it is likely to fall on the ground
and spill all its contents. The enormous
blunder must be retrieved or the democra-
tic party is doomed. Every democratic
state convention hereafter to be held must
repudiate and denounce reputation, or else
the "tide'' which, "taken at its flood, might
have "led on to fortune" will retire and
leave the democracy OF the country stranded
Gin shadows and in miseries."
The Cincinnati Eaquirer remarks: Upon
the candidates nominated yesterday few eyes