The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-12-04
REPUBLICAN VS.. DEMOCRATIC
PRINCIPLES.

F.: PRINCIPLES.
. The Gsestion of State sovereignty, o;
| the right of notification, perhaps even
: Of the right of secession, are not, as has
been too often assumed during the last
two years, dead issues" A divergence
of views on these ali-important questions
il is that has differentiated the RepubIi-
can from the Democratic party from the
beginning The Republican party Is the
incarnation of an idea, and that idea is
the supremacy, authority, unity, and
majesty of the nation represented by the
General Government. The Democratic
party, on the other hand, is the embodi-
ment of the principle of what is called
Estate rights" but which, carried out
to its legitimate consequences, means
State sovereignty. disintegration. divi-
sion, national dissolution. The War of
the Rebellion. on the surface a conflict
between the North and the South, was
in reality a conflict between the Repub-
hcan and Democratic parties and princi-
pies. The North represented the Re
publican idea of unity, national auth Or
ity, and national supremacy; the South,
the Democratic doctrine of State sover-
eighty and of the dissolution of the
Union at the will of the individual
States. 1t was to maintain the central
article of the Democratic creed that the
South inaugurated the Rebellion. 1t
was to oppose it that the North, OF
rather the nation, sacrificed its best
blood and incurred its enormous nation
al debt. II the Democratic doctrine of
State rights, as interpreted By the South
| and the Democratic party previous to
the war, be the correct explanation of
the Constitution of the United States.
then the gigantic sacrifices made by the
| people to preserve the integrity of the
Union should not have been made at all,
and it was most grave mistake to have
made them. Viewed from the Demo-
cratic and Republican stanG-points re-
spectively, the War, the emancipation
of the slaves, and our national debt,
appear in an altogether different light
Granting all the Democratic principles
previous to 1851, the War should never
have have been waged; the slaves never
have been freed; and the national debt
should never have been incurred. There
is no evidence that the Democratic party
has changed its principles of constitu-
tional Interpretation, and, therefore,
though it must look upon the War as
.fait GccompIi, what is there to assure us
that it would not, could it regain power,
repudiate the national debt and indem-
nifty the Southern shareholders for their
losses consequent on emancipationl If
net false to their principles, they GER
tainly would do all this. Southern
Democrats would certainly demand it;
and would not Northern Democrats yield
to the demand rather than submit to a
in fI,a I,a
loss of powerl The question is well
worth pondering. The Democratic party
not having rejected its old principles,
and these principles having led the ma
ton to the brink % destruction on one
occasion, what assurance have we that
they may not lead it there again2 To
write in daily journal of State sover-
eighty at this time of the Gay may seem
like composing lugubrious ghost story
to frighten children. We thought the
question was dead and buried Our
only ground for so believing it, however,
was that the Democratic party was sup
posed dead and buried. Recent events
have galvanized the body into action,
and. if it does revive, it must revive the
old issues and be itself again, But the
question of State Sovereignty is not
dead. 1t is an ever living issue. 1t runs
like thread through the whole of our
history. 1t was q question under the
old Confederation. The States under
the articles of that compact were truly
Democratic States, completely indie
pendent. The Union they formed was
only a league. 1t had not even the priv
ilege of taxation. 1t had no judicature,
no control over commerce, and, although
it might create debts, it had no power
to pay them. Each of the thirteen States
had its own little army. The Confeder-
alton was a failure-just as our present |
Union would be could Democratic prin- |
ciples obtain the ascendancy in this ma
ton. The argument used by Washing
ton against the Confederation may be
used against the Democrats of to-day |
with all the force that it had against the |
former. Washington said, speaking of !
the Confederation, that he could not |
conceive how we could long exist with |
out lodging somewhere a power which |
would pervade the whole Union in as |
energetic manner as the authority of |
the State Governments extend over the |
several States; thus pointing out the |
danger to the nation of the principle |
which gives life to the Democracy.
We are no advocate of unlimited CEN
trali2ation, nor are we scared by the |
word. There Is some Capitalization in |
all countries. In anarchy alone is it en-
tirely absent. Capitalization to detri- |
mental degree is impossible in this cOun-
try. There are too many forces to |
oppose it. All we advocate is a sufficient |
degree of centralizing power to promote
the good of the whole country and save |
us from dissolution. The history of |
this country shows that We have been
becoming more and more centraliZing |
nation; and we have not been hurt by |
it. The last step we took in that direc |
tion preserved us as u nation and insured |
our existence as people in the future.
The restoration to power of the Demo
cratic party would I've to endanger the |
very existence of the Union. This would |
be the remoter danger. Its immediate
effect on the country would be economi-
cally most disastrous. 1t would unsettle
the minds of business men, and paralyZe |
industry; for who knows what Demo
cratic Government might dol Its ad-
vent to power, considering this fact,
would be as distressing on business as
financial panic The probability of its
obtaining power we consider small. The
possibility, however, is there. The only
way to prevent 1t surely is for the Re
publican party to pat forward its best
efforts and best men, and to advocate /
its best measures. This done, our busi-
ness prosperity, and the blessings pur-
chased so dearly during four years of /
war, will be assured 20 Chicago Tft-
bune.
WHAT A DOG DID.-An English pa
per has the following: "A striking ex-
emplification of the sagacity of shep-
herds dog has just come under notice
on the farm of Higha;n, near Newburg,
in Fifeshire The dog belongs to Mr.
John Ballingall. The shepherd on the
farm happened to lose pound note, and
after many hours fruitless search for
the bank-note, it was given up as lost.
A collie pup, only four months old, made
its appearance in the field where it was
supposed the note had been lost, and
with much importantly. endeavored to
make himself noticeable. The shepherd
could not be bothered with its caressings,
so grieved was he at his loss. After be-
ing ordered off. some half dozen times,
the dog eventually stood up on its hind
legs. opened its month, and there was
the note, folded just as it was when il
went missing With much wagging of
its tail, the animal laid the note at the
shepherds feet. The animal was once
a despised one, but now it is a house
hold pet