New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-07-30
Democratic i'r.mIses and RenuI,-
liz 3. Acts

il, Acts.
The address of the Republican Congress
siOnal Committee is all full of salient points.
and deserves, as it has received a wider and
warmer approval than almost any address
of the kind made to the Republican party.
1t is document of striking originality and
remarkable power, and Of unanswerable
logic. There is charm about it's style that
wins attention, and force, and vigor, and
truthfnlness, and candor in its arguments
that carries conviction TO all who read it..
Last week we made use Of some of its facts,
and below we present its contrast between
the professions of past Democratic Admins
tretOns and the performances of the present
and previous Republican Administrations
upon the questions of honesty and fidelity to
the people.
TO Illustrate their bad faith and dishon-
esty, the Committee recall their promises to
the slave power in 1861, when they piteously
declared to the people--"Contnue us in
power and we will tieck the Territories with
slavcry;' when in 1864 they said, "rcstore
US to power and we will barter with rebels,
giving freedom for peace ~ when in 1868
they said again, "rcstorc us to power and
we will a6rogate three great amendments to
the Constitution, secure government to white
men, and return slavery to coored men,"
it could only be replied that such invitations
were very unattractive. But when in 1872
they cried, ''resto-e us to office once more
and we will do everything that anybody
wants DONE" The invitation was utterly re-
pulsive. And when they supplement this
brazen indifference to principle by stolid
indifference to truth when, weary of oppos-
ing the measures Of the majority, they COM
bine to assail their characters when they
abandon false reasoning only to resort to
false assertion, they exhibit an opposition
hard if not impossible to parallel.
And yet that opposition, while it never
was so bad, was never so dangerous as now.
People can better judge the merits of
measure than the merits of a man. They
can more readily detect a fallacious argument
than false statement. When the opposi-
ton denounced Republicans as misguided
statesmen, the people could safely compare
our measures with theirs, and judge which
were best. But when they denounce Rcpub-
licans as thieves it is not so easy to try the
truth of the assertion. Besides two circum-
stances give slight color to that allegation
First. Republicans have possession Of the
Government, and have the best chance to
peculate. Second. IL has been the especial
labor of the present Administration to detect
and punish pcculatiOn. Some cases have
been found.
Mr.. Lincoln's Administration was too
much occupied with graver matters to
keep strict watch Of every individual offender.
The Administration which succeeded was
quite as unprepared for that duty. Congress
was then much absorbed in the great work
Of reconstruction, and the President was not
happily fitted to criticisc official misconduct.
But the present Administration has no eX-
emption from that work. If ii is not attended
to now, the Administration, and not the
times, must be held responsible. But it is
attended to. 1t is prosecuted with that in
flexible energy which has characterized every
have been exposed. Aud every time rogue
has been punished the opposition has shout
ed: 'See how corrupt Republicans are :"
1t is as If, whenever a SURGEON removes a
tumor from his patient the mob should shout:
SLOW very rotten the doctor must be ~
So, this unilinching reform is prosecuted at
the risk of this twofold peril: First. Every
time we remove rascal we lend plausibility
to Democratic calumny. Second. Every time
we punish one we make a Democrat For
few years that party has been recruited, not
only by those knaves we have dismissed from
Office, but by a still llrger number who have
been unable to get Office. 1t is not mpos.
sible that by this process they may in time
recover majority. Goodmen cannot, with
out uneasiness, contemplate the possibility
of the country once more falling into the
control of that party, when, in addition to
the devils which always paralyzed it for any
noble effort, it shall have been reinforced
by all the anclean spirits expelled from the
Republican party.