The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-04-25
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An Ar,fnI Dodgers Platform.

The Democracy VI S~. -
,,uued an address-referred to elsewhere
in which they have adopted the Tai
,svrsnd idea as to the use of language
riy-thst it was given to US to concea
and not to express our ideas. We quote 6
,ov specimens of their handi-work, as
follows:
Tsxstion should be equal and uniform,
and every species of property, including
Sonds and other securities, should bear
;ts inst share of the expenses of the
government.
The above means that Government
honds should be taxed, but the authors
declined to put themselves on the record
ssadyocstes of such policy. All other
hopds are subject to taxation and the
sntbors know that they are. Another
.npcimen of their artful lodges is as fol-
lows:
Federal revenue should be the leading
object of q Just tariff system; the pros
neTity of home industries may be safely
ieft 10 that Incidental protection which
such system properly adjusted will
afford
The above is intended TO be read both
WAYS on the tariff question. 1treminds one
ofthe catch penny literature OF the Penn
sylvania democracy many years ago,
where the party were always afraid to
take position on the tariff question.
Hence they used to pass resolution sim
ply in favor of "judicious tariff" !"
The Charleston Democracy are careful
not 10 express any opinion as to whether
the tariff now in existence is one that
they approve or condemn.
Another specimen OF the way to talk
and yet say nothing, is found in tho fol-
lowing resolution in regard to finances:
The policy OF contracting the currency
pursued since the close of the war, has
given q specie value to national debt Great
ed upon paper basis, and hampered the
operations of business by unduly limiting
the supply of money. The shrinksge in
values occasioned by contraction has
wronged the many for the enrichment of
the few. So long as the National Gov
ernment shall assume the control of pub
lie finances, it is its duty to see that the
volume Of currency in circulation bears
due proportion to the wants OF the pro-
duciDg and commercial classes.
We presume that the authors of the
above favor initiation, but they do not say
so. They are opposed to contraction, they
say, and SO are most people. There are
thousands of people who would vote
against contraction who would not vote
for initiation. Therefore it is safe thing
to say. But the policy is no more a
''tenet of Democratic faith" than the 14th
and 18th amendments to the Constitution
Of the United States, that the party swal-
lowed along with GREELEY, are tenets OF
its faith. The Democratic party is
chameleon. Its principal organ in New
York is "hard money" paper, while its
organ in Cincinnati is an initiation paper.
It's Senator in Congress from West Vir-
ginia voted against the currency bill that
passed that body and that the President
vetoed, while its Third District represen-
tatlve in the House voted for it. What
balderdash then to talk about "tenets OF
Democratic isith," as if there were any
such tenets. "Tenets" means something
that party holds fast to, and not fast and
loose to.
Intelligent people know that neither
the Republican or Democratic parties
have any tenets of faith these days. They
are both adriit and mixed up promiscu-
ously, or, in plain words, split into two or
three sections each on the great questions
of the day. But still the arttul dodgers at
Charleston thought that string of reso-
lutions were necessary as campaign
document, and of course they had to pro
nounce them to be the "genuine old JACOB
TowNsRND's ssrsaparilla" - something
that had come down from JEFFERSON or
JACKsoN-in order to keep up appear
ances and bamboozle the ginseng natives
of the wilderness. In the portions of the
State where the people can read and
write-and where they do not receive
their entire education from Democratic
stump orators-the platform will appear
very thin indeed.