New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-11-10
LET 1T BE BY THE RECORD.


head the Irishman had chopped off, not
conscious of the fact that it is very dead,
is yet showing some sign of life. The
pen holders of the defunct political con-
Germ are already looking around for some
new ground upon which to rally the ele-
ments opposed to Republicanism. A city
contemporary pretends to file the record
of the dominant party, in the suit which
will be tried in 1876, and triumphently
demands judgment for its client. We
make no objection to the declaration that
this record will and ought to have great
weight in determining the fitness of the
party, or any party to supremacy. But of
the two parties now, or lately before the
country the Republican alone has no
reason to be ashamed of its record. We
are willing to stand upon it; have nothing
to hide, nothing to ask oblivion for; no
apologies to make tor the part we took in
the war or any other event. The Repub-
lican party is able to stand upright upon
its own record, and has abundance of men
with per ectly clean hands to send to Con-
gress, fill all the high places of trust and
profit, and large surplus to spare for
private occupations. 1t is not necessary
for Republican Legislature or niminat-
ing convention to constantly overhaul
the records to see if this or that
man, whom it is desirable to send
to Congress, has been amnestied
from the effects of one of the gravest
political crimes an American citizen can
commit The individuals make the party,
and the respective records run parallel to
each other. All the acts of the Republi-
can party for the past fifteen years are
before the country, and were well known
to the voters of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa,
New jersey Wisconsin, Minnesota, New
York and Massachusetts before the recent
elections, in which the result in 1874 was
completely reversed. There is no likeli-
hood of anything new being developed
within the ensuing year. The record upon
which the party has stood for VIC
tory for fifteen Years is clear and we'll
known, but not what the Bulletin says it
is. That very irresponsible journal en-
deavors to charge upon the Republican
party all the offenses of the Confederate
Democracy, and bring it to the bar of the
virtuous party, led in the main by am
nestled heroes, for trial
We concede the party is to be judged
by its past conduct, and to stand or fall
as it may be found innocent or guilty. 1t
has stood thus successfully through four
presidential campaigns, and is approach
ing the fifth without any visible signs of
trepidation or betraying a propensity to
hedge and shift its shortcomings on other
shoulders. So much can not be said in
favor of the opposition. That unprinci-
pied following, as represented by the Bul-
letin, is now endeavoring to make it appear
that all the political faults are ours-all
the virtues its own. 1t thus arraigns the
Republican party:
|. They have held supreme power for
fifteen years.
9. They made a civil war which cost the
country half million lives.
3. They have created national and local
debts amounting to eight Thousand million
dollars.
4. They have inaugurated a cruel and
most destructive plan of internal tax and
excise.
We file qualified plea of admission to
the first charge. The Republicans have
held supreme power, so far as the ma
tional government is concerned, for if
teen years, with the exception of an I'M
fortunate interruption in the executive de-
partment caused by the assassination of
Lincoln by a secession-Democratic luna
tic, and the consequent accession of An
drew johnson, who was vain and foolish
rather than really wicked. The Repub-
licans have received this power from the
hands of the people, Notwithstanding the
record which the Bulletin now rakesi mp
against them. For fifteen years the acts
and policy of the party have been before
the people and constantly approved.
There is nothing that gives us any assur-
ance that this approval will be withheld
in 1876. Something else must be tried by
the opposition if they would succeed
Senator Gordon admonishes them to
keep to the record and let new issues
alone. The questions of currency, the
recognition of Cuba, and the public /
schools, are altogether too delicate to be
handled. The Democracy can not bA
rallied on one side or the other of either
of them. There is too much incongr uity
in the elements opposed to Republican
ism to be made unit upon any issue ex-
cept the sole idea of getting into place
and dispensing public patronage.
The second charge is VIGOROUSLY un-
true. The Republican party not only did
not make "a civil war;" but they declined
the gage of battle which was thrown down
by the Southern shareholders until the
whole North was tainted with cowardice.
Fort Sumter was attacked because it was
believed the Northern Democrats would
not let the government resist. The whole
South was bristling with arms and arsen-
ais III menace of the United States author
ity for more than six months before Presi- |
dent Lincoln called for volunteers. Even