The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-08-12

ally assailed and misrepresented, and the
Hard Money Democrats of Ohio, with
whom act, have been taunted and ridi-
culed :. and self-respect, and the duty |
owe to them, demanded that | should say
frankly and clearly, what they and be-
lieve; and that | should set forth why,
withoutinconsistency, humiliation or loss
of honor, we can support our ticket
And, besides, my constituents have a
right to my opinion upon public sfiairs,
be they worth much or little, and have
no disposition to conceal them. And
lastly, hold it to be my duty to advocate
what / believe TO be true. | have said,
and repeated it, that we can, without dis
honor or the surrender of any principle,
support the ticket, and have given you
some reasons for this opinion; but not
all that may be given, and, though the
task may seem superfluous, beg leave to
detain you with it little longer And in
the first place, observe of political plat
forms in general that no political plat
form ever was adopted by any party con-
vention that in every particular received
the approval Of every member of the
party. There is always something inser-
ted or something left out that causes crit
icism. Indeed, the business of platform
making has attained immense, and some
persons think unreasonable proportions
in this generation. The time was when
it was sufficient to know that man was
Federalist or Democrat to know what
were his political opinions. Then it was
not deemed necessary for either party to
solemnly promugate a creed every year,
much less to resolve upon every minutia
of public concern. Then platform max
ing, as a means of success, not of the par
ty, but in the party, had not been invent
ed, much less become fine art. But now
we have nearly or quite a hundred State
platforms constructed every year, and
how many minor platforms arithmetic is
scarcely sufficient to tell. And these
multtudinous deliverances are, as might
be expected, as various and changeable
as the seasons themselves. In some one
or more of them any year may be reflect
ed every opinion, however crude, and a
dOgmatic Judgment upon every measure,
however minute. The next year repeats
the process with the added element of
gross inconsistency with the work of the
proceeding years; so that if a man were
to pin his faith implicitly to platforms,
the changes of the kaleidoscope would
scarcely be more various or fantastic
than his. The consequence is that the
people have, to greater ex ent, lost faith
in platforms. A vast majority do not
read them, a large majority care little or
nothing for them. Other people, seeing
how often they are shamelessly violated
when power has been attained, come to
regard them as the tricks and shams of
party managers, and thoroughly detest
them. The result of all this is that a man
strongly attached to his party, for reasons
sufficient unto him, would make himself
ridiculous and lose selfrespect and the
respect of his fellow men were he to
change his political coat every time that
his party happened to make blunder in
a platform.
THE CURRENCY QUESTION.
Again, the currency question, so far as
legislation can affect it, rests with Con-
gress. The officers to be elected in Ohio
this year will have, as | have already
said, no jurisdiction'over it. 1t is nation
al and not a mere State concern; and al
though every State has a perfect right to
express its opinion upon 1t, and may very
do so, yet its solution is devolv-
ed upon the representatives of all the
States in the Congress assembled. And
the drafting of a national party platform
upon it, to be submitted to the people, is
the Office of National Convention rep
resenting the party in all the States
Such convention of our party will meet
next year, and its deliverance, we may
fairly presume, VII reflect the opinion
and manifest the will of the entire De-
of the republic. 1t is somewhat
to read, in the light of history,
some of the criticisms that are daily seen
in the newspapers upon the subject | am
One class of these papers
lenounces with great severity the Hard
Money Democrats of Ohio because they
10 not unite with the Republicans to de-
feat our ticket, forgetting that even Hor-
ace Greeley, then chief Wing editor of
he United States, exerted all his power
md influence to elect General Scott to
he Preeidencv, and, at the same time, to
Use his strong but certainly not courteous
language, "spat upon the platform"
Another class of editors denounce us be-
,ause we do not surrender our conyic-
ions and support paper money and in
lation as well as the ticket. They are
not content that we shall help to elect
he ticket-they require that we shall
llso abandon our faith forgetting that
lot three years have elapsed since they
we're themselves among the most ardent
md efficient supporters of Horace Gree
ey for the Presidency, upon the most |
pronounced and unambiguous Hard-Mo-
hey and specie resumption platform that |
Gould be written. But let us pass to more
important considerations. l have no de-
lire to speak of the inconsistencies of
politicians. am content if can main
ain my own consistency and at the same |
ime do what / believe to be right. The |
Democratic party of the United States
has existed more than three-quarters of |
century. 1t has survived all other par.
les except the comparatively modern
,arty with which it is now contending,
ind the signs of the time indicate that |
ire long it will'survive that. Now, there
must have been, and must yet be, some
mighty bond of union to first create and
hen preserve for so long period party |
10 powerful and persistent. That bond |
,annot be "the cohesive power of public
as was once said by an eminent |
statesman and President, of another par
y; for the Democratic party took its rise
when its opponents were in power, and |
t has maintained its organization intact |
or many long years when deprived of all
authority in the Federal Government and
n the government of most of the States.
Besides, no party can long exist in free
that has no other foundation
han power and plumber. Were that pos
ible it would prove beyond dispute that |
he people are incapable of self-govern-
nent, and that free institutions are con-
failure. We must look, there
ore, to other causes to account for the
existence and vitality of the Democratic
,arty. And these causes We fnd first,
n the oeneral fact that more strongly |