Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1875-09-30

From the Cincinnati Gazette.l
The "New Departure" OF the
Democratic Party and What
Became of 1t.
The Democratic party is given to
''new departures. 1t is an absolute
necessity. Being founded on sand,
without any solid foundation, the
party has to shift its position with
the shifting saads. Considering its
agility in acting without one particle
of principle, the performance is not
at all difficult But as some of its
performances-such as the rebellion,
for example-have to go into history,
beg leave to remind them of one of
their 'snew departures, which, con-
sidering its freshness, they oaghtnot
to forget. The war had closed, and
the Democratic party was at a loss
to know what. todo next. They had
instituted a vast network of State
banks and corporations to make
money, and in 1887, 1854 and 1857
had exploded the whole of them with
signal success. They had compro-
missed with Calhoun and the nullifi-
ers that the tariff should be reduced
to 20 per cent. Then in 1916 they
had made an horizontal tariff. These
were but slight accomplishments.
A grayer one was the support of
slavery. In the language of the late
lamented Vallandigham, they would
give the South everything they ask
ed. But it asked a little too much
when it asked that slavery should
dominate this country. The people
refused it, and the South in that ad-
herance to Democratic doctrines went
into rebellion. The result was not
satisfactory to the Democratic lead
ers. 1t was rather a dark time for
the chiefs of that noble party.
Among them was the noted Clement
L. Vallandigham. He was man of
great ambition and some talent. He
saw at once if the party was to run
in its old grooves, there was an end
of the ambition of himself and half
Il dozen other Ohio patriots. Great,
after the Democratic fashion, he put
his thinking-cap on to see, as the
sands were shifting, how he should
shift with the sands. He sooI hit
upon plan. There was to be dis
trict meeting at Dayton for the Third
Congressional District. 1t was soon
whispered around that the illustrl-
Gus Vallandigham was to be the spirit
of the occasion. There was a gen
eral admission among his distinguish
ed confederates that he was the only |
man among them that had any ideas,
and therefore the proper maI to put
them forth. The Democratic Con
vention met at Dayton, and Mr.. Da-
vid Houck was President. A Com
mittee on Resolutions was appointed,
OF which Vallantligham was Chair
man. Then and there the new de-
parture was instituted" which had its
final catastrophe in the defeat of
Greeley. The resolutions proposed
by Vallandigham, and finally adopt
ed, were more than twenty in num-
Der, and, to the credit of Mr.. Vallan-
digham, were very cleverly express
ed. The first half dozen declared in
general terms that the issues of the
war were passed and decided, and
the results ought to be and are ac-
cepted. This was both creditable
and profitable to Vallandigham, for
it announced on the one hand that
we should remain ut peace, and on
the other that the traitors who had
got up a war in which 100000 men
were killed, and 5000 millions of debt
created, were at perfect liberty to
shake hands and vote for the Demo
cratic party, which we have since
seen them do. 1t was not q bad
scheme by any means, and but for
some little accidents, which the best
of men cannot anticipate, would have
succeeded. But Vallandigham laid
down the "new departure" on finance.
What was that? The thirteenth
resolution of the "new departure"
was that we should resume specie
payments as soon as possible. Now,
| ask any honest Democrat if we have
not a right to expect the Democratic
party to keep its solemnly- pledged
resolutions at least five years? That
resolution of the 'new departure"
was passed in 1871, and in 1875 we
see the Democratic party going up to
Columbus and passing resolutions in
open, direct, and palpable defiance of
the resolutions of 1871. What does
it mean? The meaning is that the
''new departure" had proved an utter
failure, and now the Democratic par
ty are looking around for some new
device by which to cheat and delude
unthinking men. The spider wants
to catch flies. 1t matters not what
his web is spun from, but his song is
ever the same.
"Will you walk into my parlor?''
Said the spider to the fly;
"'Tis the prettiest little parlor
That ever you did spy"
We acknowledge that the Demo
cratic party had no great reason to
rejoice on their new departures; for
the end was by no means satisfactory.
To nominate Greeley, who said that
to resume it was only necessary to
resume, was logical result, and the
defeat of Greeley was an equally log
ical consequence. The whole opera
tion was one of the most signal hum
bugs the nation had eyer seen. Poor