The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-11-07
Grants Chances.

L
az was then thought. It was simply the
receding of the great tidal wave Of Repub-
llcanism which the cenvnlsions of q period
of war had driven over the whole face of
political affairs in the Northern States. That
condition was abnormal. The exciting
cause having passed away, it was but
natural that it's influence should cease and
conditions resume their original relations.
It was, indeed, expected that the reaction
would, from its own impetue, go to GER
tain extreme the other way and produce o
popular revolution. But this was clearly q
mistake. Such Revision may come some
of these days, but at present there is no
symptom of its advent, and matters have
simply settled down to the ordinary strug-
gle on equal terms of two great parties.
There never have been, and never can
be. but two real political parties in this or
any other country. Call them by any name,
they are always in reality the Democratic
and the Aristocratic parties. This division
is natural and results from the tendency of
some men to self, government and of others
to be governed. AS general thing, the rich
and the powerful and the proud incline to
that kind of government where the national
power is greater than there is any strict
necessity for, and, if possible, limited to the
control of select few. They know that
such government is favorable to them.
If Republic, it can make the rich richer
by creating monopolies and dispensing to
it's favorites positions that ought to be con-
trolled by private enterprise. If Mon
archy, its opportunities are still greater of
comforting immunities, monopolies and
privileges. Moreover, it carries in it's train
a number of titles and dignities With which
certain families are ennobled. In either
case the government sympathizes with the
rich and mighty because they are of its own
class, and willingly ministers to their greed
and their ambition.
These two opposite tendencies are as visi-
BILE in the American character as in any
other. The capitalists are generally anti
Democrats. They have been Federalists,
Wings, and Know Nothirgs, and are now
Republicans. Professional men also have,
for the most part, had tendency that way,
and generally all, whether in the cities or
rural districts, who have been inclined to
set up for exclusives or to fancy themselves
aristocratic, have affiliated with that party,
whatever might be its name at the time.
Most of the voters of to-day are old enough
to remember that the Wings considered
theirs as the respectable" party and spoke
of the Democracy as the sun washed"
Now, strange as it may seem to US of this
unfortunate latitude, the "respectables" of
Northern society arc as a general thing,
Republicans. We must not judge them by
the mongrel mixture of cunning negroes
and white vagabonds who run the party in
the South. We have q few Northern gen
tlemen here who are Republicans, or were
so until thoroughly disgusted with the
parody of their party which obtains in this
region, but such gentlemen do not make
themselves prominent in politics, and our
people know but little of their views. At
the North, however, it is different, and it
would be folly for us to deceive ourselves
on that point. There, whoever wants to
be a duke or lord one of these days; who
ever wants a system of National banks,
through which bond holders can grow fat !;
or power in the Cabinet with which
irresistible alliances can be formed by
capitalists or a power in Congress to
squander public lands, public money and
public credit on rich and powerful friends ;
or power in the President of appointing
to almost numberless snecures through
personal influences whoever wants the
Government to be able to cripple COM
merce for the special benefit OF mauufac-
lures or other local interests, to multiply
custom houses and collecto ships,
to control railroads, canals, telegrsphs and
schools; whoever wants to make the gov
erning power as independent as possible of
the people from whom it is derived, these
all gravitate naturally towards the Repub-
ltcan party, as they formerly did towards
the Federal and Wing parties.
1t is clear that the Democratic party,
though it expresses the real American sen-