The Van Buren press., 1875-02-09
A Party that VIII Not and Cannot Re
L.l''.8yIfll form, IA-l lI.-


/ error. and ,Ilese errors are liable to in.
crease iu proportion to the magnitude Of
the responsibility imposed No decree
4 of infallibility can reach and protect the
domain Of politics.
The election ofa Republican president
i in 1860 was the signal of those commo-
tons which few months later culmna-
ted i'm civil war. Whether that war could
have been honorably avoided, or whether
il was conducted in such a manner as
would best insure the accomplishment of
those objects for which it was professed
" begun on the part of the North, arc
questions which need not be agitated
now Enough to say that the weaker
side went to the wall, and that victory
brought to the stronger side dllicnilcs
far greater than were involved in the Iii
rection Of vast military enterprises War,
after all, is only "the science of barbar
ism, - while genuine statcsmanship is the
highest science of the highest civiliza-
ton. To organize efficient armies, and
plan and execute successful campaigns
requires, indeed, no common order OF
genius; but to rightly appreciate and
properly utilize the fruits of success, de-
mands broader and nob!er abilities, a
more determined purpose and clearer
moral comprehension The Republican
party found it comparatively easy to tear
down, but very hard to build np-for the
former simply demanded the requisite
outlay of blood and treasure, while the
latter needs the purest integrity and the
finest brains, The problem presented to
the victors was, from its very nature, ex-
ceedingly difficult to satisfactorily solve.
In defeating the South they had not only
crushed her power, but actually and alb
solutely destroyed the foundations Of So
cial, commercial and political life. These
must at once be replaced, either by sys.
TEN entirely new, or by one which EN-
bIaced the best features Of the old com
bined with carefully prepared improve.
ments Moreover it was perfectly Ger
tain from the outset that, even with the
most honest intentions and the closest
vigilance mistakes must necessarily oc-
cur-nothing short Of omnscience and
omnpotence could prevent them. But
it was hoped BY all, and believed by some
that these inevitable mistakes would be
promptly recognized by those who com
mitted them, and thereby become the
stepping stones to final and assured sue.
cess Such they might have been, such
they should have been-but such they
we're not The leaders of the Rcpubi
can party commenced the gigantic task
of reconstruction without seeming To re-
aizr the enormous labor and innumer.
able cmbarrassmcnts involved therein,
and without seeming to think mistakes
were possible. Consequently their own
blunders, instead Of being frankly ac.
| knowledged and intc'igcntly repaired
were denounced as crimes Of which the
Southern people alone were guilty, and
for which they alone should be punished
SO the bllnders were pcrsevered in, and
the victims of them made to suffer for the
rccklcesness, stupidity ., ! fanatcism of
others Here aud Il ''oWen like Gree
ley. Schurz and Tt22 70, relns%se s4Iss sr,seen and
confessed that the 7 was o, t the wrong
path, and failing to /, tit right, have
stepped down and out, ~It these are the
exceptions to a general rule The ma
jority of Republican leaders and organs
| have resolutcly refused to see the wrong
or seek the right. During the ten years
and more which have elapsed since tho
rc-establshment Of peace, there has not,
been 4 single formal expression on the
part Of the Republican party, in or out
Of congress, which coull, even by the
most liberal Interpretation, be construed
as an abandonment Of false policy and
the Inauguration Of true one 1t has
gone on by swift and sure graaations
from bad TO worse from innocent errors
to deliberate evil ldoing-oifcrng no
apology, intmating no repentance, and
boldly declaring that as the beginning
was 50 should the end be- The condi
ton Of affairs in Louisiana to. day is that
end for it is impossible to conceive Il
mcaner or more dangerous phase of mis-.
government than that which Gra.it has
planned, Sheridan executed and congress
sanctioned
When party touches that point where
it is either unwilling or unable to reform
itself, then the sceptre Of authority must
pass into other hands Politicians,
knowing what is right, will continue to
do the wrong as long as it seems profit
able to them personally, or in partisan
sense; but the people, when once con
vinced that they have been led astray,
will slowly but surely retruce their steps
until they reach the solil groun / oftruth
and justice. This is the philosophy of
the elections last autumn. The poll
ticians had nothing to do with that grand
and glorious triumph; the people
achieved it by themselves and for them.
selves, and are now preparing for another
and farther advance in the same direction
Had the leaders of the Republican party
possessed sufficient worldly wisdom-to
say nothing Of moral principlc-to &C.
ccpt the results OF the October and No.
vember appeals to the ballot. box as de.
| served chastisement for manifold trans.
gressions, and governed themselves nc
cordingly, they might have retrieved this
disaster and perhaps secured a new lease
Of power. But, shutting their eyes aud
hardening their hearts, they have gone
and are going straight on in the old
course, expecting somehow to avert ,hc
inevitable consequences of incurable
blindness and obstinacy. Retreat or re
form are alike impossible now. They
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