The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1875-12-27
The Course Of Democracy.

IN Some of the Northern members on
D y the Democratic side OF The Hou-e of
Representatives, it Is said, have be-
come disgusted with the ~greediness
with what everything in the shape Of
a place has been seized by the rebel
element.
1t was to have been expected that
they would seize all the patronage
connected with the House of Repre-
sentatives, and some sangIIne people
may have held the opinion that they
would at least have been Shrewd
enough to Disguise, in some measure,
their sympathy with the rebellion
" and the rebels but II does not seem
to have beer in them to adopt eve II
polite course. Even the chaplain
was selected because he was under
stood to have outnlged the feelings Of
his loyal neighburs in Connecticut
during the war. The positions OF
door-keeper and postmaster, attached
to which arc a largo share Of the
Ia minor places, were given to ex rebels,
and they have filled the list almost
wholly with ex-rebel soldiers.
Harris of Maryland. who made a
public appeal to his party on the
score of open dislnyalty, has b zen
provided for, and one chap was 81
much of u rebel still that he refused
10 take the iron. clad oath although he
was but seven years old when the
war broke out.
a one-armed soldier from Mass
achusetts, who acted rs assistant
door-keeper, has been turned out to
make room for n rebel officer from
North Carolina. The inpudence OF
these proceedings led Mr.. Fort of IL
linois to offer n condemnatOry resulu-
ton in the House, Tuesday, which
WIS, OF course, smothered by the ma
jority. But it is noticeable that a
Northern dough-faee o. the LEAD in
this shabby proceeding, and Mr.. Sun
set Cox of New York takes II ''cre
dit" of defending the greed and i'm
~pn1ence of tho rebel wing of his
party.
But these are comparatively insig
D~iicant matters, though useful in
-gauging the temper and tendency Of
the Democratic party. Other thing
of a more serious nature are cropping
out Perhaps we could even stanu
the restoration of rebelst to the pension
ID lists of 1912 and Mexico, as proposed
by Nj. Merrimon but it comes
to opening the doors of the treasury
to the claims of Southern men Tor
losses during the war, as some Demo-
Gratis have moved, the taxpayers Oi
of the country may well take alarm.
Immense claims nave been tTumped
up, and their general character Is
such that the President felt compel
led to call attention to them in hi-
annual message. Already thetreasury
has been depleted by means of false
81 testimony, under the restrictions
heretofore maintained but when the
ex-rebels come To have control of the
government-as they hope to do ere
long-there will he no END to the calls
for money from the treasury. The
men o. the South know full well that
the bulk of the revenue cumrs out of
the Northern States-that the eXpen-
ditures of the government in the
South far exceed its receipts in that
section, and hat whateverthey draw
out of the public treasury in compen-
sation for war-loSses is in fact II fine
lev led upon the loyal North. As yet
they refrain from showing heir full
hand, for the reason that the Senate
is still Republican, and the cunqueror
of the rebellion still sits in the White
House. But they are improving their
opportunities. In the House, while
a Northern man occupies the chair,
the real power of leadership has been
turned over TO q Southern member,
to- whom has been committed the au.
thority to appointa committee which
is to control the majority, exercise
censorship over legislation, and direct
the whole course of the arty. Thus
the Democratic party is returning to
its old status as the obedient ave Ui
the South. Here ard there a North
ern man with Southern principles)
may be put forward as Il ~fgure-head
to save appearances, but the rea
power goes to the South and tie
Southern masters of the party.