The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-11

victory to defeat and disaster. Time after
time this has happend, until it would seem
that the blindest and most reckless
partisan leaders had fairly learned the
lesson and pro6ted by it,
But their stupidity is adamantine.
Nothing penetrates it. When the people,
rising up against the degeneracy, the cor
ruption and recklessness of the party in
power, give to the Democrats, as they did
last fall the opportunity to show their ca,
pacity and their disposition to do better,
the occasion is frittered away and the OPP
portunity wasted by some such tremendous
blunder as was made in Ohio and Pennsyl-
vania All men of sense and judgment,
who consider with any degree Of thought
and the causes which led to them, know
that the meaning of it all was simply pop
uler disgust with the administration. The
Democratic party had done nothing
for which the people should turn about SO
suddenly and call it to power; but the Re-
publicans, through their administration,
had done much for which the people
thought they should be driven out 1t was
thus that victory came to the Democrats {;
for this reason, and this only, that Dem.
ocratic congress was elected. And then,
with the sipp pie fact staring them in the
face that they had achieved success,
or rather that success had
been thrown at them because the people
were tired of dishonesty and trickery, and
longed for a purer political atmosphere
and honester administration, what did
these Democratic leaders do in Ohio and
Pennsylvania but formally adopt a policy,
not only at war with all their party tradi-
tons and opposed to all their party record,
but absolutely in itself dishonest Was it
strange that the people turned on them
and said, "Faugh! go away?"
And now there comes shortly another
opportunity for this party either to make
an effort to retrieve itself or to try another
CHASTITY experiment upon public credulity
and public patience. They have a speak
er of the house of representatives to elect
Can they be honest? Can they even APP
pear to be? 1t is not so long ago but that
the youngest voter can remember it that
the party was making a great outcry, and
very justly too, against what was known as
the salary grab. They made much CAPITA!
out of the fact that it was passed by Re-
publican congress and signed by Repub-
lcaD president, They pushed their oppo-
nents with it: they appealed to the voters
to rebuke the party responsible for it; they
carried states aud elected congressman on
that issue. What kind of comment is it
upon the sincerity of the professions then
made that two of the prominent candidates
for the highest Office the party has had with
in its gift for almost twenty years, are Fer
nando Wood and Samuel j. Randall, two
men who voted for the salary grab and
took the unearned money it appropriated ?
A year ago the people repudiated the
Republican party because it was false to
its professions, dishonest and corrupt.
What shall be said of the party which
comes into power and affronts common
honesty, common decency, and common
sense in such manner as this? Is there
no wisdom in the party councils? The
adoption of the initiation programme show
ed that the Democratic leaders thought
the people rogues. Do they think they
are likewise fools?