The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-03-18
Cas staA qamy eronat Canton to gnmsag geh 1s 1885,

ana unCOnsuJuJlOnal legislation lOr Jne
South while the Third-Term bill was
pending, the other day denounced the
measure through his Washington organ
as silly piece Of "sentimentalism" which
a "white-feathered" Congress had en-
acted.
The Force or Third-term bill, to con-
fer upon Grant full power to re-elect him
self every four wears until he should be-
come weary of the Presidential office, was
next introduced into the House; and
passed under the whip and spur of thu
caucus by the votes of 1856 Republic
members. Here the counsels ofthepuuy
began to divide. Eighteen or tw,.ty
Republican members were, some of EN-,
too shrewd, and others too honest , vote
for that reasonable measure, am on the
terrible next morning" after ne pas
sage of the bill by the House, ne mem
bers possessing more than n very small
pinch of brains who had yoed for the
bill woke up to realize that loe bill would
not be allowed by Democratic Senators
to pass the Senate, and that in fact they
had committed almost certain political
suicideby voting for iUa all. From Sun
day morning, February %, until the noon
Of Thursday, March j, Republican Con-
gressmen were III panic wherein they
did all sorts of inconsistent things and
finally adjourned, leaving the people at a
loss to know what the party thinks or
purposes to do in the future. Kellogg
whom the Senate Committee on PriVi-
leges and Elections two years ago declared
to hold the officer of Governor of Louisi~
ana illegally, was recognized by the
House, while Sheridan, the Democratic
candidate for Congressman-at-Large from
Louisiana in the election of 1872, was ad-
mitted to his seat in the Forty-third
Congress on the day before its final ad-
journment. 1t goes almost without say
ing or demonstration that either Kellogg
was elected Governor and Pincnback
Congressman-at-Large, or that McEnery
was elected Governor and Sheridan Con-
gressman-at-L Large, in 1872. Did the Re-
publican members by whose sanction
this contradictory action was taken in
tend thereby to signify their approval of
honest political dealing with the South,
or OF the old policy of unfair political
dealing TO which the party is 50 firmly
committed by the whole of its past rec
ord? The action taken on the Force bill
was contradicted by the accept mce Of
the Arkansas Committees report and by
an intimation to Grant that he must re-
frain from meddIing in the affairs of hat
State which the House had Just voted
him the power to subject to military rule
by suspension of the hdJed8 corpus writ
Many Republican members who had vo-
ted for the Force bill voted for Poland's
Arkansas resolution. By which of those
acts are the people to ascertain the views
of these Republican members in regard
to the party's future Southern policy?
And, if by the later, whom are we to ac-
cept as representing the Republican par
ty, the sixty odd Republicans who voted
for Poland's resolutson or the eighty who
voted for Wards resolution authorizing
Grant to carry out the programme set
forth in his Arkansas message, and to
overthrow the Government of Arkansas
at ,he point of the bayonet? Further
more, in fiscal affairs, upon what record
does the party purpose to 60 before the
country i'll the next elections, its promise
and its sham performance of economy in
public expenditures, or the passage by
both houses of Congress of the Bounty
bill, by which it was proposed, in eff
feet, to increase the national debt to the
extent of more than 00,000?-its
platform promises of economy or its bur-
den of $3O,0O0,000 more taxes imposed
upon the people by Congress just before
its adjournment. In short, who are the
Republican party, and what does it pur-
pose to do2 If Grant and his thick-and-
thin following are the party, what do re-
spectacle Republicans propose to do un-
der the circumstances, and if Grant and
his carpet-bag and Radical following are
not tina party, how does the party expect
to get along without them? And finally,
did the Republicans who turned out to
the best of their ability in New Hamp-
shire on Tuesday, mean topro"laim thor
ough going Grant and Butler men, or
soreheads, followers of Wilson and
Blaine? If Democrats out of power are
reasonably asked for unanimous policy,
much more reasonable is it that the Re
publican party in power should declare
whether in fact it repents Of and will
abandon its past courses, or will support
Grant through thick and thin, in all his
desperate party and personal politics.
r. l,1o