Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-04-22
A FOretAste OF Democracy.

A Foretaste Of Democracy.
There has been much said of the folly
or our present plan Of electing members
OF Congress year before they enter
upon their duties. But the plan has its
advantages. 1t provides for dumb.
show before the play, an argument at
the head of the poem, so that the spec
tator and reader may know what to ex-
pect, and govern himself accordingly.
The reaction which resulted in the Dem
cratic success Of last year has had the
excellent effect of disclosing the spirit
and purpose Of the party before it could
do any serious mischief; and by the
time that Congress assemblies the intelli-
gence Of the whole country will be alert
/ and watchful. The revelations which
have been already made show also the
superior conservatism of our popular
system to the English. In England a
general election Is soon followed by the
assembling of the House of Commons,
which is the real government of the coun-
try, and the party which has succeeded
at the polls comes ut once into full power
and responsibility.
| Nothing, however, is more evident In
the history of popular governments than
that elections may be carried by some
transient gust of excitement, SO that
the result cannot be held to represent
the real opinion Of the country. This
was especially the case in our elections
of the last autumn. They seemed to
show positive preference of Demo-
cratic ascendency, while no such prefer
ence existed In England the result
would have been that with the meeting
1 If In ru0o t,p~< 1nct Ln~ 4 An
Government would have passed wholly
| into Democratic hands, while the senti-
ment OF the country was not Democratic.
With us, however, there is 4 fortunate
| check. The other house Of the Legisla-
ture is unchanged in political sentiment,
and consequently the apparent change OF
public opinion does not avail to change
the great policy of the Government.
That can be altered only when the
change in sentiment is proved by its
pcrmanence to be real, and not Fictitious
or transitory and when that Is the case
1t will gradually renew the Senate.
This is very familiar point, but one
of the finest OF the American system,
which h much farther removed from q
French government of the pavement,
or street mob, than that of England,
where 1t Is fashion in some quarters to
sneer at the American Government as q
democracy. Now the distinction Of q
democracy is that it is q system in which
the will OF the majority, however ild
or willful, Immediately becomes law.
But while that is true of England, 1t is
not true of the United States. The
House of Lords, indeed, is theoretically
a check upon tins absolute and imme-
date rule of the majority. But it is
only so theoretically. The House of
| Lords has become mere ornamental ap-
pendage of the Legislature, and is never
permitted to withstand the Commons
upon any important question. Our SEN
| ate, upon the other hand, is a most vital
| and efficient restraining power, and is in
the Euest sense conservative. The Sen
ate, like the veto power, is a signal illus
| tration Of the wisdom of the American
system. They both assume that the ma
jority may sometimes be rash, passionate
and unwise; and that it might itself re-
greet TO morrow that it had had its I'M
restrained way to-day. Only those who
had had long experience of selfgovern-
ment, and had been trained in the tradi-
tons Of freedom, could have provided in
| a popular system such wise securities
| against abuses and evils inherent in it's
own nature.
1t is not an unalloyed mischief that
the Democrats did not at once assemble
as branch of the Legislature. They
would not, indeed, have been able to
control the Government, but their action
would have begun under false prctenses,
that is to say, before the country had
recognized precisely what they were.
| Fortunately this is now impossible. When
Congress meets the public will know the
real character of the party that controls
the House, and how much honest
reform, how much faithful adherence To
he amendments of the Constitution, is
TO be expected from it. Discomfort
among Republicans with some party
measures aud party chiefs, and the loud
Democratic clamor of dcnunciation, had
led many Republicans to suppose that
the Democratic party WAS really self-cOn-
victed of It's sins and converted and that
Democratic condemnation of Republican
errors was as loyal and sincere as that
of those Republicans themselves This
delusion has disappeared. The despcr-
ate Office holding contest which followed
| the Democratic success in New Hamp-
shire last spring; the election Of Cop
perheads" and political Bourbons to the
| Senate; the revival of the old and peril
Gus dogmas of sovereignty and seces-
sons the conflict in New York between
the two wings of the party; the perform
ances of the Democratic Legislature Of
| Ohio of which the Cincinnati Commercial,
an independent jou,lsl, says that ii will
| 20 out with the nastiest record in the
| history Of the State" the radical
| differences Of the party upon
the financial question and the
total silence as 10 any national pol
| icy should the party return TO power,
except that of letting the White League
| do az Ii chnnses-all thesc fhinps have