The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1876-03-29
Light Ahead.

The Republican party has been too
( strong in the United States for its own
good. For more than ten years it con-
trolled every department of the Federal
| Government, and had possession of nine
tenths of the local State governments.
| Under this state of affairs il became too
self-impOrtant 1t grew fat and kicked.
It's officers began TO look too much to
! personal emolument and to neglect the
| rights and interests of the people. Cor
ruptions of a grave and serious nature
have crept in, and have been practiccd
! by men who, feeling sure there was no
danger of party defeat, had little fear
of exposure and disgrace. The leaders
first saw that very large majority of
| the people of the Union were Republi-
can in principle, they felt equally cure
! that the Democratic party was dead, or
had rendered itself so very unpopular
that the people would never again en-
trust it with power, and they ventured
beyond the bounds of prudence in en-
riching themselves and building up their
private fortunes at the expense of the
people.
For two years now things have been
wearing a different aspect. The people
have been showing signs of restlessness
and dissatisfaction. They begin to COM
plain bitterly of hard times, and are be-
ginning seriously TO suspect that those
they have trusted with the affairs of the
Nation have in many cases proven rec
reant To their trusts and have violated
the laws of honor as well as the laws of
the country. The people, in conse-
quence of this distrust, are beginning to
break away from party allegiance; they
are beginning to see and to feel that pro-
fessional politicians are as a rule selfish,
INSCRIPTIONS tFicksters, and they are
paying less and less attention to mere
party names. For couple of years the
two political parties have been running
neck and neck in most of the States in
which elections have been held. The
Presid election which comes off
this fall will be won by one party or the
other by such a small majority that the
victor will not dare to use its triumph
ASA 'N~Aa4o@@ Va NV POipooCn. A pow
erful, vigilant opponent will be standing
outside watching, ready to take advan-
tage of any mistake that may be made
quick to detect fraud, and loud and
noisy in its exposure.
So that in any event, whether the Re-
publican party is again successful or
whether the Democrats shall beat them
and take possession of the Government,
we are apt for the next four years to
have more economical and much
more honest administration of affairs
than we have had for years. When two
great parties are about equally balanced
in our country, the one in power is OBJ
liged to be on its good behavior. 1t
cannot afford to be extravagant or cor
rupt. Its opponent is noticing it with a
sieepless eye, ready TO hurl it from pow
er if it should in any way betray the
trust confided to it, or trample upon the
rights or interests of any of the people.
This we think is about the condition of
political parties in our country now.
Which party will win next fall we can
not say. But we believe the days of ex-
travagance, fraud and corruption are
numbered. Let us thank God for the
light ahead, and take courage for the
future. Better days are coming