The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1876-08-03
DEMOCRACY.

so completely without meaning of any kind,
still more correct we would be if we said that
no word has so many absurd and inconsistent
political meanings.
We frequently hear such expressions as "a
staunch old Democrat, "a life long Demo
crat, "Unwavering Democrat, ETC. etc,
and we at once know that those to whom
these terms are applied, are men who do not
reason either in their own minds or with their
fellow men, but doggedly bandaging their
eyes and closing their ears blindly vote for
anything and everything that few leading
political tricksters set up for them, only ask
| ing that the dose, whatever it may be,
shall be labelled, Democrat. Many other
names such as Free Soil' Democrat,
Tariff Democrat, &c, represent certain men
with fixed principles, who do reason, and
where these principles are consistent with a
! free and Democratic Government, and sound
for the best interests of our country, these men
will be found at the present day in accord
with the Republican party Whereas ''Slav-
cry Democrats, " Free trade Democrats, -
|
controllers of the present Democratic party,
and it is they who furnish the bandages to
the stupid "Staunch" Life Long ones
Take Monroe county for a sample, she always
has, and always will give an enormous major
ity for the so-called Democratic party. She
does not stop to ask what are the principles
that the Democratic party of to-day is advo-
eating; il never occurs to her to compare the
principles of the two parties, and see which
is most in accordance with her own views;
the fact that an immense majority Of the
free, American, intelligent, people of the
Northern states vote Republican, is matter
not worth the considera ton of Monroe coun-
ty, she refuses to reason, she refuses to argue,
she does not take the trouble even to read
the names on the tickets, she simply, and
bIindly votes for whatever may happen to be
called Democratic. Ask one of her voters
what are his politics. he answers I'm a
Democrat. What do you mean by Demo
crat? ?" Il mean I'm a Democrat and
that's all you can get out of him. He don t
know, don't care, won't argue, won't listen,
won't reason,-he knows one thing only. He
is Democrat It's no use talking to him,
for though he cannot deny any of the great
solid truths of the Republican party, he will
conclude by the only argument his prcjudiced
knowledge box contains I'm a Democrat "
Now approach one of these Life Long
Democrats, and, carefully abstaining from
any polictical illusions, converse with him on
some of the principal issues of the day. Take
the hard or soft money question, the Tariff,
the church and state, the states rights the
unsectarian school, the negro, or any Of the
unsettled questions of the day. and get his
views on them, you will find that nine out of
ten will express their opinions ex actly as sup
ported by the Republican party, and exact in
contradiction to the Democratic party And the
same man will tell you FIVE minutes afterward
that he is a Democrat The real truth is
that he is Republican, and if these issues
were fairly presented to their readers by the
political journals, and if the people actually
voted in accordance with their true prin-
ciples, Monroe county would give as large a
Republican majority as she does now give to
the so-called Democratic.
In what manner are the political questions
of the day presented to the voters Of Monroe
county, principally through the Monroe
Democrat All the true issues of the canvass,
are carefully excluded, just criticism never
| permitted, but column after column of politi-
cal ''Slush'' ''Clap Traps''-a paper that
says in so many words that Gov Hayes en-
dorses Belknap Gan honest Republican
endorsing a Democratic thief!!l) This is
the kind of stuff that makes "Staunch Old
Democrats.
Gov. Hayes, honorable man that he is,
asks of the Republicans that they will be
calm, and discuss the questions before the
country in brother like manner
This does very we'll for Ohio, where people
vote according to their honest convictions,
and where the political papers are compelled
by their readers to keep somewhere near the
truth
In this county a different course is neces-
sary 1t is the duty of Republicans to take
every opportunity, and throw the errors of
the Democratic party into the teeth Of every
Democrat they meet No use for mild words,
here, our opponents are Safeguarding us in
every way they can. Let US show them where
the thieves are really to be found. Let us
show them where rebels are to be found,
where every hater of good government and
every despiser Of the Union is found, and by
so showing we will at least bring our people
to give our side a hearing, certain that fair
hearing will be equivalent to conviction, at
least to all Democrats" who at the same
time are willing to be considered "Ameri-
cans. The Irish Jesuitical vote is ofcourse
in the hands of its priests, and consequently
solid for the Democratic party, so is the
German Roman Catholic vote The vote of