Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-02-17
DemOraIized Democracy.

The Democracy in the House of Representa-
tives are not commanding the undivided ad.
miration of the press of the country, and, after
making all due allowance for the inexperience
of some of them, and the long time thai others
have been out of legislative practice, we must
say that they are not entitled to much credit,
either for adroitness, or the expedition with
which they transact business. As regards par
liamentary tactics Morrison and Randall are
mere toys in the hands of Blaine, who, wheth-
er entitled to be called a profound statesman,
or not, is one of the best parliamentary strate-
gists in the country. At almost every point
the Democrats have been out-maneuvred, not
withstanding their superior numbers. Blaine
has his men well in hand, and manages them
certainly with skill and ability. There is
much gained by the party in contest which
draws first blood; the Maine statesman sue
ceeded in this, and his opponents became
crestfallen. They have not recovered from
the shock they sustained, and it is not likely
they will during the present session. They
will fight shy when they know they are in
constant danger of falling into some pit which
their adversaries have dug for them. Morri-
son made one of the worst blunders last week
that any one could possibly have made, when
he denounced a man as a scoundrel because
he had entered the Confederate army with the
view of securing the liberation of brother
from a rebel prison, and then deserting. He
saw his mistake when it was too late, and the
members of his own side of the House were
astounded. He retraced his steps, however,
and the House voted unanimously, we believe,
to give the 'scoundrel a pension, who had
deserted from the rebel army, not, however,
because he deserted from it, but because he
was afterwards disabled in serving the Union
cause.
The Commercial -Adcertiser of New York is
rather severe in its criticisms on the unterri-
fed in their present State and condition. 1t
thinks ''the condition of the Democratic party
to-day must be very humiliating to those who
have been dreaming for the past fifteen years
of the noble deeds that would be accomplished
when it should come into its own" The
Democrats have noble record, and ''glorious
traditions" but the spectacle which they ex-
hibit in Congress to-day is sad and ,sickening.
''The grand old party with its magnificent
history and record, is without brains, charac.
ter or leadership. The curse of treason is upon
it, and now when it should be renewing the
successes Of the past, as the time and situation
ic Shoff
ized, drifting along at the mercy of every lit
tie narrow-minded demagogue who puts him.
self forward"
The World says that feuds in party always
precede its destruction. This we believe is
verified by the history of the past. A house
divided against itself cannot stand it; it must
fall. This being so, the Democratic house
does not give promise of stability and perma-
nence, for it is divided upon almost every i'm
portant national question, while numerous
local feuds greatly distract the party in differ
ent parts of the country. 1t might have been
supposed that its frequent defeats and the
great length of time it has been out of power,
would have cemented its members firmly to-
gelner, Dut Iney navel not. inere are person
al jealousies and rivalries in it, which if not
abandoned must in the end prove disastrous.
Even on the floor of the House of Repre-
sentatives the personal jealousies and rivalres
sometimes crop out. Both the Northern and
Southern Democrats evince considerable SER
sitiveness on the subject of leadership, and
there is a constant strife among them for pre-
eminence. But they are besides greatly di-
vided on questions of finance, retrenchment
and public policy. One is in favor of an un-
limited issue of paper money, another wants
nothing but gold for the circulating medium,
one believes in the doctrine of a protective
tariff, another declares there should be tariff
for revenue only; in short, upon every i'm
p portant subject there is a great diversity of
opinion among them, and we cannot see how
in their present demoralized and divided con-
dition they will be able to achieve any thing.
L Pittsburgh Dispatch.
What is the difference between hill
and pill? One is hard to get up and