Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1876-07-27
Democratic Reform.

After all the agitation, after the pro-
nounced stand taken by the party press,
after the absolute proof of peculation
by the judges of the supreme court, the
democratic central committee hastens
to white-wash them and to keep them
in their places. The job is done in a
flimsy and bungling way, but it is done
with heavy effort. Petit is ruled off
having withdrawn from the party, but
Judge Downey, who resigned, has an
intimation that he had better run.
This result is not unexpected to those
who have watched the course of the
Democratic party in this state and are
familiar with its management. The
managers are unable to rise to the
hight of the people. Clinging to policy
and not daring to make a higher flight,
they declare that it would be dangerous
to effect change. Besides one or two
of the judges know too much and might
make things lively if driven into COR
ner. The opportunity they have put
aside was a glorious one. The party
would have gone before tn people say
ing, 1--WE found corrupt men had come
upon our ticket, and we put them off. -
The fact would have been worth thou
sands of votes 1t would have been ia
ken as an evidence o. progress and pu-
rity, as guarantee That necessary re-
forms would be worked out by a
renewed Democracy. But all that is
past. The judges are white
washed; they remain upon the
ticket. You are asked to vote for them
if you want reform and all that sort of
thing. A pretty party this is to ask
for support on the ground of being a re-
former, when it does not cast out the
evil in itself. There are the vouchers,
undenIed, indisputable. They show
gross extravaganza, which is bad; but
they also show expenditures of public
money for private purposes and with
out the shadow of authority by law,
which is worse. The party press has
honestly and courageously deman-
ded the removal of these men from the
ticket. but the central committee says
No." and coolly tells the people there
is nothing the matter, it is all mis-
take, the judges have only followed an
indefensible precedent, set by the for
mer republican supreme court, in in
curing certain expenses not sanction
ed by law; that these were inconsidera-
bic in amount, and that while the ex-
penses of the court were less than those
of their predecessors, they had done a
vast deal more labor This is the
way the democratic managers begin
their reform and show the spirit that
animates them. 1t is not very consol-
ing to those people who have hoped that
that party had become imbued with the
spirit of honesty ana would show itself
better than its rival. Perhaps the mass
of the party may, but its leaders do not.
We want to see what the Democratic
papers have to say about this and
whether they intend to submit and
have their words forced down their
threats. As for the people there will
be- enough of them who will not be
dragooned or wheedled into wrong-do-
ing, to snow these candidates under in
October so deep that no political resur-
rection will ever bring them to the front
nj -
form no one wants any of it. If we
must be governed by selfish, partisan
and dishonest motives economy sug-
gests the ACCESSIBILITY of keeping the
old masters to whom we are somewhat
accustomed. If Indiana Democracy is
of this sort, what guarantee or assur-
ance have we that national Democracy
is or will be any better.-Ind. Netcs.