New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-08-24

cratic party never dies, and he just rises up ana
bowls the rim off his hat It tickled them almost
to death at Harrisburg to hear Stenger make
the statement. The discovery fairly taxes
rank with that of the old lady who summed
I'D the results of many years experience anu
observation with the remark that she had al
WAYS noticed that when she lived through the
month of February she always lived through
the wear. Other parties, Mr.. Stenger observed,
"rise and fall, come and go with the IDEAS
90 that called them into existence, but tne
Democratic party lives on amid all vicissi-
"tudes;r and then he added, in tone OF
manly defiance, "and our opponents may as
"well take notice from its vitality that while
"?arth lasts. like seed-time and harvest, DEM
"ocratic conventions shall not cease"
These are cheering words. No wonder the
Convention received them with wild applause.
This was no CambrOnne Leading tDe oiu
Guard into the jaws of death, with the defiant
exclamation which has passed INTO history as
- The Old Guard dies, but never surrenders.
This was Stenger, with the record ana career
of the Democratic party fresh III nina stem
ger, reminiscent of sixteen years OF continuous
defeats; Stenger, mindful of the fact that the
marty had been able in all this time 10 hOld
the same postion scarcely two years in sue
ccssion, and knowing that there was not
nlotform in all its accumulated rubbish that 1T
durst refer To and Stenger with all those MEM
cries crowding in upon him, flung mp his hands,
and said with historic accuracy: The Demo-
"cratic party surrenderS, but never dies" IL
seems at present to be absolutely true. The
fact that it never has died furnishes the best
reason for believing that it never VIII. SIN
there have been sicky seasons like that de-
scribed by the tavern-keeper in answer to "a
ouest's inquiry as to the health of the neigh
borbood: cts been quite sckly here this
"vear." said he "a good many folks have died
"tnat never died before :" and it must have been
a great comfort to the Pennsylvania Demo-
Gratis to be assured, upon the authority of such
a man a. Stenger, that the Democratic party
could and would go through just such seasons
AS that without winklng. 1t lives amld all
vicisstudes,r says Stengcr. And 1t does seem
to have skipped around among the vicisstndes
with good deal of animation during the past
twenty years. The one thing 1t has had an
abundance of has been viciSsitudes. The party
could contemplate them with much the same
feeling as the poor woman who had been
stinted all her life had when she saw the ocean
"Well.r said she. Pm glad to see something
"once that there's enough or" The Democracy
hasn't much of anything but viciSsitudes 10
look back upon, but it has "enough" of them.
Mr. Stenger gives the opponents of the Democ-
racy fair warning that Democratic cOnven-
tons shall not cease while earth lasts, and we
have seed-time and harvest. very careful
and very plucky statement it is, too. Observe
that what he threatens is the holding OF con-
ventions only. He doesn't hold out the hopes
of carving elections, but like the hen-pecked
husband under the bed who would peep so
long as he had the spirit of Il man. he says so
long as we have seed-time and harvest they
will convene and pass resolutions and nOml-
nate candidates. And very proper spirit 1t il.
too Only, speaking of seed-tIme and harvest,
it must have occurred to his audience that the
amount of seed-time the party is having is
out of all manner of proportion to the harvest
There's as great u lack of relation between the
two as that complained of by the thirsty searcher
after refreshment at the Old Orchard House,
who said he had never seen much piazza to
so little rum. But the great fact brought out
by Stenger is the immortality of the party. IL
has only lacked one letter of being immortal
these many years. Stenger has discovered and
inserted the t. And now 1T never dies" The
resemblance to those whose worm dicth not is
complete.