Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-03-29
Political Periis.

Unquestionably very despond-
ent feeling pervades great many
well-meaning people, devoted Re-
publicans ST that, as to the future
OF Republican institutions in the
United States. This depression
arises from two causes. First is
the undeniable corruption which,
for the past eighteen years, has
pervaded every department of the
National government and most of
the State governments. AS far as
mere theory goes, the Republican
party is an admirable organiza.
ton. It's first national platform
was as full of sound Jeffersonian
doctrine as an egg is of meat.
Many of its subsequent platforms
have been sterling Democratic
documents. Free States, free
speech, free men, are sentiments
that laid near the heart of the
founder of the Democratic party,
Thomas Jefferson. But the fact is
that Republican performance has
been in inverse ratio to Republican
professions, and during the ascend
ancy Of that party we have wit
messed an amount of POPULATION,
malversation and official delin.
quency combined with hypocrisy
never before known on earth. We
have done in twenty years what it
has taken other nations centuries
to do. We have emulated the
speed of the modern railway and
telegraph in realizing the worst
Vaccinations of the early fathers
of the Republic.
As general thing the Demo
cratic party has carried out Its pro-
fessions to the letter; but there
have been notable episodes which
have shown that it, too, though
remarkably free from hypocrisy, in
some places has shared the general
political generalization.
These facts taken together form
the first serious danger to our in
situations. But the most imminent
peril lies in the development of a
very aggressive oommunistic spirit
on the part of the toiling multi
tude. If precisely tho same
state of things existed all over the
United States as prevails in San
Francisco to-day we would not
guarantee the perpetuity of the
American Republic for ten years.
We should he sleeping over vol
cano, liable to break forth in ire
sistible Eruption at any moment.
On the one side would be found ar
rayed the capitalist and property
holder, the man of thrift, who had
something to. lose. On the other
side would be ranged the poor
whose poverty daily leads them to
reflect more and more bitterly on
the special privileges showered so
literally on capital, and on the
disgusting treachery of the repre-
sentatives of the masses shown
until the Democratic party recov-
cred one of the Houses of Congress.
Iron want is a great sharpener of
the intelligence of mankind, and
the men in the United States who
can estimate to a fraction the eff
feet of unjust concessions to corpo-
rations and aggregated wealth can
be counted by the millions. They
are intelligent enough to see the
injustice to which they have been
subjected, but their Intelligence
often stops short OF the point of re-
alizing that only by contained,
moderate and prudent action can
they make this rightfully immense
power felt. Erratic movements,
like the Labor riots in the East
last year, are the result. Such de-
structiye ebullitions have the natu-
raj effect of frightening capital,
paralyzing it at the same time and
withdrawing it from productive
industries. The misery of the
masses is, consequently, increased
with the construction of trade, and
each party arms itself for the inev-
liable conflict. AS the ultimate
outcome, no matter which side is
successful, appears the Man on
Horseback. Jay Gould doubt
less gave voice to the aspi-
rations of large numbers of
the people of the United States
when he said that he would give
n million dollars to see Grant
Emperor. The victory of the cap.
italists would at once result in an
Empire, while the victory of the
masses, in an actual physical col
lision, would, by more indirect
and insidious process, have the
same upshot. The military leader
of the one side or the other, in such
u mortal conflict, would never let
the reins of power slip from his
grasp. 1t would be the old story OF
the First Napoleon placing the
statue of Washington in his ante
cha mber and intriguing for heredi-
tary supreme power.
About twenty years ago Lord
Macaulay, in letter to Mr.. Ran.
dali, the author of the popular life