Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-07-09
svsAs.ess Of w..k.s

tne work OF the Potter Investiga-
elon. The tone of the journals of
ghat party simply confirm an
cpinion long held by those who
have observed Its animus closely,
md that Is that no Republican can
10 wrong and no Democrat can do
flght-with the single reservation,
In the latter case, that any Demo-
cfat who deserts his party to join
the Republicans becomes instantly
AZ angel of light, while any Re-
publican who abandons his party
while In power, appalled, by its
hideous and general corruption,
becomes instanter something un-
speakAbly base. Those who have
read Glib bon's pictures of the war
ring factions in the degenerate
days of Byzantlum can scarcely
look without profound concern on
the attitude presented by par
Ties in the United States to-day.
The Republican party, il it is
ready to fight for the undisguised
'prstence it puts forth Of an abso-
Lutte ownership Of the government
Of the United States, is already as
far gone rs the most extreme of
the Byzantine factions. 1t sur
rounds it's position with all sorts
Of speclous cant, but the true ami
mus of its action lies in the senten-
tlous phrase, "Democrats have no
rights which Republicans are
hound to respect"
There is no use eeklng 10 dis
guiss the fact that the greater por-
tfon Of the Republican leaders
would go wild with joy over the
prospect Of shoddy empire with
Grant as Emperor. There are q
number of rich men in the East
who were exactly represented by
Jay Gould when he said that he
would give million dollars 10
have Grant Emperor
- These persons prate about order,
me rights of property, commune
lam, and 80 on to the end of the
chapter. They wish TO see the nose
of the poor Kept on the grindstone.
They think that Republic of one
hundred years. duration, deeply
imbued with ideas Of personal lib
erty and the emancipated destiny
of mankind, which were a sealed
book to the old Romans, would
permit its form Of government to
be changed without the most tre-
mendous struggle recorded in the
history Of mankind, struggle dur
ing which property and values
would be ground to powder, and In
which the dainty wearers OF kid
gloves and "biled" shirts would
be spitted like hares. Even the
Roman Republic-a Republic in
name according to modern ideas
did not give up the ghost until the
terrible struggles of Scylla and Ma
-rius. and Pompey and Cesar had
made q shambles of Rome and OF
the Roman provinces. These fool
ish rich men, who clanor for the
tranquility of despotism in an age
Of hair triggers, repeating rifles
and dynamite, fancy that the
transition could be made without
the most vocanio upheaval ever re-
corded, and that, too, in a country
which has forty or fifty leading cit
les and territory In which France
could be lost as easily rs a bundle
of needles in hay stack. Woe
bstide these people if they ever un-
dertake to carry out their pro-
gramme.
But we have too much confidence
in the good sense of the American
people, to think, for a moment,
that the masses propose to surren-
der the country TO the horrors Of
renewed civil war and inevita BILE
dIsmemberment. The whole
American people-nay, the whole
Republican party-sre not demor-
allied. Far from 1t. They recog-
nize the duty of the hour to be the
publication of our politics by
peaceful methods. The first step
In the reform alton Is the at least
temporary extrusion of the arro-
giant Republican party from power.
Were Republican to succeed
Hayes upon the heels of the frauds
Of the last Presidential election
the RepubIio w0nld hs hailed as
a farce. Villainy and unscrupul-
BUSINESS would be accepted as
the open sesame Of power. Politi-
cal black lie; We aid be invited to
new outrages upon the people. The
death struggle would come none
the lsss-i could not be avoided
and 1t would be lasting and mortal
but it would be begun with the
odds against the popular rights,
and their recovery would involve a
work Of blood and disorganization
appalling to contemplate. The
philosophy of the political situa-
tfon, IL the Republic is TO live
peace -ully, is to turn the Republi-
can party out CT power and repeat
the performance with its successor
on the slightest pretext. The peo.
ple should exercise their right OF