Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-06-28
ALYING PLATFORM.

ALYING PLATFORM
The platform of political convention IS
commonly supposed to represent the views of
the people there assembled, as representa-
tives of the party at large to which they be-
long, OH living issues upon which the people
will be called to act. The absence of declsr-
atoms on such issues in the formal platform
may be taken, therefore, as in indication OF
a lack of policy in those issues. II party
ignores all the important, living questions
before the public, and INDUCES simply in
meaningless platitudes glittering general
distributing simply to questions that have
passed away into forgettulness or have been
permanently settled by the logic of events,
it must be accepted as a fact that that party
either has no policy applicable to the issues
of to-day, or if it has is too cowardly to an
nounce it.
The tumble of self-gratulation and curses
of Democrats adopted by the Republicans OF
Illinois az a platform on Wednesday, is
striking example of the lengths to which a
party without principles is apt to be carried.
It is useless to speak of the senseless and
dishonest assertion that the Democratic party
is composed of rebels and rebel sympa-
thizers, and cannot safely be trusted with the
affairs of government. The assertion is alb
solutely false the deduction idiotic. AS to
the ''grossly partisan character and general
incapacity and lack of honor and patriotism
of the Democrats in Congress, the people
must be allowed to Judge. Suffice it to an
swer that the Democracy are per-
fectly content to have their record
spread before the people contrasted
| with that of the Republicans,
| feeling confident of the verdict: "Well done,
| good and faithful servants.
After declaring, in the language Of the
| Democratic conventions for the past ten
| years, opposition to the further contraction
| of the greenback circulation, the convention
goes on to make the astounding declaration
that they "favor such currency being received
for import duties and deprecate the defeat OF
the recent bill for that purpose by the Demo
cratic House of Representatives" We are
at loss to know whether to attribute this
sentence to the ignorance Oh dishonesty OF
the platform makers. 1t is astonishing that
representatives of great party should have
proved themselves so inexcusably Ignorant
| or SO palpably dishonest as to assert as fact
that which the records of Congress
not yet month old, proves to be absolutely
and unequivocally false. MI. Forts bill au-
thorizing the employment of greenbacks II
payment of customs duties, and for the pur
chase of four per cent. bonds, was passed BY
the Democratic House of Representatives OF
the 10th of the present month, and sent tx
the Republican Senate for concurrence
Nearly every Democrat in the House voted
for it. 1t lay in the hands of the Republi
can Senate committee on finance till the 1871
inst, when Senator Voorhees,, of Indiana,
Democrat, according to the record, moved tt
lay aside the pending order, being the calen
dar and all prior orders, and gave notice tina
he made that motion for the purpose OF tax
ing up the House bill to provide for pay
ment of custom duties in legal tender notes
Agreed to, yeas 33, nays 10.
Senator Voorhees, then moved to take "
the House bill in regard to payment of du
ties as above mentioned.
Senator Conkling, Republican, raise
the point of order that it could not be lai
before the Senate without violation of rule 8.
This point of order threw the bill owe
to the next session of Congress. Instead
therefore, of the Democratic House having
J defeated the bill, it is the Republican Ser
, ate which should come under the cor
, domination of the Illinois Republican pla
3 form.
r Such gross perversion of facts for pa
| tisan ends is disgraceful and inexcusabl
When party is obliged to resort to dow,
Q right falsehood, charging faults upon i
Q adversary for which itself is responsible
o for political capital, it is time that it shou
Q be retired permanently from the field. II
= shallow clap-trap by which it seeks to ca
4 odium upon the Democrats for their cour
i during the war, and arrogate to Republica,
t all the credit of the suppression of the r
9 bellion, cannot save it from the contem
to which it's gross falsehoods entities it.