Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-03-13
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DEMocRArs 4 cREEnsAokERs.
How They are Making love In the
f Sixth District. Ei
From the Newton Journal,

The w0oing hawks Of the democra
cy in this Congressional District or,
just now piping up their sweetss
notes to induce the greenback dove
to join flocks with them and scttl,
down to peaceful relations for tn,
time to come. The preylng birds as
sure tho feathered inuocents that by
the process Of evolution, through
ages of dove diet, the hawk nature
has put on the attributes Of the dove
that they always had ! liking for tht
entire pigeon family anyway, thai
their beaks have become less crooked
and savage, and that there is nothing
now to hinder permanent union Of
the two classes III one tribe that shall
yet rule the entire fowl kingdom.
In other words the democrats oi
the 9Th Congressional District would
like very much to unite with the
greenback party, under any name
and with any set Of principles, 80
that the united party shall be called
democratic and hold to those same
old "time-honored' principles. The
self-sAcriflcing democrats are, indeed,
| willing to meet the party Of the sec
ond part more than half way, and sit
down. to love feast Of returning
prodigals and fatted calves, provid.
ing they shall then all get up and 70
over in body to the regular old
democratic camp. That certainly ID
a very reasonable and laudablo spirit
of conciliation.
And IL Barkis willing? That re-
mains to be seen. There is evidently
one of the Barkises who Is willing to
60 in any direction that leads to .
seat In Congress, and his name is
Weaver. But whether the man who
SO recently played the part Of q camp
follower can secure q sufficient fol-
lowing in his new party to make him
ofany value to the democracy when
he joins them, is another as yet unset
tied question.
At the recent Toledo Convention,
General Weaver was made an official
ofsome sort in the newly fedged ma
tional party, but that will not stand
in the way Of the little arrangement
with the democracy Of this district.
He is none of your narrow partisan
fellows. He is able to rise above
party with agility, even party of
national dimension, if the exigencies
demand it, and If the flop is likely to
land him in Congress. But whether
the new party, in all the pride and
glory of Its youth, will consent to
jump out Of itself and lose its identity
is still another open question.
Some great writer has said "When
I eat chicken, I don't thereby become
chicken, but the chicken becomes
me-" That is the style of the demo-
cratic reasoning in the proposed ia
king in of Gen. Weaver and his party.
1t will serve to gorge the hungry
democratic NAV a little, but the
whole body will be none the less
democratic.
See here what q leading paper of
that party says of it. This, from the
Bloomfield Democrat:
"The need for third party resem-
bles the necessity for fifth wheel to
q coach but the third party is here,
need or no need, and it's presence
cannot be ignored. The only relief
the country will get will be from
democratic legislation yet the third
party clamors for that which a demo-
cratic Congress has determined in ad-
vance to furnish. The third party
has furnished q convenient and easy
halfway house to those who Journey
ed away from the republican camp
and as soon as they are rested from
their journey they will resume the
march toward democracy. They
must get fairly off with the old love
before getting on with the new.
"
There should, of course, be exacted
of the candidate supported by the
democracy q pledge to support the
party organization in the formation
of the next Congress. The contest
there will be between tbs republicans
to regain control ofthe legislation of
the country, and the democrats to
hold the advantage they have won.
If the support of this democratic
journal is given to any Congressional
candidate not democrat, it must be
with the distinct understanding that
the action of the democratic caucus
binds him in the organization of the
House.