The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-08-22
MORAL TENDENCIES OF POLIT-
ICAL THINKING.

lCAL THIN NAINGs
Reading letters from Paris and
studying as carefully and dispassion-
ately as we may the effect of the pres
ence OF Americans among the most
civilized populations of Europe, we
are still doubtful whether the Repub-
lie maintains its lofty promises =
whether those of its youth be realized
in its advancing years, whether Ameri-
ca ennobles or vulgarizes the world.
The Republican leaders and party of
the North have always declared, es-
pecislly when contemplating the
charms of Tammany, that in the North
intelligence, decencY and morality es-
pecially distinguished their own ad-
herents. Vulgsrity, coarseness and
vice were peculiar to the masses of
Democrats. This simple fact, aside
from any theories of government or
plans of administration, has often i'm
PEELED thinking, educated people to
prefer an alliance with the Republi-
cans. Especially are these facts con-
spicuous in the East rather than in the
West. On the contrary, it is true in
the South that almost the whole polit-
ical force of intelligence and capacity
for tasks of governments are discovered
in the ranks of the Democratic party.
The tendency of these facts, to say,
nothing of the war upon capital and
industry prosecuted by labor reformers
and communists, is to reconstruct
parties and change their relations to
one another. Ignorant, incapable,
excitable throngs, including the ne
groes, of course, are invelgled here
into an alliance and thorough co-opera-
ton with the destructives and enthusi-
asts of the Radical party. If these
tendencies continue to operate, while
original issues separating the old par
ties are no longer discovered, 1t must
surely result that thorough partisan
changes will be wrought by which
people of the same general degree of
culture and tastes and training will
lapse into the same organization. Every
where men are arraying themselves as
classes and as races against one another.
We retain the old words Democrat and
Radical, but they have lost, to great
extent, their original meaning and be-
come rapidly as significant of the in
telligence and taste of men as of a form
ulated partisan creed. Here, as in
Paris, we see nothing to make US re-
jolce that the standard of taste or good
morals is elevated or that It's course is
upward. On the contrary, the stand
ard of personal and public decency and
representative intelligence, as illustra-
ted by Americans in Europe and in
most popular convocations at home, is
surely no higher than half century
ago. Here, unfortunately, what
ever the facts at the North, igno-
rance and incapaclty are rap
idly consolidated against decency
and intelligence, and while we antici-
pate no possible local dangers, since
farming populations are ever most con-
servatiye, one cannot help fearing that
Pittsburgh and other riots are but the
beginning of the end contemplated by
such fellows as Kearney. Even here
in Austin crazed enthusiast, whose
intelligence is greater far than that of
the partisan body he represents, has de-
clared in public assembly that the
negroes were transferred en- mdSse to
the Greenbackers and that these, for
the present, proposed to win power
under the country's laws, but that win
supreme power they would. How
wisely they would use it is shown by the
folly of this speech of their wisest
leader. We greatly fear that letter.
writers from Paris criticize justly the
intelligence and decency and lmpu-
dence of the average American, and
that Radical mastery and Radical
knaves and Radical schools have done
nothing to elevate and refine and every
thing to degrade the people of the
United States. The conversion of these
Radicals into Greenbackers has ele-
waited their tastes and purposes in
nothing and patriotism can only deplore
the folly of sane men who now and
then cooperate with these people.