Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-05-09
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
The VetO-Deu0CTatic Leaders Re
publican SOlidity--Graen-
hackers, &c.
From cur Regular Correspo dent.
WASHINGTON, May 6, 1879

hGpUu!lCdhS Win JOY anu DeLAO
Gratis with sorrow. 1t is amuSin
to look back only a few months a
the record of events. Every chalk
mark on the halls of time sine
Democracy was revived after tn
war, is a record of the blunders o
that party. Like the habitua
drunkard, this party sweays off ant
sobers up every season, and ust al
honest men are beginning to joir
in to help her along, away she goes
on new spree. A year ago every
one thought Democracy invincible
| but see her weakness ! When she
got near the citadel of power, and
her hordeS of place-seekers
tasted the spoils of office
in the atmosphere, then there
set in a tide of inordinate haste-a
clamor among the boys for office,
and there was no commander OF
talent to keep them back. This
party will not grant it, yet facts
show them to be absolutely without
leader-a band of bushwhackers
without a Captain. Certain men are
claiming to be leaders in this party
and think they are unusually smart,
but they have done some very bad
leading this spring. "When the
blind lead the blind they shall both
tumble into the ditch together"
In Pope's prophecy on the Demo
cratic caucus he says:
You beat your pa,es and fapcy wit
will come,
But knock ~ you will there's nobody
at home"
Now that a great confusion has
overtaken them, each one is
attempting to place the responsi>
bility on the other. The dough-faces
say it was the brigadiers and the
brigadiers say it was the dough faces.
Each wing of the party in turn,
gets out behind the woodpie to
curse the other. The party is all
confusion. The brigadlers are as
windy as an elephant with a re-
lapsed case Of the collie and the
cOnciliatOrs are running about
making a great many apologies for
what the boys in gray do and say.
Letters and kilograms flock in to
Washington from every source ad-
vising the Democrats to stop short
and get out at the first hole they
can find as they are almost ruined
now and will be eternally swamped
if this nonsense goes on.
On the other hand, the Republl-
can camp Is as solid and serene as
a meat-ax. Not a man moves out
of line. The President holds the
pilot wheel with a strong hand, and .
the great leaders of our party stand
shoulder to shoulder, waiting "for
the whites Of their eyes" The We
to message has won all hearts.
State Legislatures give thanks, and
sajutes are fired in its honor. No
good behavior Of the Democrats
can save them from the ruin Before .
them. They have bad record.
Election frauds, murders, unsea.ing
Congressman and seating thieves,
setting Union men back
and rebels forward, crying loudly
for reform from one door
while they flood US with useless in.
vestigation committees from the
other, saying, 'let US rest and
rccuperate," and before we can say
amen they are treating US to an
extra session and such disturbn
ance as has shaken the country
over and over, crying "fair play"
and at the same time making 4 very
slaughter-pen of the South and
driving bel pless citizens as refugees
from their native heath, preaching
honesty and praeticing ciphers,
crying, 'forget the war, and yet
up the skeleton of a dead
rebellion-the doctrine of States
Rights.
The greenback party, like pas
ture full ofyoung mules, is still jump
ing the fence, and when the country
retires to rest at night it never
knows in whose corn-feld this party
will be next morning.
The fleeing negroes of the South
are receiving due attention from the
loyal people of the North. a
meeting was held last night in this
city, at which stalwart speeches
were made by Senator Windam,
Secretary Gorham and others and
the loyal enthusiasm surpassed any>
thing | ever saw, The North is
wide awake on this subject.
Judge Houk has gained an en-
viable prestige in the House by one
or two valuable points he has made,
aside from his speech on the Army
bill. He brought to the attention
Of the Republicans, the
trick of the Democrats IN attempt
ing to destroy the power of civil
officers to keep the peace at the
polls by enacting section which
thew claimed alone referred to the