Mexico weekly ledger., 1879-07-03
THE PARTY.
Isy Gen. Tom Ewing.

Ten wears have passed since all
the constitutional amendments and
all legislation adopted or proposed
by the Republican party to secure
tie results of the war have been in
scribed on our statute books, admin
istered by the courts and acquIesced
in by the whole people but sectional
distrust, prejudice and passion are
still kept alive by that party, not for
your good, fellow citizens, not for
the security of the toiling millions,
black or white, North or South, but
solely by for party advantage. The
Republican party has thus become
the foe of that restored, harmonious
and prosperous Union for which the
best blood of the North was shed. 1t
has become the enemy of civil order,
promoter of discOrd, and the obstacle
to frAternal unity. For thirteen
years past it has Sc managed Il
debt, currency aid revenuc as to lift
the burdens Of government from the
shoulders Of the rich and the poor and
lay them on those of the industrial
classes, doubling the wealth of the
holders of money securities and
doubling the burdens of the people
grooming under the accommodating
load of debt and taxation. In all
this it has aimed to strengthen its re-
Taxing hold on power by enriching
privileged classes and corporations
whose means aud dispositions to sus-
tain it increase in the ratio Of the
impeachment of the massess. And
il has further fortified itself by usurp-
ing control of elections and the intro
duction of phrases National cleo
tons which were unknown to our
fathers, all Of which are monstrous
and intolerable ~usurpations, assum-
tons OF power of which if recognized
and established will tend to the utter
destruction of the beneiicent govern
ment established by them, under
which system all the powers of the
general government IRE strictly de-
fined and limited, the states and the
people reserving to themselves all the
power not delegated, and thus on
tinuing to be sovereign in a wider
sense than is even the government
they formed. There can be no doubt
that the obliteration of the reserved
tights of the people and states and
the absorption of them in the general
government regardless of the consti-
tuition is the controlling tendency and
most probably the final aim of Repub-
licanism. The policies by which the
MASSES have been Impoverished are
only steps towards the ultimate SUP
version of popular liberty and the
establishment in its stead Of the RUE
OF a monied a~ristOcracy. Never be-
fore in the history of this country
have the principles and methods OPP
posed to true Democracy been 81
boldly and powerfully maintained as
by the Republican party during the
last twelve years. Its long and firm
hold of rapidly expanding power
and the enormous growth of concen-
trated wealth have developed and ri
pened forces inimical to popular gov
eminent, until now, having reduced
the laboring masses almost to paul
perish, having stripped the middle
classes Of a large share of their wealth,
having learned how to exact enormOus
tribute from corporations it has en-
riched by unjust legislation, it seeks
by corruption to bride and by force
to overcome electors and thus to per.
petuate its power in utter contempt
of the constitution and of the free
and unbought sutIrages of the PEG.
pie.