The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-10-07
The Record Of Democracy.

When the war was in progress for the
suppression of the Rebellion, inaugur-
ated and pursued by Southern Demo-
Gratis, the Democratic party at the
North held a National Convention at
Chicago, in the summer of 1864. That
convention declared the war, on the
part of the Government, to be Z" q fail
ure to restore the Union" and de-
manded "that immediate efforts be
made for a cessation of hostIities, with
q view to an ultimate convention of the
States. or other peaceable means, to
the end that at the earliest practicable
moment peace may be restored on the
basis of the Federal Union of the
States" At this time the resources of
the rebels were nearly exhausted. and
the Government was moving upon
them with force that carried with it q
rational certainty of speedy success. It
was then that the Democratic party de-
clared the war "a failure" and de-
manded that the Government of the
United States should seek to negotiate
with rebels in arms against its authori-
ty. These rebels were to be invited to
join in a convention with the loyal
by to be sought. 1t is no wonder that
the people, including the army. secuted
and scorned the pusillanimous PROPOSE
ton, and swept the field with an over
whelming political defeat of General
Mcclellan, who ran as the Democratic
candidate for President. The offense
committed by the Democratic party. in
the circumstances as then existing,
ought to be regarded as politically an
objectionable sin.
This same party, in its National Con-
vention of 1868, demanded the taxation
of Government bonds, in direct contra
vention of the Nations contract with
its creditors. 1t declared the Recon-
struction acts of Congress to be ''usur-
pations and unconstitutional, revOlu-
tionary and void" 1t further declared
that 'where ' the obligations of the
Government do not expressly state upon
their face, or the law under which they
were issued does not provide that they
shall be paid in coin, they ought in
right and in justice to be paid in the
lawful money of the United States"
meaning thereby Greenbacks, which
were themselves only one form of these
obligations. Horatio Seymour, rs the
Democratic candidate, was placed upon
this platform of infamy and dishonor;
and the people, by q large majority,
decided that the day had not come TO
trust the Government in Democratic
hands.
In 1872 Democracy was SO demoral-
lied that it dare not take Presidential
candidate from its own ranks, or frame
platform for itself. In its Conven-
and the platform of the Liberal Repub-
cI hal af
Cincinnati. Horace Greeley, the life
had said more hard things about the
Democratic party than any other man
in this country-had the weakness to
seek its nominations; and the party, as
an organization, welcomed him to its
bosom and tried to elect him. The
great body of the people were filed
with inexpressible disgust at such an
unnatural and false coalition. They
both pitied and condemned "poor
Greeley" and thoroughly despised the
Democratic party. The signal defeat
which followed was simply the fore
gone conclusion of popular contempt.
The American people were not made up
of such stuff as this senseless coalition
assumed.
The Democratic party, having in
Congress opposed the Resumption Act
of 1875, and thereafter denounced it as
the sherman sham," in 1876 demand
ed in its National Convention the re-
peal of this act, and after this passed in
the House of Representatives . bill re-
pealing the act, and would long since
have repealed it if all branches of the
had been in its hands.
The act still lives, and has done its
great work of beneficence in maintain
ing the public credit and reviving the
prosperity of the country; not by the
favor or even the tolerance of the Dem
ocratic party, but in spite of its per-
sistent opposition thereto. The party
has been a continuous grumbler against
this act. Had it been in power, the
great financial blessings of resumption
would have been postponed to remote
day.
This same party comes before the
in 1880 with General Hancock
for its Presidential candidate and with
the Solid South for its right wing and
center. 1t asks the great North and
West to give at least forty-seven Elect
oral votes for its candidate, calculating
that the one hundred and thirty-eight
Electoral votes of the Solid South,
made sure by bulldozing, false count
ing and ballot-box stuifing. will then
do the business and place the party in
power. All the experienced statesmen
Of the party are passed by. and Dem
ocratic Union General is selected as
in the hope that his
fame will somehow drag
this pro-slavery, peace-at-any-price.
anti-reconstruction and
ti-specie-resumption party safely
through the mire and dirt of
its own history. General Hancock
has been nominated for this rea-
son and for no other. He has no civic
experience worth mentioning; and the
little that he has had is not to his
credit. We have nothing to say ad-