National Republican., 1880-08-10
THE WORK OF Mun-sIIxeINa.

Since the recent popular demonstrations
of favor for the republican cause in the
state and city of New York-which ire re-
garded on all hands as auspicious omens of
the campaign-the democrats are opening
their batteries for mud-slinging alresh, es-
pecially at the national capital. Maddened
by the shadows of defeat that are becoming
broader and thicker upon the democratic
prospect, disheartened by the iueflicency of
their attacks upon General GARFIELD, dis
concerted by the steady and certain growth
of republicanism throughout the north and
west, dismayed at the prospect ofinevitable
defeat in November, the democrats are now
turning away from their hopeless pursuit of
GARFIELD and are training their mud ma
chimes upon General GRANT aud his friends.
To this service they are heartily welcome,
for he is far out of the range of their dirty
armament.
1t is perfectly proper for them in their
disgruntlement to bring MCDONALD to the
front with his stale stories of corruption
through the methods of the "whisly ring"
in which he himself figures rs the arch ras-
cal, if his own statements are to be credited.
Nobody cares now what he or anybody else
may say about the "whislly ring" for no
one yields any credence to the stale stories
of confessed criminal, who seeks now to
divert public attention from his own per
fidy by "squealing," as the term goes
| against others in the hope not of extricating
himself, but of making Others appear
as corrupt as he has imself been shown to
be. This is the old dodge of the convicted
offender and it will fall with dead weight
far short of the object of its aim. The con-
fessons of MCDONALD are now published
for the purpose of besmirching Others, and
his readiness to make a clean breast of his
own participation in fraud only heaps con-
tempt upon himself and breaks the force of
his testimony against Others. His is a sad
instance of selfabnegation TO besmirch
those who have in an unfortunate moment
yielded any degree of confidence to such q
wreck of human integrity.
We congra tulate the democratic mud
singers on this new field of enterprise
now stored in their magazine that has been
burned over and over again during the last
five years. They are at liberty to bring all
their mud-machines to tho front and park
them against the whisky ring" with their
most skillful engineers. They can rake
from the purlieus of Shiny defamation all
the filth that they can reach; they can
crowd their mud-machines with this filth
to their utmost capacity, and those only
who do its handling will be besmeared by
its projection. 1t is q fitting and harmless
employment and it is to be hoped that the
democrats will devote themselves assidu-
ously to the dirty work they have in hand.
The people have no time to consider the
calumnes of the democratic organs. They
have higher and nobler purpose Of action.
They are now engaged in the paramount
work of preserving this government from
becoming prey to the vile rapacity of the
democratic tiger who presents his lean and
Caunt form in search of plunder at the
national capital. They are not to be di-
verted from the work Of providing for the
national safety and welfare by the playing
of the mud-machine.