The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1880-11-24
What Killed the Democratic Party.

y
bic reason why theDemOcratic partl
can never win a national victory. til
| that the youth Of the Republic i,
I not Democratic. The sons of Dem.
ocratic fathers have grown up Re
I publicans. SO long as slavery and
the war linger within the memory 0.
Americans, the youth Of the Repub
hc VIII continue 70 grow up Repub-
! licans md slavery and the war viii
/ be remembered as long as the pub
/ lie school system exists The pub
lie schools have slain the Democrat.
&c party with the textbooks.
1t is vain for statesmen TO declare
that there were as many Democrats
as Republicans in the Union Army
II is vain 10 affirm that the war for
the preservation of the Union could
not have been carried to asuccessful
close without the assistance Of the
| Democratic. party. IL IS idle for
| philanthropy to suggest that the At
titude Of that party toward the war
in the beginning was a humane one;
that it was inspired by the higher
and better wish that the causeof the
conflict should be peacebly remov-
ed, and the spilling of brothers
blood by brothers hands avoided.
The Democratic party has been
| ideally identified with slavery and
slaveholding. The Republican par
/ ty is ideally identified with emanci-
/ patton and the war. Therefore Is
/ the youth Of the country incapable
Of being Democratic. Therefore the
Democratic party can never win a
National victory. Its old men are
| dying away. The boys that catch
I the ballots that fall from their stiff
| fened hands are Republicans.
The fact cannot be denied. Il
viii do no good to quarrel with it.
| All other causes which have operat-
ed to diminish the number Of Dem
ocrats and increase the number OF
Republicans are insignificant beside
this one tremendous and invincible
fact. The curse of slavery has pois-
oned the blood and rotted the bone
of the Democratic party. The male
dictions Of the war has palsied It's
brain.
The young wife who held the babe
up to kiss the father as be hurried
to the tap of his departing regiment
has not sucked q Democrat The
weary foot Of the gray grandmother
who watched the children while the
wife was busy has not rocked the
cradle Of a Democrat. The chair
that the soIdier-fathCr yer came
back to fill has not been climbed
upon by Democrats. The old blue
coat that his comrades carried back
was cut up for little jockrr- hri not
one inclOsed the heart Of I-mO-
crat. The rattling musket that fell
from him with his last shot became
the thoushtless toy Of his boys but
not q hand that played with If was
the hand of a Democrat The babe
that he kissed crOwed and crowed
for his return, and its unwilling and
unanswered notes were not from the
throat of Democrat. The tear
soiled camp letters which the moth
er read aloud in the long, bitter
evenings while the boys clustered at
her knees did not fall upon Demo
cratic ears. The girls sobs, blend
ing with the mothers weeping, did
not make Democrats Of their broth
ers. Perhaps the father had been a
Democrat all his life
The children go TO school, there
Is not a Democrat on It's benches.
The first reader contains a portrait
of Abraham Lincoln-that kind Of.
sturdy face never made a Democrat.
On its simple pages. in words of one
OF two syllables, Is told the story Of
his birth and death That story
never made q Democrat. In the
pranks of the playground thatname
silences the frOlicsOme and makes
the iolliest grave. The name never
made a Democrat. In the pictures
that light up the geography are the
firing on Fort Sumpter and the
death of Ellsworth. These pictures
made 10 Democrats The first page
OF the history contains a representa-
ton Of the surrender Of Lee at Ap-
pomatox. No boy gazes on that
and ever avow5 himsclfto be a Demo-
crat.
In the higher grades the same
subtle and unresistable influence Is
at work. The textbooks contain
extracts from patriots speeches dur
ing the war. Those speeches MAKE
10 Democrats. The great battles are
briefly described the narrative has
10 Democratic listeners. The strain
of martial music runs through the
and that music makes no
Democrats. Sketches Of the great
generals are given; their brave deeds
arouse the enthusiasm Of the lads,
but there j. no Democrat among
them. The horrors and sutierings
of the slaves are told the madden
ed blood that mounts the boys
cheeks is not Democratic blood.
The curse Of slavery has pursued
the Democratic party, and has
bounded it to its death Therefore,
let it die and no lip VIII be found
to say a prayer over the grass On its
grave.
The late defeat need not be attrib-
uted to any other cause. Other
causes were at workout they were
only incidental. The tariff was one.
was q second. Let
well enough alone, was a third.
The October failure in Indiana was
a fourth. But all these were trivial,
and together could not have accom-
plished the result The result was
because the youth Of
the Republic Is not Democratic.
That party Is, therefore, without
future and without a hope. The
malediction Of the war has palsied
It's brain. The curse Of slavery has
poisoned It's blood and rotted its
bone. Let it die.-CRicag0 T.rss.
4 World Of Good.
n~o ,F 81. roo.1+ r,cvr7lar rupdI-