The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1880-04-24

10 m oid-tiHlc democrat, WHO hs'7
always kept the ancient democratic
faith, and whose loyalty to his party
has been egualled only by his pride IN
Its victories, and in The glory Of its
administrative history, there is some
thing in the weak-kneed, tirle-scrving,
irrcsolute and laundering policy in
jected into it Of late years by some of
its leaders, which is alike humiliating
and exasperating.
There can be no stronger evidence
of the ruinous character of this policy
than the fact that the republican party
though VIGOROUSLY disgraced BY itsnn-
disguised contempt for the wholesome
restraints of the federal constitution,
and by its dark record of venality and
corruption, is as strong to-day as it
ever was, and that this strength is due
solely to the audacity with which its
leaders have shaped and controlled its
course, and to the reckless courage
with which they have defended itevcn
when it was most indefcnsible. That
audacity and courage have never weak
cned nor wavered. Whether present
ing the strange Inconsistency of con
tending during the war that the seced-
ing states were nevertheless in the
Union, and of insisting afterwards that
they were out Of it, and had to be s're-
constructed" before they could get
back again; whether for years amusing
themselves in Congress by unseating
confcsscdy elected democratic and
seating defeated republican members;
whetherrobbing the colored ''wards of
the nation,n the Indians Of the terrific
ries, or the national, state and munich
pal treasures; whether stealing state
or the national government-no outrage
on constitutional liberty, no violation
Of law or deeeney, was too great mol
too conspicuous to weaken for one mo-
ment the desperate courage and sub
lime audacity with which its leaders
nassed and disciplined its forces, and
lied them in solid phalsnx against their
democratic foe.
For years and years the once proud
and chivalric democratic party has been
| lighting on the defensive. For years
it has been afraid of treading upon re-
publican toes. For years it has been
trying ito make record" on paper
instead Of on the field of battle. And
the inevitable and disastrous conse-
quence is that to-day it is. harrassed by
foes without and towards within, and
is handicapped inthe approaching race
for the presidency by a feRful weight
of public blunders, private dissenslons,
and palpable timidity and irresolution.
Its bitter thing to feel this, and
more bitter to say it, but unless demo
cratic journals, the watchmen on the
towers Of the democratic temple, have
the manhood to speak out and arouse
the democratic hosts to sense of their
peril and their duty, there will very
soon be no democratic party to lead
nor to follow. Here and there, alas,
how seldom, manly voice gives ont a
note of warning. Let it be taken up
by our brethren Of the press, and ring
through the ranks of our party. Let
us insist on manly assertion and main
tepance Of right principles, on party
unity and discipline, and on a fair field
and no quarter in the approaching
campaign. If we are men and demo-
Gratis Jet US be manly and trnet TO our-
selves and TO our party
A CouRT SQuABBLE. snit OF
s5shn A. Gheeyers vs.. Henry x. Duffel
presents severaIikaotty legal points for
d