The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-12-23
The 4etl1ucrat.
DEFINING THE ISSUES.
CLEAR AND POSITIVE STATEMENT
OF DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES.
Senator Wallace on the ''GISSIOn Of
the Democratic Party"

y
governmental affairs from the intelligent
rule of the masses, and vested it in a
power as yet formative and undtfned.
Among these we're the civil war, the cre'
alton and peculiar manipulation of the
public debt, reconstruction outside the
constitution, universal negro suffrage,
q plethora of paper money, loose public
morals, enormous growth of private for
tunes, and close connection of the gov
ernment with the banking interest. Each
had it's weight in sapping the foundation
Of government by the masses, and in
shaping our course toward different
rule. Whether that rule is to be suf.
frage qualified and rare6ed, or suffrage
controlled by the power of aggregated
wealth or monopoly, or senatorial oli'
garchy or hereditary government, is be-
side the present inquiry, save as they
each and all show distrust of the people,
and build their foundations upon univer-
sal suffrage, debased, corrupted and do
minated.
The tendency toward a so-called stron-
ger government is as manifest as are the
causes that have given it form. 1t is in
the nature of things for government to
grow stronger at the expense Of the gov
erned; but the plain proof of the exist
ence of this tendency is found in the
opinions of the Federal judiciary in Fed
eTal legislation, over matters heretofore
within the control of the people of the
states, in the modes of execution of those
statutes by which local rule, local courts
and personal liberty are overthrowD;and
in that ramifcation of executive patron.
age which sends its mandates to the ex
tremities, and at will gathers in a single
hand enormous contributions and uD-
scrupulous obedience from ninety thou.
sand paid officials. Executive patron
age will bring us to master" A net
work of ofiCeholders, bound each to the
other, welding time, money and power
of place to pack primaries, dictate nomi.
nations crush independent thought and
action, and subordinate local control to
the will Of an executive who governs in
the name of party, points the road with
unerling certainty to the end that Fran
kiln, the wise man, predicted. Further
guide boards on that road are seen in
large donations Of money by corpora
tions, monopolists and wealthy men, to
supplement the power of the executive,
and carry lections in the interest of an
aristocratiC class who dislike and dis
trust the people; in the domination of
employe by employer; in the marked
ballot; in the third term candidacy and
pilgrimage on the stump; in the National
and Labor organizations, which are but
over jealous protests against this ten.
dency, and in that ill.ConCesled demand |
for energetic government, which has
been the fundamental thought of the
opponents of Democracy since the days
John Adams.
The issues of 1899 and 1900 again con.
front the people. The theories of that
day are again to struggle for the mastery.
The government Of the republic is al
ready centralized. The canvass OF 1880
teaches this. The federal executive has
been felt from the ward Caucus to the
vaults Of the treasury; from the primary
to the Presid ential election. A high
federal official quits his place to take a
for Governor of the pivotal
state, and at once the executive arm is
extended to his support. Marshss, de-
tectives, collectors and all else that are
needed, locate themselves within the
state, and it's suffrage debauChed, and its
undoubted will reversed. A suffrage,
first debased, then corrupted, then ODE.
dient, is Capitalization in its worst form.
This is but one means to the end sought.
The mission o. the Democratic party
is decentralization. Its duty is to re-
store the government of the republic to
the intelligent rule of the masses of the
people. 1t must teach and practice the
doctrines of its illustrious founder. 1t
must appeal to the people themselves in
their own interest. 1t must preach the
eternal truth the individual citizen is the
unit in government from whom proceeds
all power, in whom are vested all rights {
save those which are granted by him for
the good of the whole. The people at
,he base, the states and the federal gov
ernment each supreme within it's sphere,
Is the system to which it looks for liber J
sy, and it must teach that he who looks
10 paternal government, to Cenraliza-
ion, or to empire, looks to despotism.
Care for and perfectth government,an
L will protect the liberties Of the people,
was the thought of Hamilton. Give in.
jelligence and information to the people;
each them it is their government, and
heir interest to preserve law and order,
was the thought of Jefferson. Paternal =
government and vigor in the federal +
head on the one hand, information to '
he masses, and energy from the extrem.
ties on the other. The former gave the 4
republic alien and sedition laws, direc -,
oAhuOuB lou0IhI uhIbuhlb anu C6uITHllZ' | G
ID rule in l799 The latter swept these
'ut of existence in 1900; carried US sue. i
,essfully through two foreign wars; &C
luired an empire of territory, and gov.
'rned the country sixty years. We must
hoose between these now. The Democ.
aCy must again plant itself upon the AK
ON: Governments are made for men; o.
lot men for governments" 1t must be
rue to the people and aggressive in it's
ealty. Dominated labor must be ta1ght
ts rights and interests. Capital must q
go it's safety in the intelligence and jus. d
ice of individual rule, and not in the 6
xercise Of arbitrary will. Honest per. y
ormanCe Of every govern entail con- 4
ract now in existence; but change of q
policy by which the debt shall be man. 4
ged in the interest Of the people and a
lot OF the creditors, equal taxation on
very form OF property; thorough inquiry
Ito taxation for revenue, and its read.