New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-15
THE DIGESTION TRUiY STdTED

Senator Mcdonald, of Indiana. in speed
at the Manhattan Club reception Tuesday
| evening, made this statement " For twenty
years the affairs of this Union have beef
d" administered by party which never under
stood the true theory of our Government
during that tune the Democratic party ha,
IS nlggled to maintain tile fires of true
"Democratic sentiment up the affairs OF
the county" Now Senator Mcdonald i.
considered one Of the ablrst and wsest lead
ers OF has party His party holds him to be
worthy its highest honors; his associates in
| the Senate reckon him in the FIST rank of
| Democratic lawyers and statesmen. His utter
ances on political topics aTe always we'll con-
Sidered and thoughtful, and he seldom slops
cover" The speech in which the above
quoted sentences occur was delivered
before IA very select Democratic audience
o. unusual Intelligence, at a Democratic
club vauntng itself apon its respectabiiity, and
it evidently expressed tie views of his an
dience as well as the sentiments OF the
speaker. And natofMcDonald undoubtedly
meant all and precisely what he said.
We cordially thank him for it. These two
clean-cut, vigorous sentences-albeit the sec
0nd of them falls into the habit OF hOrid H.
lustration peculiar TO the Democratic stump
present The whole Issue very plainly and
squarely. lie strips away all the nonsense
about the suh0rdinauOn Of the mill
tary to the civil power, the habcaS
corpus, and all tho subprdinatc ques-
lions which have been disposed of in the
general settlement OF issues, aud in
dozen words goes To the marrow of the sub
ject. Ills arraignment OF the Republican
party is sweeping. general. His indorsement
of his own party is no less so. For twenty
years Ire says, the Government " has been
administered 10y party which never
understood the true theory OF our Govern
"ment.' That covers the period in which
this party refused to accept the Democratic
theory that the Government had no power of
elf-preservatIon. but must go to pieces when
ever lnsurrecilon rose and. acting ON its own
theory, put down the rebellion and saved the
Government. But Senator Mcdonald says it
"never understood the true theory of our
Government" The true theory" then, is
that the Nation has not the power Of self
preservation Very well let us leave that
to the people.
Twenty years covers the period In which
this party that does not understand the true
theory OF the Government issued Ire asury
notes as a war measure when MIR. Melon
AIDS party said they had no right TO- and
provided for their payment when that party
protested against 1t as contracting the cur
rency. 1t L. the period in which legal tender
act was passed, which Democrats denounced
as unconstitutional and the payment of
coin interest on the National debt was
ordered 10 opposition to the declaI alton OF
the Democratic party that it should be paid
In greenbacks; the period In which the RepubIi-
cans invaded sovereign States against Demo
cratic protests, "corrce d sovereign States
against Democ ratio op position. declared slave
property " contr baud of wal" TO the great
horror of Democratic e1pounders of law.
emancipsted tho slaves as war mea-
sure in spite of Democratic threats