The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-05-14
DEMOCRACY AS IT Is.
Scathing Speech OF Congressman
Reed, Of Maine, ON the Deficiency
Appropriation bill.


party kept slowly and steadily solidifying itself
into party in favor Of human slavery2 Why
was 1t, when the war broke out, that the Demo-
cratic party Of the South went into the rebell-
ion, and the Democratic party Of the North
back into the breeching2 Why was 1t that after
the war was fragrant these men met together
under the lead Of O discarded General, and re-
solved the very year before Appomattox Court
House that the war was failure2 Why was it
that when We proposed in legal and proper
fashion to make constitutional amendments
abolishing slavery by virtue of law, long after
it had been abolished by virtue of facts, they
found themselves arrayed in solid opposition to
it?
Why was it that when we came TO the ques-
ton Of the honest payment OF the debts Of the
country the Democratic party arranged itself
solidly in favor Of partial or total reputation
of those obigations2 Why was 1t that they
came before us describing their own leaders and
adopting men they had received from our
party? Why il it, in single word,
for the last twenty-five years, upon points about
which there il no dispute now, they have al
ways been wrong2
do not talk now about matters that can be
discussed i talk about matters done by Us
which not half dozen men Oh the other side
would want undone to day. Why is it that they
have alISlys gone wrong upon those subjects
and have always taken wrong positions?
l will tell you, my friends. The notion that
party Is made up like subscription to
ladies magazine, by sending out II declaration
Of principles Is mistake OF worldwide sig
niicancc. Men associate together because
they are progressive, because they are honest,
because they have purposes connected with the
furthcrance and improvement Of government.
Other men associate together because they are
conservative, because they are opposed to prog
ress, and because they are not on an average
sufficiently enlightened.
That Is tho plan on which parties arc formed.
They are hot formed to meet future issues.
The future issues spring up, and parties deal
with them according " their constitution and
their nature.
The difference between the Republican party
and the Democratic party Is founded on this
principle. All parties act from common aver
age There is great deal more of the govern
ment Of the people i'll this country than Ii gen
orally admitted even by ourselves. The people
express their average intelligence every time
they come to tho polls, and every party ex-
presses its average intelligence. The reason We
have been right and they have been wrong has
not been that they had not brilliant leaders il
is because tho average OF Intelligence with us has
been higher than the average Of intelligence
with them. That il the whole secret Of it, and
it il an .'open secret" to any man who looks ut
the history Of parties for the past few years.
These are general principles; let us descend
little to particulars. l say that the Democratic
party for the last thirty years has not had an
honest heartbeat north Of Mason & Dxons
line. i say that they have continually come
forward as party Of false pretenses. Why,
look at the acts of this session. Only the other
day they came before us and delayed this very
bill which we are now discussing by bill pre-
scented by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Hostetler), which was to deprive Of the rights
Of citizenship every individual who had q
claim against the Government, including, as
was cloquently said by my friend from New
York (Mr. Richard6on), the very soldier who
fought for his country. And for day or
two they actually kept up the prctcnse OF
pressing that They were beaten and over
thrown yet just think Of 1.-THE Democratic
party ut this moment of all others proclaim
ing against the USE Of money in politics
Why, i'll the very instant Of one of their cat
aleptic spasms Of virtue let Samuel j. 1ilden
but stand visibly before them, pointing his
finger to the very least of his barrels and
straghtway there would leap into that old,
wizened, decrplt, and parayzed frame
strength and yIgor mightier than 'tle might
Of France" for in that attitude. would be the
potentially of swinging the whole Democratic
party, North and South, by its noblest part,
its long, majestic. and prehensile tail And
yet, with that picture on the canvas visible to
whole continent, they come forward and
pretend to talk about suppresslnS the use of
money i'll politics.
was greatly struck by an instance of their
pretcnses in the elaborate speech which was de-
hvered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr.
House,. He resurrccted what never expected
to See dug up i'll this liouse-the committee for
the investigation of frauds in the last Presi-
dental election. Why, there has not been such
n resurrection of dead and buried people since
Fitzpatrick saw the mummies of Peru rise and
range themselves Oh the sea-coast line of South
America. Well do l remember the launching
of that ilustrous committee. Never WAS there
on earth such an awe-inspiring pageant. The
air was thick with the coming storm. Across
the leaden sky had famed Anderson, a red
haired portcnt, who afterward proved to be the
loftiest liar Of historic Christendom.
Men went about with hushed voices, whisper
ing to each other of dreadful possibilities. The
faces of the Democracy were radiant with
solemn joy. Now, at last, the usurper who had
done them SO much harm should be hurled from
his throne and Iilden, Samuel j., the wise,
the yrtuOus, the innocent, the reformatory,
should stand before the world yisibly what he
had always been spiritually, "the Lords an
Ointed." We, for our part, sat here solcmny
rounding our backs TO meet the coming storm.
When the Speaker announced the members OF
the committee on the other side, 1t became per
fectly apparent that the supreme hour Of
battle had come and the household troops
had been ordered up. There at the head was
polished and able gentleman, taken some years
ago from our ranks, and who had voted with us
often enough since to give tho people the idea
that he was respectable and to be tr1lsted-a
gentleman to whose fairness and impartiality i'll
everything except his report bear cheerful,
cordial and willing witness. Next came my
friend from Ohio (Nlr. McNIahon), keen and
subtle, than whom there is no man i'll five king
doms ADLER to dig pit for witness and sweet
ly coax him into it. And there, To give tone
Of chivalry to it, was my friend from the Seventh
district of Kentucky (Alr. Backburn), then as
now undallying and mdoubting and consequently
undastardiZcd and undamned. Time would fail
me to give an Homeric catalogue Of all the
great souls of heroes who went down to dusty
death. 1t il enough to say that they were the
bright, consummate flower, the cream, or, to
Use a metaphor more suitable to the subject,
the combined sweetness and strength, the very
crock and rye" of the Democracy.
saw that expedition set forth with much
boom OF cannon and float OF flags Five months
aftcrward saw ii drift into port dismasted and
dimantled. In silence and sadness, the sorrow
ing survivors, Oh the heel of the session, ostled
by every job and hustled by $40 claims, disenl-
barked their precious freight III two par
cels--a little one containing what they
had to say about our alleged frauds,
and big one containing their real
ones. What was the reason OF all TINS snip
wreck of bright and high endeavor? why, be-
tween those days had rolled 2,7oO pages OF
printed testimony. Now shall not say-!yet
am afraid my friend, the gentleman from
Michigan (NIr. Horr), will never forgive me Tor
not saying-I shall not say that such IL the
nature of printed matter and Of education and
of types that it would BIO impossible to get
together 300 pages of printed matter without
there being a condemnation of Democracy
somewhere between its leaves. But do say
that the people day. by, day examined
that testimony and when they got
through all that vast pretense OF fraud
vanished into thin air. and the people saw that
rutherford b. Hayes had not played the knave
and that Samuel j. Tilden had.
Time would fail me to enumerate all these
matters. l bring these up simply as samples
showing what they have done. l affirm that
they have not. throughout oil this Congress,
come forward with q single measure which they
believe in. All their noble energies have been
spent and exhausted in attempts 70 catch uS IN
some mousc-trap or other, like the bill OF the
gentleman from Indiana MIR. Hostetler).
All this arises from the inherent nature OF
the collection called Democracy. DO not
mean To say tho difference between Their aver
age of intelligence and ours IL so very great,
but say that the difference Is Just enough 10
mako us take right positions OH an average ana
for them to take wrong ones on an average;
that il oil.
With this picture or panorama thus carefully
and considerably drawn, Mr.. Chairman, want
to contrast in just one or two words, and then /
have done, the action Of the Republican party
Of tho United States. belong to il, and have
always belonged to il, and l beg to say am
proud OF the honor. I believe in il /: l believe
in its future believe in its past l believe
even in its present.
Whom, in 1860, we came into power, sixteen
States Of this Union were black with the Tester
ing curse Of African slavery, and over o vast
empire beyond the Mississippi the same por-