Daily Republican., 1880-08-27
where the Democratic Stand.

In 1868 the oligarcby which is false
ly named Democracy, met in National
convention to nominate candidate for
the Presidency and the following is a
plank Of their party platform:
"And that we regard the reconstruc-
ton acts ESQ cslled) of Congress, as
such, as usurpations and uncOnstitu'
tional, revolutionary and void"
This was in the year when Grant and
Seymour ran for the Presidency. The
signal defeat of the Democrats at that
time taught them that they would
have to take advanced gronnd on tha,
question if they ever expected to be
successful in the National CANVASS, con-
sequently in 1872, they made great
departure from their old established
principles and passed the following
plank in their Platform:
"We recognize the equality of all
men before the law, and hold that it is
the duty Of the government in its deal
ings with the people to mete out equal
and exact justice to all, of whatever
race, color or persuasion, religious or
political
This was quite an advance in the
revolutionary platform of 1868, but the
Democracy of that year even got lower
down in the scale Of sub5ervienoy and
nothingnsss in order 10 be successful
by nominating Horace Greeley as Their
candidate for the Presidency. ALI this
was done to catch the vote of the liber
al Republicans of the North, and If
possible to divide the colored Republi-
can vote of the South. 1t succeeded in
the first but disastrously failed in the
election Of their candidate, and the
colored vote of the south was still solid
for the Republicans. The Southern
oligarchs finding that they could not
defeat the Republican party in any
other way commenced the era of Ku
Klux murders of Southern Rspub IL
cans and by bloodshed and intimida-
tion presented to the Dem ocratic Ma,
tional convention Of 1876 what they
supposed to be solid South for the
Democracy. But even a solid South
with her 1873 electoral votes could not
elect a Democratic President. Some
thing had to be done to ingratiate them
selves in favor with the people of the
North SO far as to get some At or more
votes from that section, which would
be suffcien to elect Tilden or whoever
might be the candidate of the party for
the Presidency. For the purpose of
holding New York, Now Jersey and
some other Northern States in the Ma
tional convention of 1876 the Democ
racy, adopted the following plank in
their platform:
"For the Democracy Of ths whole
country, We do hereby resfirm our
faith in the permanence of the Federal
Union, our devotion 10 the COnstitu'
tiol of the United States with its
amendments universally accepted as 6
final settlement OF tho cont OVERSEES
that engendsrsd civil war, and We de
here record our steadf9st confidence IN
the perpetuity Of Republican selfgov
ernment."
Now compare the foregoing with the
declarations of this same Democracy o
only eight years before. In 1865 the
amendments were usurpations, uncon
stitutional, revolutionary and void. II
1872 after crushing defeat they were
willing to recognize the equality of all
men before tn 9 law of whatever nativ.
ity, race or color. In 1876 after almost
total annihilation by taking Greeley as
their candidate, they were prepared to
accept the constitution with all its
amendments as tinality. Here were
three radical changes in 1t years,
from the most bitter o. slentless
-. rF, WA