Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-10-06
SHALL THE DEHOCRA TIC
PARTY BE RESTORED
TO WER?

PARTY BE RESTORED
TO POWER?
EDITORS CITIZEN IT Republican
patty has been in possession of the
/ Executive Department of the Govern
ment for about twenty years. During
thi: long period it has dea with many
great and trying questions. 1t success
fully guided the country through prob
ably the most gigantic civil war of an
cient or modern times whereby 4,000,-
600 Of human beings were liberated
from the cruel chains of slavery. in
dealing with this question we have no
other way of better showing why the
Republican party should not be dis
placed and the Democratic party re-
stored, than by comparing the record
# the former with that of the latter
when it was in power. At their Ma
tional Convention at Chicago, on the
29th of August, 1864, the Democratic
party declared the war failure and
demanded an immediate cessation Of
hostilities. A Democratic Supreme
Court held the draft act unconstitution-
al and Democratic judges and legisla-
lures held it unconstitutional for sol
diers in the army to vote. Of course
the loyal wing of the Democratic party
rendered valuable aid in suppressing
the rebellion, and thousands of them
from al the principal States in the
north rushed to the defense of their
country's flag. But the copperheads Of
the north, every one of whom was in
the Democratic party, largely outnum-
bered their patriotic fellow Democrats,
who went into the war and fought side
by side with the Republicans. The
! Democrats verv often claim that there
were as many Democrats in the Union
army as Republicans. This is ut
terly false. Twelve States in which
the soldiers voted in 1864 showed that
there were cast l l6, SS7 votes for Lin
coin, and 33, for Mcclellan. The
Kansas, Minnesota and a portion Of the
Vermont vote was received too late to
be counted 1t is now fifteen years
since the war closed, but the same old
| forces still confront each other. So long
as the States recently in rebellion re-
main united, presenting solid front,
so long are their late advcrsaries bound
in patriotic prudence to retain an op-
posing and watchful organization. If
the Southern States are not SEEKING or
hoping to obtain some sectional advan-
tage for themselves, which they think
the rest of the country would not will
lingly grant, why do they all, without
a single exception, still hold together
Why do they not break up as would
be natural for them to do into new
combinations on other issues One
thing is certain, and that is, they have
some object in view which will be made
known when they see their way clear
to accomplish. In regard to the rebel
claims, the Democrats say it is absurd
to suppose, that in case of Hancock's
election, these claims will be paid, since
one Of the amendments 10 the constitu-
tion bars the payment of all such claims.
But it does no such thing Says the
Hon. John Jay, in his recent admira-
BILE article on the presidential Elec-
tom" We have been reminded that
the constitutional amendments were
not ratified by single Democratic leg
islature; that in some cases the certifi-
cate given by Republican Legislature
wasrevoked by succeeding legislature;
and that, apart from the question of its
doubtful validity, the prohib tion of the
payment of the rebel debt does not for
bid the payment of southern claims"
If. as the northern Democrats assert,
these claims are not to be paid, one
might naturally ask why it is that
these claims, amounting to over $2,-
so {, 100000, have been so carefully
] collected, probated before the State of
! ficers, and kept alive for collection
! All the southern States have aided in
the collection of these date, provided
books for their preservation and done
other acts to assist the claimants. Is
there no significance in all this ? Four
years ago Mr.. Tilden positively declar-
ed that he would sign no bill for the
payment of any southern claim, and in
consequence of this he lost the electoral
votes of three southern States in the
election of 1876. The Democratic par
ty has always opposed free and fair
elections. In the southern States there
have apparently disappeared from the
face of the earth half q million of Re
publican voters in the last few years.
The Democrats arc crying change,
change change!l But they can't
give you any reason for change only
Just that they know we ought to have
a change They say that twenty years
of continuous power would make any
party corrupt. Now, is this the case !?
Compare the last year of Democratic
executive administration with the pres
ent Republican administration, and you
will find that the loss to the Treasury
by the dcfalcation of pnblic officers was
SO 81 on every $1,000, while under
the present Republican administration
it is onc-third of cent on 200 or
one cent on SO 600 This shows that
there was 1862 times as much lost in
the collection of every 81 900 under the
last wear of the Democratic administra-