Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-04-09
The Republican Policy.
WHAT BEPUBLIcANIsM HAS DONE AND WHAT
REMAINS FOR IT TO Do-THE dREAT QUEs-
TIoNs 80 DE SETTLED ny THE PENDING PRES
DENTAL CAMPAIGN.


tions OF the greatest Importance, and the can
didates chosen for the republican party must
be those who will not only fairly represent
our side upon these great issues, but who will
probably be most certain of election. The
republican party is party of principle and
the democratic party il party Of opposition.
The republican party wins only upon its bold
leadership on questions Of public policy. II
proposes now to maintain the policy of re-
sumption and refunding which has been so
successfully executed thus far, but must be
supported hereafter by the friendly action of
the government It proposes to maintain
! and enforce the constitutional amendments
with all powers of the national government,
to the end that every man, poor or rich, white
or black, may be secure in the full enjoyment
of his civil and political rights. 1t proposes
to foster and extend the system Of free COM
mon schools, both by state and national gov
ernments, to the end that every child of the
! proper age may receive instruction in the pri-
mary branches of education, and thus give
the poor, as well as the rich, fair chance in
! life so that the opportunities to win an hon
orable position in life may not be confined to
| any favored or fortunate class. | believe the
republican party is the only party in this
| country that has the courage and ability TO
| carry out these great objects of national de-
sire, and that the controlling elements of the
| be trusted to secure either of these primary
conditions Of good government. Though
there are many men in that party whose
friendship | highly prize, have profound
| distrust of the principles, tendencies and
aims of that party and now, more than ev-
err, would regard its success in gaining con
troll Of the executive and judicial branches Of
the government as au uumixed calamity
Three years ago our financial condition was
! "a .ruta Il, -
| from the foundation of the government
Great bodies Of disconnected men, deprived
of making livelihood by honest labor by the
hardness of the times, were tramping through
| the country, stopping railroads, and adding
to the general calamity of riots and violence;
our paper money was below par, and the uni
versal distrust peryaded all classes of men,
and although our public credit had been well
maintained by the strict observance Of public
obligations, yet our bonds bearing 81 per
cent interest were sold at par slowly and with
great difficulty. Now, from surplus of reve-
nnes, without increase of taxation, our debt is
being rapidly reduced, and this very mouth
the reduction Is greater than in any former
month since the creation of the debt, being
1000, 600 Hundreds of millions of our
bonds have been sold, bearing interest at
per cent, at or above par; our credit is 50 adj
vanced that they can now be sold in future
u
at a still lower rate of interest may perhaps
be successfully negotiated; and our political
condition Is vastly improved The republi-
can party at the elections of last fall carried
either 10y majority or plurality every State
in the North where elections were held, and
it is confidently believed that we would have
carried Indiana and Oregon, if there had been
any elections in those States 1t is believed
also, that at any fair election five of the
- NIN..NWa Af.N. i 4
republican ticket. They are only deferred
from doing SO by the lawlessness, violence
and terrorism that in 1916 defeated the will
OF the majority Of voters. Such is the chang.
ed condition Of affairs in which we are about
to enter upon the Presidential contest of the
present year do not, fellow citizens, at
tribute all these results to the policy of the
republican party alone, but do say that with
out the steady and firm maintenance of the
republican policy they would have been i'm
possible. Providence, by giving us bounte-
Gus crops and the people mind to work"
has since resumption, greatly aided the poll
cy. We admit this, and are thankful for it.
but 1t is certain that if the democratic ideas
of the next or present Congress had prevail
ed, our credit would still be langud, and our
industries would still be laboring under the
effects of a deprecated and disordered cur
rency. II is the policy which the republican
midst of doubt and disaster and partial defeat
that is the chief human cause of the great
change in our affairs; and now the question
for the people of the United States TO deter
mine is, whether they will allow that policy
to be changed and the Democratic party
placed in control Of the executive and Judi
cial branches of the government, for the iu-
dicial branch will follow the fate of the ex-
ecutive branch.
no ,f a.
which has been the bulwark of equal rights
and fair elections, will in the natural course
OF events, be changed in a single Presidential
term, so As to place the ideas of the demo- |
cratic party in control of the supreme judicial
tribunal OF the land. This is to be the first
great issue of the campaign, and the second !
IL Ike unto 1t: How can the equal rights Of |
all American citizens be supported and main |
tanned: 1t is manifest that this will not be |
done 10y the Democratic party. The rebel |
element now controls that party in every |
Southern State where alone it is secure in its |
political power, The triumph of this element |
is the disgrace Of American civilization 1t |
will read strangely in American history, that |
the very men who waged an unsuccessful var
against the Union, who were the cause of the |
loss of 800, 900 men, and 81, 600, 600 900 in
treasure, are now 50 nearly in possession of
nearly all the powers of the government and
enable them to rule the government they
sought to destroy, and disregard and reverse
all guarantees won by the Union armies with
such costs, If they carry this election the re-
bellion OF 1861 is a success. II they fail now
the dominant classes will see that they must
submit to the equal rights of all classes, or if
they do not the courts and laws of the Unit
ed States will maintain and enforce these
rights. Upon this point there will be no di-
~ hagIt tba IL.
Every citizen of the United States in the
South, as in the North, must be secure in the
enjoyment of civil and political rights, and
every power of the national government must
be exercised to this end This issue is broad
ly defined, and the only question is whether
1t shall now be settled once for all or wheth-
er it shall, by ceaseless agitation, continue to
disturb our politics. All such issues must be
in a republic, in favor OF every person in the
enjoyment of liberty and Justice. Next to
the firm and judicious enforcement of the
laws by the courts, the best remedy in the
South would be the encouragement of COM
mon schools, such as are almost universal in
the North. This should be matter of public
policy, both by the State and the national
government. II the cOlored people of the
South we've redeemed from Ignorance caused
by slavery, it would be no more possible to
overawe and overcome them by kuklux klans
and tissue ballots than it would be possible
here in the North. ! say then, in conclusion,
that the Republican party is about to appeal
to the American people to stand by the policy
that has secured you pronounced prosperity,
and will secure TO all our people equal civil
and political rights. Let the national conven-
ton at Chicago, after full consideration and
without bias and prejudice, say who can Sc
cure success, and the Republican party, like
a wel-drilled army, will wheel into line and
overcome the last vestige of the great rebel
lion Of 1861.
--T=
Strong Point for Mr. Edmunda.
from the Boston Herald1