National Republican., 1880-10-11
TIE REASON WY.


The thing that most grievcs the demo
cratic party now, next to the certain pros
peot of defeat, is that the people will not
forget the record it has made for itself in
the last half century, and more especially !
that of the last twenty years. 1t thinks
and it thinks rightly perhaps, that If its
past could be blotted from the memories of
the American people, with its new political
inventions and methods, it might dominate
over the country. But its traditions follow
that party like loathsome pestilence and
beclouds every hope and prospect that
prompts and inspires TO action. The re-
corded plunderings Of that party so long
as 1t had the power to plunder now rise up
in judgment and confront II 10 warn
against its being intrusted again with the
power to exercise its dishonest propensities
OF all the administrations that have marked
the history of this government for more than
q century the record shows those known us
democratic TO have been the most intensely
dishonest in collecting and accounting for
the revenues of the country We say such
rs the recorded history of that party, and
the people will not forget it. The SwART-
OUTS. HoYTs, FowLERs TwEEDs and
host of that class of plunderers, who made
mp and were banded together as the forty
thieves of this nation, stole millions upon
millions of the public money, which was
not recovered nor were the thieves pun
ished. Some of this class- take, for in-
stance, SAM SwARToUT--are now in
dorsed by the democratic press as very
nice sort of gentlemen. These plunderings
OF the national treasury are not forgotten,
and that is q source Of grief with the dem
ocratic party of to-day. 1t inherits II
legacy of inlnmy that it would, but It can
not be freed froni. 1t takes its party
name, history, methods and practices, with
all the hereditaments thereuuto belonging
These things all stick to 1t like a tarred
shirt
Then, besides being dishonest party, 1t
has proved itself disloyal to the nndn-
mental principles which underle the
foundations of the republic. IL is an
enemy TO the Industrial interests of
the American people, simply because
It is hostile TO the principles aud
influences of protective tariff in building
mp and sustaining American manufactures
In this 1t is not only an enemy 10 the In
vestment and development of American
capital and enterprise, but it becomes ne
cessarily hostile TO American labor aud it's
full employment II is u well-est.blished
and well-understOod fact that when our
forges, blasts, steain-eng1nes, mills spinning
jennies, looms, macliine-shops and the
other paraphernaia OF manufacturing the
needful and convenient articles OF life cease
TO operate, the working classes bccomc the
greatest sufferers by such inaction. They
are, as consequence, turned out of am
ployment, and become idlers for the want
of il, and sufferers because the rrwards
which active labor brings nfa withdrawn
from them. This is the question in nut.
shell. The democratic party prOnouuces
for "a tariff for revenue only" aud hence is
an enemy to protection. For its policy
leads directly on in the path to free trade,
and anyone knows that free trade means
the ultimate destruction Of American man
ufactures IL is well known that without a
tariifforprotection the manufacturing inter
ests ofthis republic could never havcattaincd
n condition ofprOsperily. The foster care OF
tariff for protection has enabled American
manufacturers to compete successfully
with the uurequited labor of the old world
and attain n degree of prosperity which is
dispensing its blessings alike to capital and
labor. Destroy this protecting power, and
the direst disaster to both capital and labor
will follow as an inevitable consequence.
Then, again, the democratic party has
record which couvicts it of dsloyalty to
the union, the constitution the laws and
the equal rights of American citizenship
before the law, The years of war to crush
rebellion aud preserve the union, and the
record the democratic party made for itself
during that frightful and bloody period
cannot be wiped out or forgotte n, and thif
fact fills the democratic heart with giiei
for the reason that il interposes Il
barrier between its ambitious purposes and
public confidence. Until that chapter
of history is forgotten it cannot hope ibr
restoration to public favor and power in
the government, 1t must repent and show
works meet for repentance before the peo-
pie can confidently trust it with RESPONSE
bilites, and until that confidence is fully
restored all the power the democratic party
achieves in the government is secured by
fraud and in opposition to healthy pub
lie sentiment
During all the years that have been
reeled off the wheel Of time since the closn
of the war the democratic party has done
really nothing to win back the confidence
IL had forfeited during the preceding years.