New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-03-10
MIcHIGAN pEM0CRATs At TIE FRONT


gan The Michigan Democrats have been
holding O Convention. Precisely why the
Michigan Democrats should punctuate in this
way season of comparative political calm,
bursting forth with a Convention at time
when the country had folded up its banners,
laid away its transparencies, extingushed its
torches, and was looking forward to few
months rest from politics, we do not under
stand. Not unlikely the committee that adj
ministers upon the estate of the late Demo-
cratic party in. Michigan may have found
some old unused resolutions among the assets
and called the Convention to use them up.
They passed a set of resolutions, at any rate,
some of which have the appearance Of having
been battered and banged through manyicam-
paigns, and the mustY smell of garret-luhbcr,
while others are as fresh and new and full OF
vicious snap and bounce as the Democratic
zeal for three per cent funding bill.
We suppose the performance must be
taken as the first demonstration in
the new Democratic campaign. The De-
nocracy of Michigan are first at the front,
wheeling up bursted gun, supported by
wornout mud-machine and q fresh fire.
cracker.
They begin by declaring their confidence
in the ultimate triumph of the party (which
certainly shows faith stamped all over with
mustard scotland expressing their belief in
d" the principles which have held and will ever
"hold the party together. ioa the doctrine of
"the Constitution that the powers not dele
"gated to the General Government arc re-
"served to the States" This il q very musty
resolve. 1t has done duty in Democratic con-
veDtions for thirty years in precisely the same
language. 1t sounds extremely well. What it
means is that the Democratic States did not
delegate to the General Government the
authority to enforce submission to the rule of
the majority, except when the Democratic
party should be in power, and that they re-
served the privilege Of breaking up the Gov
eminent and setting up for themselves when
ever they should happen to be in a minority.
It also means that the Democrats in certain
States reserved the right to control those States
and choose their representatives in the Ma
tional Legislature; and that the power to inter-
fere whenever they, being minority, should at
tempt to perpetuate their control by fraud or
violence, was never delegated to the General
Government. 1t reads prettily sounds like
an aphorism. But when the people saw what
meant, they annotated it at such length with
powder and ball that it lost a good deal of
its force as an aphorism. SO now they say
instead: The Union must be preserved" and
The majority must rule"
Following this musty resolve the Demo
Gratis of Michigan fred some of the mud that
was left over at the Fraudulent PRESIDENT
expressed their belief In the wisdom of the
Funding bill; denounced the National banks
and capitalists for not submitting quietly to
the squeeze proposed by Democratic legisa-
ton, and demanded " such amendments TO the
L" banking law as will in future prevent banks
"from controlling the currency and disturb
ling he interests of the country" These
are fresh topics. By these utterances
the Michigan Democrats lead OFF in what is
undOU ,tedly to be the new policy of the party.
The State Rights doctrine they carry along,
we PRESUME, as a sort of sentimental heirloom,
something as q man carries in his pocket the
bullet that killed his father. 1t serves, too. as
badge. You may always know Democratic
Convention by the regular resolution about
the reserved rights of the States. The reso-
buttons on the Funding bill and the National
banks point to the new financial policy. The
attempt to make party capital out of the Fund
ing bill will surprise no one, of course That
was the express object of It's creation. The
economy dodge, from which so much was
expected. would no longer work. What with
supplementary Deficiency bills and River and
HarbOr steals, the pretensions Of the party in
this regard have been too thoroughly exposed.
The next campaign is to be run on the repre-
sentation that the Democrats would have saved
millions to the Treasury by funding the debt
at per cent. but were prevented by the Pres
dental Veto
Then the Greenback party arc to be
won over by q united onset upon the
National banks. No information Is vouch-
safed us as to substitute for the National
bank currency, but we presume that so far as
the Michigan Democrats are concerned they
would be quite willing to give the public the