Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-04-14
Blocking the Wheels

The Democratic party is spoiled child.
Whenever it is denied its will, opposed
in its purposes, or disappointed in its
hopes, it straightway throws itself down
| in the path and refuses either to go it
self or permit any one else to move until
it is either INDUCED in its whim or tax
en- up bodily and moved out of the way.
In twenty years it has invented nothing.
Its olicy has been opposition, its func-
ton fault-hnding, its method obstruc-
tion. The good works of their oppo-
nents, so long as their scope was gener-
al, as in the war legislation, the conduct
of the finances, resumption, and the like,
they contented themselves with simply
hindering and postponing; but whenev-
er proposition was broached or an act
| consummated that either loosened or
threatened to loosen the hold of the Dem
Ocratic party upon the offices, they have
invariably put themselves in the atti-
tude of mutiny, and with defiant swag-
ger asserted that the wheels of Govern
ment should be stopped if they we're not
permitted to have their own way.
They were ready to stop everything
and destroy everything in 1861 because
the people had voted them out of power
During the war, not having the mum.
bers or courrge to undertake heroic
measures, they confined themselves to
nagging. grumbling, and hindering. But
several times since they have struck
tneir favorite attitude of defiance and
sworn that no business should be done
until the majority backed down from its
position and yielded to the minority
their own sweet will. Feeble limitations
of the fortitude and intelligence of the
mulel In ihe XLIVth Congress they
seriously considered a proposition to
block the wheels in order to brighten the
Republicans out of claiming the election
of President Hayes. In the XLVth, the
Democratic House undertook to block
the wheels by refusing to pass the Ap-
preparation bills without certain provi-
sions concerning marshals, etc, which
were thought to be essential to Demo-
cratic success. They set out to drive
both the Senate and the President in
that instance. They blocked the wheels
SO far as to compel the calling of an ex-
ira session. for which no one was so sor-
ry as themselves afterward. In the
XLVItn, the House and Senate united
to block the wheels in order to compel
the President to give his consent to
Democratic measures to promote fraud
in elections. He vetoed and they failed
They are at it again. The Republi-
cans in the Senate being in majority,
as repeatedly demonstrated, and justly
entitled to the organization, have intro
duced resolution that the Senate pro-
ceed to the election of its officers, secre-
tary, Sergeant-at-armS, ETC. That reSO-
luton is now pending. The Democrat
ic minority say, Hands off from the of
fcesl Withdraw that resolution or we
block the weels." The old threat, the
old revolutionary tactics. Will they
succeed? Not if the Republicans are
made of the stuff they were when the |
previous attempts were made. This is
not the first time by long way that
Democrats, foiled in their purposes, have
to block the wheels. They |
never have accomplished anything by it |
yet, and we hardly think they will now.
IN. Y. Tribune.