Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-07-07
What Will the Democrats Do?


generation has forgotten all about the
alien and sedition laws. There is no
use to insert that plank. The old anti
] war plank would not answer. That
1 must be omitted. Payment of the debt
in greenbacksl That would be absurd,
as greenbacks are now better than gold.
TO demand the dollar of the daddieS
would be ridiculous, as the country has
more of those dollars than it knows
what to do with. To pronounce against
bloated bondholders would not make a
vote, since the fall in interest to 31l per
cent. has created a sympathy for that
class. The anti-national bank plank
must also be dropped. The people know
too much now to be fooled by that kind
of stuff. 1t won't do to talk about hard
times, because times are good, and crops
will not fail even to help the Democratic
party. There is no distress to feed upon.
The business of the State has been we'll
managed by the Republicans. The Dem
ocratic Legislature made no provision
| for the payment of the State debt which
was about to mature. It made slight
reduction in taxes by handing over de-
ficiency to its successors. The Republic
cans paid part Of the State debt, refund
ed the rest at 4 per cent, paid off the
Democratic deficiency, and reduced the
State taxes besides. No place there for
a plank. The State institutions which
were demOraliZed under the administra-
tion of Gov. Bishop were reformed by
the Republicans, and are now in good
condition. That subject the Democratic
platform must avoid. Two subjects are
left, viz: Sumptuary laws and the tariff.
The Democratic party has always OPP
posed sumptuary laws, and has always
favored free trade. The question now is
whether it will adhere to those moss
covered principles, or abandon them.
Upon these points it is in trouble, 1t
thinks it important to catch the temper
ance vote. An anti-sumptuary plank
would not be good bait for the tenn
perance fish; while temperance plank
would antagonize large class who run
with the Democratic machine. 1t ar
CUES, however, that the whisky and beer
Democrats would vote the Democratic
ticket anyhow, especially as they know
the Democratic party would never favor
temperance legislation, and that they
would oppose sumptuary legislation on
ly until after the election, while the
temperance vote might be caught in the
Democratic net, thus securing a Demo
cratic Legislature. Governor, Attorney
General, and Supreme Judge. AS to free
trade that is dangerous instrument to
handle, Ohio is a manufacturing State
and the people are opposed to tariff for
revenue only. Frank Hurd and his fol-
lowers, however, demand that fight
shall be made on free trade, and will in
sist upona free trade plank. He may
well ask the convention if it is not in
favor of free trade, what it is there for, |
and those Democrats who oppose him
will look and feel sheepish enough. If
any deliverance is made upon this point |
it willibe in favor of free trade, but the |
policy wing of the party will seek to
pass it, and the probability is the plat |
form will be composed of glittering gen.
eralities. :.
The Republican party will be arraign-
ed, of course. Upon this point the Dem |
ocratic platform writers have culti-
waited talent. They have been engaged |
in that business for twenty years. They |
arraigned it for daring to elect Abraham |
Lincoln President. They arraigned it |
for fighting the war for the Union. They |
arraigned it for abolishing slavery. They |
arraigned it for reconstructing the seced-
ing States and giving the ballot to the
freedmen. They arraigned it for issuing
greenbacks. They arraigned it for max
ingthe greenbacks as good as gold. They
arraigned it for maintaining the credit
of the government. They arraigned) it
for every success it has made in twenty
years, while all their own efforts have
been dismal failures. They can not point |
to any measure proposed or carried by
their party in twenty years of which |
they are not ashamed, or upon which
they would dare to go before the coun-
try. AS an opposition party it has
been steadily butting its head against
success, seeming not to know it could |
not afford to fight success. When it was
in power in Congress it tried its clumsy
hand at resumption and it succeeded in |
plunging the country into panic. That
is all it has to show for the period it
was in power. AS soon as it stepped |
down and out, Republican administra-
tion funded the debt, saving $15,OOO;OOO
a year in interest, and bringing back the
general flow of prosperity.
The Democratic Congress, too, investi-
gated and whitewashed the Star route !
fraud. That was because Democratic |
members had share of the bacon, no |
doubt. Either that or general incompe-
tency. In a month Republican admin
istration ripped up those frauds, al
though they were committed under |
former administration of the same par.
ty, and the rascals who committed the
frauds are now being pursued with the
strong arm of the law
Whatever the Democrats may put into
their platform or keep ont of it there is
one thing they can not do, and that is,
hide their record. This is blazoned on
every page of history written for twenty
years. The present generation of voters