New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-05
4 LONG STEP.

LONG STEP
We have travelled far, since that little COM
pany of heroes and patriots debated and re-
solved, in July, 1776. What would they have
said, Lad their eyes been opened to the scenes
of yesterday A great Nation, a Stolwart fac-
ton, and an assassinatcd Prosidcnt-what n
spectacle for the anniversary of Independence
Day! Was not that blessed blindness
which spared them this sad 81 .ght q? Had they
been able to see all that lies before us. would
not their sense of anxious and solemn re-
sponsibility have been intensified beyond en-
DURANGO =?
Much they would have seen to gladden. the
heart, If material prosperity suiiccs for ma
ton. Wonders of wealth, marvels of industry.
miracles of progress, Nation mighty beyond
all their dreams in war, and prosperous beyond
their widest hopes in pcacc--all these the pa
triot OF 1776 would have seen. But was it for
these that he separate cd from the Mother Coun-
Try Great Britain with its Crown has
also made vast progress gained enormous
wealth. welded uncqualled power, and Sc
cured to its people high degree of
personal liberty and protection. Progress in
America has been due in part to tho onward
march OF the ages, and in part to our
boundlcss resources, and not exclusively to q
form of government. If the work of the pa
triOts in 1776 has done much for the welfare
of the land, is it not also true that the page
of self-gOvernment bears some ugly blotsY
Had the patriot of 1776 foreseen tho civil
war, he would not have dared to leave tho
system OF slavery built into the very Frame
work OF the Government. Had he fOreseen
the massacres and murders of the period of
reconstruction, he would hardly have left the
slightest pretext for the dogma of State Riyhts
But had he fOreseen the assassination of two
Presldents how could he have guarded against
crimes SO horrible Must the President of q
free country put about himself the fortresscs
and guards of despot Has it come to this
that the liberties and the dignity of the many
who bow Loyalty to the will of the minority
must be sacrificed because in every faction
some desperate and reckless men will be
found, and because the leaders of faction in
flame the worst passions Of their followers be-
yond all reason or decency?
1T was only one wild enthusiast. half-crazed
"and irresponsible, and he alone did the deed
Neither the institutions OF the country nor
"'he manners of the people, nor the shirt of
any party or faction, can be held in any
"measUrc responsible FOR the chance shot of
"a lunatic." SO some are eager to saw Rut
it is not true. In the shadow of n great calamity
he is not the true friend of the people who
tells them flatterng falschoods The pcoplc
themselves arc to blame, because they have
tolerated too long those methods of political
warfare which threaten free institutions and
sociitl ORDER Assassination as IL mode of GOV
eminent has been known for years at the
South. The people never yet have made if
clear that they will punish with political death
;he party which tolerates, the faction which
n fba
passion cause these horid crimes. If killing
by irresponsible and desperate men, for polti
cal purpose, is permitted to pass at the
South as the act Of crazy individuals
and not as the work of the party which fires
the passions of bad men, and reaps the benefit
of their crimes, it is certain that other despcr-
ate men i'll other States will be inflamcd with
similar passions and to deeds not less dark.
So it is with the resort to forged returns.
stuffed boxes, and other unlawful methods in
order to carry elections. These crimes, where
they are tolerated in the name of party. Dre
pare the way for other and more STARTLING
crimes. They break down the sense of RIGHT
and justice, destroy the sanctity of law. and
teach party workers to feel that it is q small
thing to break any law of God or man for the
sake OF party. 1t would be folly to say that
the frequency of such deeds As these, and the
failure of public opinion to punish sternly
enough both the acts and the men who ex-
cnse them, have no connection with the assos-
sinaton Of course there are "crazy" men.
where such crimes are treated with indiffer-
ence. They tend most powerfully to create
crazy men by the thousand-persons whose
intense political passion is unrestraned by a
sense OF right or regard for the sanctity of law.
In the early days, the patriots of 1776 would
have made it impossible for aparty to exist. or
for public man to he q candidate for
any Office, if the man tolerated, or excused.
or in the least degree instigated, such crimes.
Therefore the men of 1776 had neither stuffed
balot-boxes nor Stalwart assassins
The lesson is not for Democrats alone. nor
for Republicans alone neither for Sta!warts
nor other Republicans alone. 1t is for every
citizen who cares for his country. 1t shows a
duty to every man who knows that his asso-
ciates have disregarded law and right for the
sake OF partisansliip. Until the people make
that sort of crime more OdiOus than it is. by
visiting the penalty, not only upon "half-
crazed" individuals, but upon those whose
teachings and promptings have made half
crazcd and lawless followers. the crimes of