New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-03-05
4 NEW DEPARTURE.

We take pleasure in announcing for the in
formation of the Syracuse Democrats who
sent in q great hurry last week to Utica,
Binghamton and Elmira, to find out from
ex-Governors Seymour, Robinson and Walker
whether the Democratic party had future,
and IL so what-that the Hon. Samuel Cox,
a much more sensible and versatile statesman
than any of them, has found out all
about it. In speech in tho House
on Wednesday he gave notice that all
the party asked for was "a fight
for true. honest tariff REFORM 1t only
shows how even the steadygoing stoild Con-
gressional reporter is governed by habit that
lie injected at this point in the report the
parenthetlc "(I4augherl" with which the
| speeches of this statesman are usually pune
mated. Laughter was certainly out of place
following such a proclamation; and it Is
not possible that even this lght-mnded
! Congress could have carried the levity
which commonly prevails in the closing
| hours of q session to such an unseemly length
as to make merry over serious statement
concerning the measures which party in the
article of death proposed to take to bring
itself to life again. Nobody cOnld have
laughed. But the reporter, accustomed to fol-
| lowing Mr. Cox, saw that it was time for
"CLaughterL" and inserted it without rhyme
| or reason.
With this eight for true, honest tariff re-
form" and "a fair fight for the people
against the mOnopolies,' Mr. Cox predicted
with great solemnity that call hell cannot
prevail against the Democratic party" 1t
seems at first blush very rash and reckless
statement But upon examination it will be
seen that Mr.. Cox chose his language
with great discretion, and that, rash
and reckless as it seems, it is quite within
the limits of truth. For whether the Demo
cratic party, of which Mr.. Cox is bright
and-though n little too shOrt-legged for O
very wide lllumination-a shining light, adopts
this OF any other new departure, or keeps OF
in its old way, nothing is more certain thar
that call hell cannot prevail against
it.n This for the best of reasons
that there is no likelihood that call hell
will have any inducement to undertake it
Mr.. Cox has not uttered so safe prophecy
for long time. In gambling phrase he ha,
at least two to one on it. A merely super
fetal person might hesitate before predicting
so positively the result of contest between
} powers that have always hitherto worked to
gether and never tested their strength agains
: each other. Such an one might rea
son that "a house divided against itself can
not stand,n and shrink from forecasting con
sequences. But Mr.. Cox, looking deeper
launches his prediction in absolute copfidenc
that there will be no division. He was &C
cordlngIy entirely within bounds in sayin
that " all hell cannot prevail against the Dem
ocratic party" AS a matter Of fact, no on
q expects it to.
But Mr.. COx's proclamation is otherwise i'm
portant as fOreshadowing q Democratic neN
departure. He proposes % fight for true
honest tariff REFORM" A fight for anythin
3 true and honest viii be an entirely new de
parture for the party, and an honest fGh
on the tariff question will be somethin
{ so contrary to its precedeDts and tradition
3 that we may well call it q complete right
q about-face. Probably no party that ever G.
t listed has done such an amount Of able-bodie
a lying upon oil questions as the one that call
D itself Democratic and upon no question ha
it done so much as upon the tariff. This arise
{ from the fact notorious and undeniable, tbs
: the party Is divided upon it beyond poss
: bilty of agreement, so that if it said anythin