The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-01-01
EWo Views Of the Two Parties.

~ 'iiS SoaiudTJ uuIflDefiOI the
ortA American ReUieac one by
'e'lator Edmunds, entitled, "The
4ontrolling Forces in American Pol.
<''es'Y and the other by Senator Wal
.''se, entitled, "The Mission of the
1}emScratic Party" Both treat of
ne same ,subject-the attitude and
F'atlons TO each other of the two
&feat political organizations in the
United States. Neither contains any
cry fresh contributions to the fund
~ material for current political dis.
fnssion, or gives any clear glimpses
Hi probable party action in the fu-
tnre but each is valuable as state
l:rnent of the writer's idea of the mo
alYes and beliefs of the party to
llich he. belongs. and his view OF.
,5.s,e purposes Of its Opponents. Sena-
Sfs'S Esiiun1ls' iiifds tfe best way sell
showing the reason for the existence
OF the Republican party and de-
scnbing its aims and work to be in
giving AN account of the Democratic
pai ty, which he does with a some
what caustic pen, yet with rigid
adherence to historic facts.
The preponderating influences
within the Democratic party, up to
1861, he says, were devoted, first to
the protection and extension of slav-
cry /; second, to the propagation of
the dogma of free trade third. to
restricting the National jurisdiction
and the National laws within the
narrowest limits with respect to the
elections Of Representatives, the
privileges of citizens, and internal
improvements fourth, to repressing
the jurisdiction of the. National
Courts; and, fifth, to the propagation
of the doctrine of the right cf seces-
sion. The overthrow of the Rebel
lion has removed the first of these
objects from the arena of practical
politics, but whether the last has re-
ceived its quietus remains for the fu-
ture to determine. The Others are
still cherished, except that concern
ing internal improvements. Toward
this the attitude of the party has un-
dergone change, and it's members
of Congress generally favor expsn-
ditures for such works on a scale
that is liberal to the point of reek-
lessness. The present doctrine of the
Democracy in regard to the constitu-
tional amendments, Mr. Edmunds
says. issthat the duties they deyolve
are the duties of States in their char
acter as such, and that no legislation
of Congress operating upon the per-
sons of citizens is appropriate" So,
too, in regard to the laws of Congress
for securing fair elections of members
of the House. The attitude and pol
icy of the Republican party, can, ne
thinks, be understood from the
statement of the position of its an
tagonist. lie does not admit that
the Democrats are genuine and con-
sistent defenders of the real cOnsti-
tutional rights of the States, because
in the important matter of electing
a President the records of Congress
show that they have voted against
laws proposed by the Republicans
binding Con gress to recognize and
obey thu decision of such States in
regard to all questions of the choice
of its electors, and have sought to
draw into the two houses an unlimi-
ted jurisdiction over the subject.
This is strictly correct presentation
of the constitutional point at issue in
the electoral controversy of 1877.
Senator Edmunds holds it to be a
grave mistake to suppose that the
present opposition of parties is in
any correct sense sectional. The di-
vision, he says, is essentially insti-
tutional and not geographical. Ev-
erv State in which slavery recently
existed voted at the recent election
for the Democratic candidate, and
every Northern and Western State,
with three exceptions, produced, it
is believed by the crime of the forged
Morey letter, voted for the Repubii-
can candidate. The Democratic party
he con Insiders, "in every effective
tive sense. is, as it Was before the
Rebellion, nothing else thar party
founded and existing upon the ideas
of a slaveholding system, which has
always been a cornerstone of aristO.
cratical governments" OF such a
party, he says, we may repeat the
phrase applied to one of the earliest
Of Democratic parties: And of all
the enemies they had they were
themselves the most fatal"
Senator Wallace's paper is very
short, hardly exceeding the compass
of an ordinary newspaper editorial
article. The mission Of the Demo
cratic party, he claims, is decentrali-
zation. 1t must resist the tendency
toward stronger government, op