Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-09-27
Aallrastcr fntel(tqenrer.
TUESDAY EVENING, SEPT. 81, 1881.
Democratic Sincerity.

TUESDAY EVENING. SEPT. 81. 1881.
Democratic Sincerity.
1t is an undeniable fact, and matter
of universal comment, that no person of
whom history tells was ever buried with
so general manifestion of mourning all
over the world, as was the late president
of the United States. No doubt there
have been public men whose deaths have
been as sincerely and even more deeply
mourned for many such have lived and
died who have been better known and
more deeply loved. 1t was the situation
OF President Garfield as the head of the
great republic of the world, which is at
peace with all nations his tragical and
unmerited wounding his long suffer-
ing and his great fortitude under it;
and the electric telegraph, sending all over
the world the daily pulsatiOn Of feeling
in every part of it, which, altogether,
make it true to declare that never before
was the sincere grief of humanity so
widely manifested.
That this grief was universal the news
of the day tells that it was sincere, we
can safely affirm, il for no other reason,
because no cause anywhere exists. why
it should not be. Mr.. GarfieId's per-
sonal enemies were few, for it was not
his nature to make them his political
foes were many, but they were civilized
people to whose senses the weapon Of
assassination is wholly obnoxious. If
the sincerity Of the mourning of any
class of the people is questioned, it will
be that of the political enemies of Mr..
Garfield and they were that part of the
Republican party which halls COnkling
and Arthur rs chief, and, of course, the
whole Democratic party. But we do not
envy the heart or the understanding of
the man who believes that the manifes-
tations Of grief made SO emplatically by
all the people were insincere Oh the part
of any; it would show very clearly a bad
heart i'm such a dOubter, for it would de-
clare that he was incapable of cOmpre-
hending even the small degree of mag
nanimity which forbids rejoicing at the
agony and death of one who was but q
political foe.
We are not particularly concerned to
defend the Republicans who profit 10y
this calamity, though we do not at all
suspect that they are joyful over it.
But is he not Il bold man and bad
man who ventures to call democrats to
account for their manifestations of
mourning? !? Aud yet there is one such
man, and he a preacher ; and he dwellS
in our neighbOring town of Reading. He
thinks he exhibits his ingenuity i'm put
ting the Democratic party on the horns
of a dilemma, and inviting them to say
whether they were liars 4 year ago or
are hypocrites now and lie decides to
absolve them from the charge of insin-
cerity in their grief for Garleld's s death,
because it suits him better to conclude
that they were liars year ago, when
they charged that Mr.. Garfield had done
the divers improper things which they
then alleged.
This small preacher mistakes the situa-
ton entirely and is much less wise than
his own cOnceit makes him. The De
mocracy has paid to the dead president
of the United States, shot down rs the
result of L quarrel in his own party and
sent to L fate that he no way merited or
invited 10y his own wrongdOing, that
deep respect which was due to his posi-
tion, his unjus, taking off and his fOrti-
tude under suffering. Can we not sincerely
mourn the murdered president of our
country even though we sincerely believe
that his life had not been without fault,
and grievous fault, too? That we can,
we know because we do. We in no way
acknowledge that what we have charged
against Mr.. Garfield while candidate
for the presidency was unjustly charged,
when we grieve that he has been muir
dered by a fanatic of his party; though,
no doubt, in the heat of the election
canvass things have been too roughly
said, yet the Democracy maintain to-
day the essential truth of the main
accusations made by them against
the Republican canlidate for the
presidency one year ago; and such
minds rs cannot be convinced that a
party which believed Mr.. Garfield to he
unfit for the presidency nevertheless
does sincerely mourn his. removal by
murder after he has been lawfully chosen
to that exalted place, may content them
selves, if they can, in believing that our
exhibited grief is insincere but all such
minds belong to people whom we can
we'll afford to despise for their smallness
in calibre and smallness i'm numbers,
knowing that the demonstration we have
made of our feeling has been too general
and pronounced to Ike successfully gain
said rs to its sincerity. From all parts
of the land the Democratic tribute of
mourning has arisen, and in the South,
where the only sentiment is Democratic
sentiment, at least as spontaneously and
hOtly as in the North, where Republican
feeling may possibly lie credited with
swaying the general sentiment. We re-
NIT the miserable Reading preacher and
all like him to their vOmit.
MIR. WILLIAM NJ. SINGERLY, of the
Philadelphia RccO,W who subscribes the
same liberal amount to the fund for Mrs.
Garfield and her family, and to the relief
of the homeless and distressed Michigan