Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1882-11-15
The Cause of the Democratic Victory.

VI tut
From the New York World.
The real cause of this latest and
most memorable revolution in Amer
lean politics are not far to seek. The
scandals of Grantism had less to do
with the elections of 1874 than the
scandals of Robesonism with the cleo
tons of 1882. What is now shown
is that the American people, neither
in hard times nor in flush times, are
willing to be ruled by robbers. What
is now shown is that, no matter how
patient the people maybe, time will
come when they can not be rallied to
the support of party by its name and
its past achievements alone, after that
name and those achievements have
evidently become the cover for incom-
potency and corruption. The claim
of the Republican party to have
saved the country and paid the debt
and grown the crops has finally ceased,
to the average citizen, to be a valid
reason why he should vote to pro-
long the reign of branded thieves and
perjurers because they call them
selves Republicans. 1t is less to any
presumed merit of the Democratic
party than to the proved crimes and
follies Of the leaders whom the Re-
publican party has accepted, that the
Democratic party owes this wonderful
success.
This is truth which cannot be
safely forgotten. If any Democrat is
disposed to forget it, let him ask him
self why it was that the revulsion of
1874 had so far slackened in 1876
that the Democrats, although indeed
they elected their President, elected
him by majority so slender that the
Republican leaders found it possible
openly and audaciously to swindle
them out of the fruits of their victory
and to install as President man who
had VIGOROUSLY not been elected. If
the country tolerated this it was be-
cause in the mean time the Democratic
House elected in 1874 had met and
had been weighed and found wanting.
The election of that House was a
vote of want of confidence in the Re-
publican party, but the majority did
not 50 address themselves to meeting
the needs of the country as to inspire
in the country II positive confidence
in the Democratic party. The House
was not audaciously corrupt, like .itr'
rsSaSSG;-as e s.:1 us Re-
publican successor, but it was obvious
ly timid and inadequate. And be-
cause it was obviously timid and in
it was possible to elect
Republican President and q Republic
can House in 1880.
If the next House shows that the
Democratic party means in earnest so
to legislato that no more revenue shall
be raised than the country needs
that that revenue shall be collected
in the most scientific and least bur-
densome manner; that taxes shall be
levied with no other object, "inci-
dental or otherwise, than the col
lection of revenue, and that the rev.
enue thus collected shall be intelli-
gently and honestly spent, there need
be no doubt about the election of a
Democratic President in 1884 to car
ry on the work begun by a Demo
cratic Congress. Let the men yes
terday chosen to represent the Demo-
cratic party in Congress see to it that
in the next canvass for the Presidency
the Democrats are not again found
unprepared to defend and forced to
abandon in disorder the Democratic
side of an issue raised by the Demo-
cratic party itself.
The great victory Of yesterday
means ruin to the Republican party.
What it means to the Democratic
party, the new Democratic Congress