The Portland daily press., 1882-09-07
a Remarkable Challenge.

Mr.. Blaine few days since delivered aefore
his fellow citizens of Maine an address of re-
markable strength and power, arraigning the
policy of the Fus.oDists in his own State, and
the policy of the Democracy throughout the
country. In the course of his speech he issued
this remarkable challenge. 81 challenge any
one to show that in the whole of twenty-one
years The Democratic party and its various side
issues, like the Greenback and Labor and 9TH
er organizations, have ever proposed meas
ure that was able to be materiaized into the
form of a bill or resolve in the Congress of the
United States for the amelioration of any hu-
man woe or for the advancement of any ublic
good" We say this is all things taken into
consideration, a most remarkable challenge,
and at first sight would be by many regarded
as merely an audacious flourish of rhetoric on
the part of gentleman who, during his whole
long public life, has heen characterized by
bold aggresslveness when engaged in the work
of political campaign. Twenty-one years is
quite long period Since the incoming of
Lncoln's administration the Democracy, it is
true, have been in a minority but it
has been a minority by no means to
be despised. 1t has been minority powerful
enough to secure control of the National House
of Representatives for six years of this time, OF
the National Senate for two years, and to
come within one electoral vote of electing their
candidates for he Presidency and Vice Presi-
dency at one election. We have been little
surprised that this challenge has not before
this been many times accepted the part of
our Democratic contemporaries, but on second
thought we are not astonished. as the challenge
is an unanswerable one. These twenty-one
years may be divided into threeperiods, which
together make the most important era of our
national lite. These are the period of the war
for the preservation of the Union, the period
of reconstruction, and the period of reauiast-
meut of our national finances and the resump-
tion of specie Dayments after years of 5epre-
ciaied paper currency. MIR. Blaine evidently
spoke carefully and guardedly when he issued
his challenge. During the trying period of tke
war there were individual cases of loyal Demo-
Gratis, but it is only matter of history that
the party as party gave aid and comfort TO Sc
eession, opposed TO its utmost emancipation,
resisted the draft and stigmatzed the war as
failure. The party arrayed itself against war
measures which had it only been sufficiently
strong TO defeat would have SO crippled the
military arm of the government as to have uD-
doubtedly made the issue of the contest far
other than it was. In the trying period of re-
construction the party was found opposing
every measure of necessary legislation intro
duced by the Republicans, and constantly fur
nishiHg moral support and il spiration to
the ku-Klux and other like or anizations.
When We come to the period when
the great issue before the country was finance
the party was found in its traditional Bourbon
attitude. and worse. 1t had always claimed to
be the party of hard money and sound cur
rency, but the m ,ment financial issues became
prominent, there was no theory of the func-
tions of money wild but it received plenty
of Democratic support. La order to catch the
floating lunatIc vote, the party went back on
its historic record, put itself on record for un-
limited fiat money, and did everything in its
power to compass the repeal of The resumption
act. Men who have laid claims TO statesman
ship, like Mr.. Thurman of Ohio, yielded to the
pressure brought to bear upon them and were
found advocating the most insane, shameless,
and dishonest financial policy. Since resump-
ton has become fact and our finances have
become established on sound basis, the party
has done nothing to retrieve it's reputation 1t
has been the party of negatives, of Instructions,
of opposition TO every me asure 'for the ameli-
Grafton of human woe and the advancement
of public good" Mr. Blanes challenge is not
a flourish of rhetoric. 1t is challenge
grounded in the facts of history. 1t has not
yet been accepted, and we hazard the assertion
it will not be during the current campaign.
His indictment of the party is a stroug one,
but it is All unanswerabe one.