The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-05-11
THE POLITICAL ISSUES.
Bossism and the SpOilS Sys-
tenn.
The Three Efforts at Bossism, 1900,
1882, and NOw.-The StalWart
Bosses Successful.
In 1S76-7 by Perjury, Forgery and Fraud
and in 1881 by AssassinatiOn.-The
Republican Half-breeds Fight
ing Bossism and Should
Make Common Cause
With the Demo-
Gratis.
[FOr;thelDemOcrat.l


Before these issues which are, in
fact, but one and the same thing, at
least they are twin sisters, all other
issues sink into insigniicance. They
strike at the very foundation on which
Republican Government was founded by
the fathers, and on which it must stand
if it stands at all. The issue plainly
put is: shall the 100000 of free born
Americans, by their free exercise OF the
elective franchise, select public servants
to serve them in the administration of
their government, and by this means
govern themselves? Or has the time
come in this country when few men,
as bosses, administering our govern
ment for spOils and in the interest of
spOilsmen and mOnOpOlists are to rule
this nation? And through their distri-
button of spOils, special legislation in
the interest of the privileged few, the
building up of gigantic mOnopolies and
the concentration of the wealth of the
nation in the hands of the few, forever
maintain themselves in power, and thus
be allowed to rule over us in their own
individual interests, that they, and
their descendants, who are to survive
them, may live in the glitter and splendOr
like Britain's lords whose manners
they ape.
Has the government Of the people, by
the people, and for the people, so soon
| proved failure? Is it not true of the
administration of our government for
| the last thirteen years that 1t has been
in very truth a government of the
| bosses, by the bosses and for the bOssesP
| This issue is now upon US, before it all
| other issues pale and fade away. Let
| the battle cry be, "DOwn with bosses
and their system of spOils administra-
tiOn." Is not this the one great threat
| ening danger to our libertieSp 1t Is an
issue which, under slightly different
forms and different names, has at three
| different times been presented to the
| American people. BOsSism, stronger
| government, and wider power, had their
| VOtaries in this country in the year 1900,
and John Adams, the nominee of the
| bosses, in that year asked to be elevated
| to the office of President on the issue of
| stronger government and wider power.
| Thomas jefferson, the founder of the
party we love, in that campaign, led the
labOring and producing classes of our
country in the fight against the cOnsOli-
datiOn of power, against bosses and boss
rule, to victory. The victory was COM
plete, and for more than a generation
| this issue slept; but only to awaken into
life again in 1882 under a different
form and name; at that time its vOtaries
endeavored to gain the. control of the
administration of our governmental
affairs by the building up of gigantic
moneyed monopoly With special privi-
leges and great advantages. In that
year they had so far intrenched them
selves in power that they secured the
passage by Congress of bill recharter-
| ing the United States bank with still
| greater privileges. But Andrew Jack
| son, another of the fathers of the Demo-
cratic party, stood at the helm of our
/ -. r an = In
| 10th day of July, 1882, returned the bill
| to the House in which it originated,
| with his objections thereto, so fOrcibly
| and clearly stated as to once again bury
| the issue of bOsSiSm and monopoly. In
this message he made use of the follow
ing language: "If we cannot at once, in
"justice to the interests vested under
"improVident legislation, make our
| government what 1t ought to be, we can
cat least take stand against all new
"grants of monopolies and exclusive
privileges, against any prostitution OF
"Our government to the advancement of
"the few at the expense of the many
This issue then slept until in the early
sixties when our nation was bleeding
at every pore, 1t raised its head for the
third time in our history. 1t controlled
both Houses of Congress and succeeded
in procuring laws to be enacted creating
vast monopOlies with special privileges
unequaled, giving to them the means Of
acquiring power until to-day we are 6
boss ridden and a boss ruled people
only retaining the semblance of some o.
the forms of that Republican govern
ment founded by our fathers. Is 1t no
fact that bOssism, monopoly and theil
accompanying spoils system of admins
tratiOn are threatening the very life o.
the RepublicP Is there not startling
evidence of the natural fruitage o.
these grants of special privileges to mo
, nOpolfes and the privileged few pre-
( sented to US on every handP We iool
abroad among the despotic nations Of
. the old world and see the privileged
few who are the possessors of prineeIy
l fortunes; and we also see that under
a the interest of the few to the prejudice
:. of the many, that those princely portions
: have been continuous in their building
i up, having been transmitted from sirt
= to Oldest son, generation after genera