National Republican., 1882-10-04
A Fight for Life.


A Fight for Life.
If the Republican party does not fight
Its enemies it will be defeated, as it ought
to be. If it is not strongly impressed
with the Importance Of living it will die,
RS it ought to die. If it feels that it is
the guilty creature the deserters from its
ranks proclaim it to be, it ought to seek a
pentential cave and retire from the
gaze of men. If it has for twenty-one
years met and overcome the Democratic
party, which it first found behind SEEM
ingly invincible intrenchments, only to
pale now in the presence of petty, mean,
and unprovoked rebellion in its own
ranks, it will deserve to be likened to
Shakspeare's lean and slippered panta-
loon, whose manly voice, changed to
childish treble, pipes and whistles in its
sound. If bearded men, associated to-
gether through principle, tradition, and
mutual trust, in fair and patriotic en-
deavor to control the government of the
country for good, and spare it the ills
which Democratic restoration would
bring, can be stampeded and shooed out
of the field like chickens by despicable
crew of sneaks and malignants-s vol
unteers and some the hired men of
party traitor high in national fame-then
virtue of vice should pardon beg, and the
great National Republican party should
step down and out. Finally, if the uncon-
quered hatred of freedom, equality, and
national authority, which is the very soul
of modern Democracy, as the solid South
is its body, if this can best shape the
country's destinies, then let small-beer
traitors bluster and strut upon the Re-
publican battlements, diverting our at
tention from the Democratic enemy while
he marches into our fortress through the
main gate.
The Republican party has of late years
temporized too much with its deadliest
foes. 1t has argued with men who sought
Its life that they were mistaken. 1t has
apologized to the disturbers it should
have denounced. 1t has put a premium
on treachery and made honest devotion
ashamed. 1t has taken counsel of its
fears, instead of relying upon the power
which dwelt in the dread of its dis
pleasure. 1t has allowed it's strong men
to be stung to death by pismires. 1t has
held with nerveless hand the power which
the people entrusted to it for great pur-
poses. The duty of restoring the Union
and upholdng citizens rights has been
neglected in an effort to pacify swine in
the distribution of provender, and this
low and contemplate work has been
held up by noisy mountebanks as the
great duty of the hour under the hum
bug title of civil service reform. The
party has not dared to seem indignant at
the evil deeds of its opponents, because
great journals scofled at such triaes; but
it has been frightened into demanding
the retention in Office of drunkards loaf
ers, enemies, and imbeciles because of
the fierce outcry made by these same
great journals at the prompting of some
unfaithful employe who had been re-
moved.
The time has come when the Republi-
can party must assert itself as against
the manufactured public opinion which
treats it as public enemy. 1t may win
by tighting-it surely cannot by de-
batting with its traitors as to its own re-
spectability
The letter of Judge Folger accept
ing the nomination for governor of
the State of New York is good begin
ming for a new departure. 1t truly de-
clares that those who are prating of new
nominations in New York are simply ad-
vocating the dissolution of the Republic
can party. This is a center-shot at party
T. Ia A II
nominee Of the party for Congressman
at-large, who acts precisely as one would
act who had foisted himself into that
place on the ticket expressly for the pur-
pose Of playing the part of traitor. His
pretcnse that his declination is because
of unfortunate circumstances that have
come to light since the adj djournment of
the convention" is as miserable a sub
terfuge as was ever invented by silly
servant to escape censure for breaking a
piece Of china. His declaration that "a
very large portion of the Republican
party Of the State are not disposed to ac-
cept its conclusions as an authoritative
utterance of the party" because some low
trickster manufactured false and use
less proxy in the State committee, which
act had no influence, direct or remote, on
tse convention proceedings, is a palpable
effort to cause the discontented portion
of the party to become "very large"
His hypocritical suggestion TO restore
harmony by again assembling the dis
cordant elements of the party for the
purpose of submitting anew to them the
questions already decided, and reopen