The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1882-09-21
IN. Y. Tribune.1
A Terrible Indictment Of Democracy.

| IN. Y. Tribune1
A Terrible Indictment Of Democracy.
In the course of the characteristic.
ally strong and incisive speech which
he delivered before his fellow-citizens
of Maine, a few days ago, Mr.. Blaine
issued the following notable chal-
lenge; 81 challenge any gentleman tc
show "that in the whole of twenty-one
years the Democratic party and its
various side issues like the GreenbacB
and Labor and other organizations has
ever proposed measure that was able
to be materialized into the form of a
bill or resolve in the Congress of the
United States for the amelioration Of
any human woe or for the advance
ment Of any public good"
This is a remarkable challenge.
Certainly no more terrible indictment
Of a political party was ever drawn.
Consider it's scope and significance.
The twenty-one years to which Mr..
Blaine refers are, in many respects,
the twenty-one most important years
of our National life, covering as they
do the War for the Union period, the
reconstruction period, and the resump-
ton period. If Mr.. Blaine's challenge
cannot be successfully met, then the
Democratic. party will be pilloried by
the historian Of the future, who will
bear witness that when there was
sorest need for patriotism, for states
manship, for the highest philanthro-
py, that party sim s.y came out strong
as stumbling-block in the path Of
this country.
And the challenge cannot be sue
cessfully met. The party which was
the great aid and comfort Of secession,
which stigmatized.t the war as failure,
which opposed emancipation, which
resisted the draft, which sneered at
the Union leagues as they were form
ed, never fathered a measure in Con-
gress that hurt the feelings Of a rebel.
Not one. But Democracy did array
itself against good many of the war
measures which the Republicans in
Congress introduced and put through,
measures which only had to fail to
cripple seriously the military arm of
the Government, to dishearten the
boysin blue. The trying years which
Immediately followed the war, when
the country looked to Congress to de-
wise the measure necessary to preserve
the fruits Of the war, found the Dem
ocratic party equally unfruitful in
good works. 1t fought the recon-
struction legislation proposed by the
Republicans in Congress tooth and
nail, and in SO doing furnished in
spiration and moral support" to the
Ku Klux and kindred organizations.
Who, forsooth, during the era of re-
construction can point to a single
measure emanating from Democrat
ic Congressman and commanding a
united Democratic support which was
for 1.-THE amelioration of any human
woe or the advancement of any public
gnod"? There may be such measure
upon the statute-book, but if there is
the country has forgotten it. The
party which deliberately chose to see
the bloody chasm kept open and
widened rather than recede from sell
fish partisanship long enough to turn
in and assist the Republicans in shap-
ing the necessary reconstruction leg
islation could scarcely be expected to
be moved by any phase of human
woe" or any consideration involving
"the public good" Nor does the
Democratic party appear to any better
in Congress when we pass
to the days when thegreat issue be-
fore the country was finance. It took
to its embrace all sorts Of financial
lunatics. No theory of the functions
of money was wild enough to prevent
it from receiving plenty of Democrat
ic support. With view Of catching
the floating vote Democracy as repre-
sented In Congress shameless1y sur
rendered it's traditional hard-money
doctrine, went in for unlimited soft
money-''fiat" money-swore that the
picture Of a thing was as good as the
thing itself, that promise to pay was
as good as payment, and capped the
climax of folly and inverted states
manship by voting to repeal the Re-
sumption Act. So able and accom-
plished Democrat as Allen G.. Thur
man was in Congress when the fnan-
cial issue was at the fore. But even
he chose to sin against light and
knowledge and enroll himself with
the foes of a sound currency. The
records Of political parties
contain no more shameless surrender
of convictions to so-called party ''ex-
pediency" than he furnished. The
pressure put upon Mr.. Thurman by
his party was tremendous. 1t was so
tremendous that he yielded to it and
fell never to regain his aforetime place
in the general esteem. If Thurman
had thrown his great influence in
favor of honest money and had made
stand upon some bill embodying his
ideas the result might have been diff
ferent. As it is, the history of DEM
ocracy in Congress in regard to finance
questions is history Of cowardice and
disgrace.
In more recent years Democracy in
Congress has done nothing to retrieve
the reputation the successive chapters
of which we have glanced at. Its en-
deavors looking to skeletonizing the
army, to stopping the fast mail, to
crippling sundry departments Of the
public service in the name Of economy
to removing the safeguards that sur
round the bahot-box in the name of
freedom, to starving the Government
to death to conserve flagrantly parti-
san legislation-such feats of Demo
cratic craftsmanship are still fresh in
the public mind.
Mr.. Blaine's challenge will not be
picked up. The Democrat that makes
the attempt will merely succeed IN
covering himself with confusion. The
fact is the record of Democracy for