Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-21
A FANCY PORTRAIT OF THE DEMO-
CRATIC PARTY.

Wishes 20 De snougnt the organ OF the
Democratic party, is making desperate ef-
forts to demonstrate its fitness for that
position by publishing fancy portraits of
the organization it desires to be the mouth
piece of. The latest endeavor in this di.
rection was quite work of art, the main
drawback being that the enthusiasm of the
artist led him to me.amorphose the Inca.
ments CT his sitter to such an extent that
it has become impossible for any Democrat
to recognize the outcome. The private
organ of Hearst in fact has undertaken to
ascrihe to the Democracy great number
of virtues, tendencies and characteristics,
which are conspicuous by their absence in
the party. For example, we find i de-
scribed as the defender of the political
rights Of the many" as "the protector
:" the poor and lowly, as :" the guardian Of
81 the financial aud material Interests Of the
"laboring class, as g the friend of sound |
currency" as "the champion of the |
equal rights of minorities )" and, above
all, as loyal to the Union" This is a |
pretty sweeping caricature Of the party, |
and the writer of such unadulterated non-
sense must possess a very strong faith ID
the stupidity OF his readers if he thinks
the Democrats themselves will believe it.
History is perhaps not regarded with much
respect by the average Democratic editor,
but even he ought to know that the ma.
jority of men have sufficiently good memo
ries to remember the political occurrences
of the past twenty or thirty years. Dur.
| ing that period the Democratic party has
| proved itself the reverse Of everything
claimed for it by Hearst's organ, and the
people have not forgotten this.
Its loyalty to the Union was shown
by its alliance with armed rebellion against
the Union, and by the organization of a
cowardly and treacherous - fire in the
"rear." Its regard for the "poor aud
"lowly was exhibited in its treatment of
the enfranchised Southern negroes during
the reconstruction period. Its fidelity to
the interests of the workingmen has taken
the singular form of persistent effort to
prevent the resumption of specie payments.
It's friendship for a sound currency has
been shown by its strenuous attempts to
foist fiat money upon the country. It's
"defence of the political rights of the
"many" has, curiously enough, issued in
bull-dozing and ballot.box stuffing all over
the South. The organ of Hearst calmly
asserts that "the Democratic party natur.
"ally tends to public virtue" We know
from this what the Democratic ideal of
public virtue is. 1t is Tweedism. In the
city of New York the Democratic party
had full sway for many years, and through
Tammany Hall was enabled to put all it's
governmental theories in operation. Boss
Tweed was typical Democrat. and his
reign was no doubt an example of public
Virtue" from the Examiners standpoint
The fact is that the Democratic party
has had no principles or convictions which
were not subversive, disloyal, seditious, or
dishonest, since the rebellion. During the
whole of the period referred to it has
either been engaged in efforts to Illustrate
the results of the war, to break down the
national credit, to help the South in pre-.
venting reconstruction, or in base and cow
ardly attempts to crawl into power by
servile limitations of Republican policy 1t
had one sound issue, and that was free.
trade. But it had not the courage of its
: convictions even on that question, and
whenever it encountered opposition it
sought to prove that it was just as much
in favor of the tariff as its opponents. In
national politics it has shown itself utterly
without principle. 1t has resorted to the
most fiagitious methods for the purpose Of
securing sham majorities at the polls.
+, Three times it has undertaken to elect a
President by trampling out the freedom of
the ballot throughout the Southern States.
1t has had its allies in the ku-K lux and the
rifle and saber clubs, and all the machinery
of intimidation which the Southern Demo.
Gratis devised. When it could not succeed
by force it has unhesitatingly resorted to
fraud, as in New York, where, under the
direction of Samuel J. Tilden, one of its
special pets and leaders, no less than 40, 900
illegal votes were counted at single cleo.
ton.
In Maine it made bold attempt to
, overthrow republican institutions alto.
gether. In the last Presidential election
it had recourse to forgery to defeat General
; Garfield. In Oregon it tried to cheat the
electoral college. These and such like
. deeds are the evidences of its tendency
3 "to public virtue" 1t has made a policy
of demagogism. 1t has allured the ignor.
ant elements continually by holding out to
them the hope of plumber. 1t has habitu-
ally employed its power for purposes of
corruption. Years ago it ceased to pos.
sess any distinguishing principles, and its
national platforms and tickets have long
been lame and clumsy attempts to steal
5 Republican ideas. Conscious of its own
dement's, and of the national want Of con.
fidence in it, it has feared to take Presi.
] dental candidates from its own ranks.
. Thus it put in nomination Horace Gree.
: ley, its lifelong enemy. Thus it sought
again for candidate the Union General
, Hancock. And in drafting its platforms
it has been careful to thrust ont of sight
all the original Democratic ideas, and to
put forward such as might delude the voters
into thinking that it had changed it's views.
In short. it has been incorporating ever
, since the close of the rebellion, and has
! been everything by turns, and nothing
"long."
Certainly this is a strong illustration Of
public virtue" but when an eulogy is to
be pronounced upon the Democratic party
by such journal as Hearst's private or.
gan, perhaps we ought not to wonder that
the innumerable evidences of the hopeless
corruption which constitute the later his.
tory of the organization should be proudly
paraded as indicating integrity and purity.
We shall not copy the crudities of Hearst
organ by asserting that the Republican
party is without many faults and imper.
fectious. 1t has no severer critics than the
Republican press, however. But the most
damning proof of the low estimate made
by the American people of Democratic
honesty. consists in the fact that when
scores of thousands of Republican voters
| were disguised with the second admins.
trasion of Grant, and longed to punish the
corruption of that period, they were forced
to the conviction that it was impossible to
do this with safety, because, bad as the
Republican administration then was. IL