The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-24
r.zz COMING TRIAL OF DEMOCRACY


The COMING TRIAL oF DEMOCRACY
The next session of congress viii have
a great deal to do in determining the mex
presidential election. Not that there VII
be any arrangement of the campaign oy
tho nol;ticians at Washington, naming oil
the candidates. an outline of the platforms
ami a general setting up OF the game.
uov much or how little of such secret
work the politicians may do is OF little
moment. 1t is in the public proceedings
of tbe two houses that the fate Of the
contest viii Predetermined
The house will be democratic the sen
ate republican. In the action of the
house, SAYS the St Louis Republican, the
country will look for the Democratic ma
tional platform of 1884; and IN the action
OF the senate it will look for the opposite
platform This is inevitable, and perfect
ly fair. What a party promises to do
when it gets into power is not half as
much to be relied on as an indication OF
its policy as what it actually does when
in power The two parties that are to
stand face to face IL the next presidential
contest will previously stand face to face
i'll the forty-eighth congress; and the
country, without waiting for The regularly
proclaimed platforms, will look to the
house and the senate respectively to learn
what democracy is and what republican
ism is on the practical questions of the
day
1t is easy enough to tell what these
Questions will be- They are few and
.simple-so few and similar that they may
be disposed of in a Single bill. There is
no dispute about the currency; no dispute
about Indians, pensions or foreign policy;
happily there is not single constitutional
issue before the country since Mr.. Hayes
withdrew the .troops-from the. south and ]
adopted the democratic policy of leaving
the southern states, as well an the north
ern states, to their own self government. |
All these matters over which the parties |
fiercely wrangled eight years ago are
settled There remains the single fact of
a large excess of revenue annually pour
ing into the treasury--and this is the
subject TO be dealt with. $50
The estimated surplus for the current |
fiscal year is $3.50, 100000, and for the |
next fiscal year is $119 900. 000-and the
actual surplus viii exceed the estimate in
both cases-and that too, after paying out
$50, 500, 600 for interest and St02 600 900 |
pensions each year.
The surplus revenue must be reduced,
the people. How? Right here is where |
the two parties differ The democrats |
believe in large reductions of the revenue,
and insist that these re auctions should be |
made SO as to bring the largest measure
of relief to the whole people. The repub
licans, on the other hand, will not make
any reductions they can possibly avoid,
and in making them viii attempt to give
the relief to favored classes. In the new
tariff and revenue bill passed by the late
congress, the republicans took off about
$40 ,000, 900 taxes-from whom? Banks,
bank depositors match makers, .the man
lfacturers of patent medicines, and cos 5
netics, and tobacco consumers. They
10 not think any further reductions ought
o be made in the next congress, and !
hey Will oppose them if proposed, but if
he reduction must be made, they viii en-
ieaver to limit them to fine consumers of
pirits, beer and tobacco. leaving the !,
masses of the people still subject to the t
oppressive taxes of war tariff on the ma q
erials of their industry and the necessa-
les of life.
This is the republican programme. 1t |
s Pig-Iron KelIey's policy It will be a
he policy of the republican senate. 1t c
will be the policy of the republican pro- :
ectionists of the East And what is +
it win be the policy of one t
emocratic candidate for speaker of the I
ouse-Mr. Randall On this question I I
f questions, this only important, practi-
al issue of the day, Mr. Randall will be
ut of the democratic ranks and on the
lde OF the enemy. Is it possible that the :
emocfats OF the next house can commit
UGH an act of irreparable self -stultifca- / g
ion as the election of this gentleman to
ne speakership, and thus invite defeat in
he national contest that awaits them9
he issues of that contest will be made d
p, and the lines drawn, not in the party
inventions of next summer, but in the
congressional session which begins next !,
december. A beginning will be made the
rst day of that session, and the whole p
uslness viii be virtually completed in
lie election of the house speaker. That :
I'll be the critical event with the democ d
9cy for four years to come
is
POWDER EXPLOSION.