New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-05-02
SUICIDAL BUT PATRIOTIC.

Verify these free-trad DemocTalS alo " Poi
petual fountain of comfort and JOY TO hepuo-
lcans. They allow nothing to interfere WIN
their laudable mission of splitting their own
party in twain. One would think that alter
their unfortunate experience at the lroquois
banquet they would be content to lapse into the
background for time and allow the party TO
pull itself together a bit before subJectlng IL 10
fresh turmoil. But they do nothing OF the
kind. Having spent a considerable peFlou III
belaboring Mayor Harrison tor telling the truth
at an inoppOrtune moment they resume opera
tions where they left OFF when Harrison inter-
rupted the programme. They calmly ignore
the fact that nine tenths OF the Democratic
journals of the country have admitted IN one
way or another that Harrison was right, ana go
ahead on the old assumption that they are them
selves the Ian ger portion of the party. Here IS
The World of yesterday, getting its breath back
for the first time since the Iroquois disaster, re-
marking with beautiful assumption OF COM
placency upon the "earnest discussion pro-
NOTED by the Democrats of the Northwest so
"eilectually at Chicago, and now going on III
"the country" Iersely summed up the
earnest discussion consists OF Mr. Nattersoh
and a few free traders calling HARRISON
anowling BLACKBOARD" on one side, and tn"
rest of the Democratic party pronounclng MN
leve-hcadcd on the other. The U0rd wou!u
nrobably allude to the well-knOwn scIimmage
between the monkey and the parrot as an
"carnest discussion
To help Old the discussion The World repro
duces the tariff planks of all the Natlonai
Democratic platforms since the year looO'
and demonstrates incontrovcrtbly that the
party has consistent and unbroken record In
favor of free trade. This is piece OF Journal
istic enterprise especially gratifying to HE
TRIBUNE. When the tariff question was exclt'
ing its greatest interest in the campaign OF
1850. and the tarin wage cards were bringing
oCer the Democratic workmen by hundreds 10
the Republican side, the Democratic Leaders
made such heroic efforts to prove that their
marty was not and never had been i'll favor or
free trade that THE TRIBUNE compiled the
Democratic platform tariff record and pub
Ushed it in much the same way rs The Word
publishes its compilation now. If we remem-
her rightly the publication at that time, Octo-
ber 1850, did not afford the Democracy unal-
loved satisfaction. 1t was symmetrical con-
sistent record, and we offered 1t rs evidence
that a party which had been on all sides OF
nearly every other public question lad always
been on the same side Of this 1t had favored
free trade when protection was in its infancy
and IT had never changed it's position. 1t Is ex-
ceedinclv gratifying to see The World drawing
inspiration for the next campaign from our
columns of the last campaign.
That the purpose Of our contemporary IN thus
| narrowing our hot shot to pour into the ranks
of its own party is purely patriotic one there
ran he no doubt. We have its own word for 1t
| in fact. "Ihe World, as its constant readers
. have reason to know" it said yesterday, takes
= little interest in party organizations which
| - hoye no other reason of being than to clutch
- Offices and patronage for their members" The
natural courss for any newspaper. Democratic
mr. other holding that extremely crcdltabe view
| of marty organization would be to level It's
! heaviest guns NJ the Democratic party. IL Is
orr opinion that there is no more Destructive
ordnance known to political warfare than that
which The World is firing ut present. II there
| are Democrats who are unable to see Tn e
nolitical wisdom of The VorIds course we
commend TO them the anecdOte Of the unbe-
lieying Irishman. 1t was the custom OF this
Irisbman to scoll at the Catholic religion, and
cspecally to rldicule the service of the mass.
| One day his companion, who was devout
| Catholic. persuaded Pat to go to mass with
| him. In the midst Of the ceremony Pat wins
pered: mike, this bates the divil!' Pat
RESPONDED Nike that the intinuon!"
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