Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-07-19
The Republican Party's Future.
IFrOn the Portland Regirter.

AAASAA AhO NoNaauu ncLlHlt1sl
With the Lincoln Administration the
Republican party first acquired prom
inence and power, and by conibina-
ton ofeircumstances IL was called upon
to do its best work at the beginning Of
Its career. To 1t were attached many
able men and accomplished statesmen,
who sooner or later lost their influence
with the party and became detached
from its support.
1t is very significant fact that with
the single exception of one whose abr
sence was requested and who left ID
rather bad odor, every member of Lin
coins original Cabinet became antagon-
istic to and left the party. Greeley,
Sumner, Fessenden, Trumbull, Adams,
and that class of meh were denounced,
and totally different class of men
came to the front and assumed con-
troll.
From that time forward, while adyen-
turous politicians have been rushing to
its standard, the better element of the
party-the men who gave it character
and standing-have been leaving il.
Give the Republican party credit for
all the good it may have ACCOMPLISHED
and still there follows long accounta-
billty, such, for instance, as.
The Boss Shepherd Ring frauds in
the District of Columbia. II
The safe burglary iniquity.
The whisky frauds, reaching to the
White House. ~
The Freedman's Bank swindle. .
The Belknap Impeachment.
The Robson naval frauds.
The Sanborn frauds.
The Indian Bureau frauds.
The Pension Bureau frauds.
The Black Friday rascality.
The theft of the Presidency in 1875.
The Indiana bribery in 1880.
And the Star Route frauds, not to
mention a. long list of other offences,
any one of which ought to and would
overthrow any other political party
that ever existed in this country.
Those who acted with it from the
start, and held out with it as long as
self-respect would allow them to do so,
admitsand assert that it has been false
to all its first principles, and become a
party of pretence and hypocrisy.
lntrenched in power as it has been so
long, with all the offices and emolu-
ments in its possession; with unlimited
resources and an army of willing SER
wants at its command; with innumera-
bic dependents tenacious of their places
and ready to do anything required to
keep the party in the ascendancy, it is
no easy matter for the sovereign people
ever to overthrow this huge monopoly
of power.
| Recent events indicate pretty clearly
that the people have taken these things
to heart and intend to act accordingly.
The Republican leaders WILL of
course, blind the eyes of the people as
much aspossible by ignoring their COM
plants, and endeavoring to divert their
minds from the sins of the party to
questions of policy upon which they
suppose people may differ. The people,
however, are in earnest, and what tiith
want is honesty in elections, economy
in public expenditures, and thorough
reform in all the affairs of Government;
and this they well know cannot be eff
fected unless there is change of the
men who administer the Government.
The influence of names is no longer
felt; the catch-words of party can neith-
er rally, nor do they alarm the voter as
they once did. The honest Republi-
can who means reform does not hesitate
to act with the honest Democrat who
votes for it. The independent voter
takes the responsibility and casts his
ballot where he thinks it will do the
most good. We have seen this in the
last elections in the different States; and
this movement will continue, and the
whole country will again rejoice in ali
honest administration of Government
under new men and a new order OF
things.