New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-08-13
NOT Al PRESENT.

gAt presept,n said SauchO PanZa, when Don
Ouixote urged him to complete the penanco of
three thousand lashes by which he was to Sc
cure the disenchantment of Dulcinea del To-
bose, and her elevation from a lowly estate TO
wealth and grandeur at present am not In
Sthe humor promise to fog and flay myself
@as soon as ever am so inclined" 1t seems
to us that there is something in the behavior
of our friends of The Democratic party not I'M
like the prudent procrastinatiOn OF the Man.
chegan squire. They have taken upon them
selves u task which they are in no hurry to
perform; and in truth we cannot wonder at
their reluctance. There is the discussion Of
the Tariff, for example. A hundred times
have they pledged their honor to take that up
and settle it. hundred ,imes in the inter-
walls between campaigns, have they bound
themselves TO overhaul the protective system,
to place American industry upon new footing,
and to define the Democratic National policy SO
clearly that nobOdy-not even the most superb
Hurrah- Candidate-can mistake it for q local
issue. But after party has lodged vital
question all its life, after it has protested con-
Trajectory creeds in contiguous States. and telt
itself habitually rent asunder (between cam
paigns) by irreconcilable economists who claim
the right of directing it, any settlement of the
controversy involves such lashing of its own
shide, such extreme personal modification and
discomfort that when it comes to the point OF
action every Democratic candidate is certain to
declare, as Judge Hoadly did in the opening OF
his canvass, {" At present am not in the humor
of this question promise to flog and fay my
self over the tariff as soon as ever | am so In
"cinedn
The case is the same with the Reform of the
Civil Service. That is n measure about which
the Democrats have talked great deal. be-
tween campaigns either abusing their adver-
saries for not putting it IN force, OF ridiculing
the sentimental politicians who have been try
ing for it promising that the Democracy
would apply it, as soon as they came into
power, or promising that the Democracy would
not hear OF any such d. foolishness until all
the boys had been taken in out of the cold To
commit themselves practically on the subject
of Civil Service Reform, either one way or the
other, is penance altogether too severe for
Democratic heroism, if there is any such thing;
and so it happens that after all the clamor of
irresponsible speakers, and all the chatterlng
of haphazard newspapers. the Democratic
State Conventions uniformly decide that they
are not in the hunor of talking about Civil Ser
vice Reform and that this penance, like the
other, is one which they will perform soon as
ever they are 80 inclined.
With respect to the Convict Labor system
the Democrats were indiscreet enough, In this
State, to fix time for action, pedging the
Legislature as distinctly as possible in the
last campaign to carry out the change which
they believed that ignorant voters of their
party desired. But after all they are not much
troubled by such indiscretions, for IN spite of
the pledge the Legislature plump!y declared
that it was not in the humor, and turned over
the whole question to a future election, in
which we may he sure that the party will not
he inclined to hamper itself by announcement
frankness. We might go on at great length
with the catalogue of instances in which the
Democratic party, having promised out of sea-
son to do various trying things, has drawn back
at the effective moment, and declared that il
was not in the mood just then to make itself
uncomfortable, but that it would certainly do
SO iast as soon as 1t felt inclined. Why should
we expect it to act differently Dow7 1t ia about
entering upon a campaign in which il needs all
the help it can get from nebulous promise and
inOhensive performance, all the favor of the
doctrinaires and the rump, all the credulity of
the Manhattan Club, and all the great expect
atoms of the boys with cold toes. 1t is not III
the humor of doing nything at present. When
Don Quixote and SanchO were about to mount
the wooden horse for their famous ride through
space, the knight took the squire aside and
begged him first to perform at least an install
ment of his promised castigation. By my
SOUL" exclaimed Sancho, @yOur worship is
stark mad l am just going to gallop thou
sand leagues upon a bare board, and you
would have me first fay my launches"