Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-10-04
The Old Roman.

the following extracts. The Senator has
lost none of his old time vigOr and
Zone blow of his bugle horn is worth
a thousand men," In speaking of the
necessity of q change in the administra-
ton of the Government, the Senator
said:
Now, my friends, it SO happens that
no election i'll as great a state as Ohio
can accur that does not involve more or
less questions of national concern and
especially is this true when the election
is within Il months or but little more of
q presidential election. Next year the
people of the United State are to deter
mine who shall be their rulers for four
years then to come. The election of
this year will in a great degree deter
mime what party will succeed next
year. Hence it is that although this
year state matters have been more large
ly discussed than is common, yet again
and again you find theahlest of the men
who have taken the stump directing
their attention to matters of National
concern. Now, | want to say few
words on that subject, and they shall be
but few. cannot go into long array
of arguments by which should hope to
satisfy you that the Republican party
ought to be defeated next year, and that
in order to defeat them then they ought
to be defeated this year. IcannOt 90 into
that long array of facts and figures and
arguments, which it would take hours
to lay before you in anything like full
ness and thOroughness of mode; but
there is one thing, my friends, one idea
that / cannot leave thus without inn
pressing upon you, want you to think
of it now.
You find in the Constitution of the
United States that the President is to be
elected for the limited period of four
years and although there is nothing to
prevent his reelection, yet custom has
established it as firmly as though it
were written in the Constitution that
he shall be reelected but once, if he is so
fortunate as to obtain even that; so
eight years is by our Constitution itself
the limit of any mans presidency in the
United States. How is that? Because
our forefathers said it was wise to have
a change; that it is not wise that one
man should continue indefinitely in
power in this land. Come to our state
Constitution and your Governor is
elected for two years, and there is but
one instance, believe, in the whole his
tory of the state, where a man has
served three terms as Governor of this
state; at the very outside. Why is this?
For the same reason that our forefath-
ers, when they made this Constitution
hay, that we ourselves when we made
the Constitution of f'51-saw it was wise
that no man should hold power
too long in the state of Ohio. Now, my
friends, what is true of inviduals is true
of parties. Indeed, with our form of
government, the people will be divided
into parties, and the government by par
ties, to always be government for the
welfare of the whole people; but instru-
mentalities in parties, and the same rea-
son that exists prohibiting a President
to hold his office indefinitely, or Gov
ernOr to hold his office indefinitely, ap-
plies to parties. 1t is not safe for the
liberties of the people; it is not safe for
the constitution; it is not safe for the
prosperities of the people that one party
should remain indefinitely in power.
There must be change. You do not
SOW the same field for lifetime in one
grain. You change the seed and SOW
another. And so in the political field
it is not wise that one set of hus.
bandmen shall have the field all the
time in its possession.
Now, my friends, the reasons for this
are very plain. When one party re.
mains too long in power it is inevitable
for it is in human nature, that they be-
gin to think they have a sort of divine
right to rule the government; that the
government belongs to them, and that
| it is almost treason to dispute theil
right to rule and to lord it over us
| That is not all. While this feeling
makes them Indifferent to the senti
ments and interests of the people, there
is another evil result that makes its ap
pearance. The government gets into 3
kind of rut. The very same men are
in the same offices for year after veal
and tens of years after tens of years
They get into a rut, and having ev
cry thing in their own way
without that supervision, withou
that scrutiny by the people that ough
to take place, they manage the affairs o
government to suit their own interests
fill their own pockets. If it hadn
been for the long control of the Republi
can party in this country; if it hadn'r
been for a feeling at Washington ant
even through the country among the
great men of that party that they 81
completely held this country in theil
hands, that they could do any thing
and need not fear; if it hadn't been TO
that feeling, engendered by it's long con
tinuance in power, do you believe tina
such outrages as the star mail routes
the taking of millions of the people
money to reward partisan politicians
do you believe that such things as tn
levying of millions upon office holder
in order to corrupt the elections of tn
country; do you believe that such thing
as the Credit Mobilier and the salar,
grab; do you think that those thing
could ever have occurred? No, m,
friends, no! 1t was because these mel
have held power so long that they for
get that there is people. Theyno Ion
ger think of the people of the Unitet
States. They think of their own party
it's profit, its glory, and of that alone.
say, then, my friends, that it is tim
for change. l have said to you tn
President cannot hold his place unde
the Constitution and settled habit @
the American people for more thai
eight years; yet this Republican part
has been in power now TWENTY-FIVE
years, nearly three times eight years
and while it has been in power expense
have been increased, your treasury ha
been again and again plundered, you
public lands have been given away b,
the hundred million to acres of railwa,