The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-04-02
Cracking the Whip.

Our esteemed contemporary, the Post,
las hard time preserving harmony in
he Democratic party. A little while
lgo it read the Riot act to the Ohio
Democrats and pronounced touching
funeral Grafton over the remains of the
party in that State, the occasion of its
Indignation and funeral grief being the
election Of Mr.. Payne to the Senate.
Now it cracks the whip over the head
of Samuel }. Randall, late Speaker of
;he House, broadly intimates that he is
traitor to the Democratic party, and
aguratively speaking, threatens to take
aim by the scruff OF the neck and pitch
him out of the window. The occasion
Of its frequent outburst is the fact that
MIR. Randall does not approve the Nor
rison Tariff bill and threatens to unite
with the Republicans in defeating it.
The Post says Mr. Randall "has con-
tracted to lead the Republican opposi-
ton to the bill and to deliver in the Re-
publican camp some fifty Democratic
votes against It." Well, ii Mr.. Randall
ran lead fifty Democrats into the Re-
publican camp, that is pretty formid-
able revolt, and, to worldly-minded
man, might seem to justifythe righteous
wrath Of our esteemed contemporary.
Proceeding to crack the whip over the
. heads of Randall and his nutineers, the
iOSt says: In voting against the Nor
rison bill. under the circumstances,
these Democrats will vote themselves
out of the Democratic party. They
will have the choice of going into the
House caucus and afterwards boiling
its decision as traitors, or of staying out
altogether, and by that act and their
subsequent proceedings proclaiming
themselves Republicans.
These are brave words and they con-
vey fair warning to Mr.. Randall what
he may expect il he persists in his con-
tumacy--nothing less than TO be cast
out of the Democratic party, together
with all those who do not fear the party
whip. There are, however, few points
which we commend TO the careful and
prayeful consideration of the Post /:
First, this reading-out process is dan
gerous, because you never can tell
where it will end. In this case, if it is
proposed TO read all The anti-free trade
Democrats out of the party, it might
end in reading out a majority, or pos
Bibly in Mr.. Randalrs turning around
and reading Morrison and his fellows
out of the party. Before the wagging
begins it should be definitely ascer-
tained whether the dog is going to wag
the tail or the tail the dog. If the event
should prove that Mr.. Ran
Hall is the body and Mr.. MorT1-
son the cludal appendage the latter
might have occasion to regret the inn
petuous zeal of his fiery and untamed
organ. Second, the stigmatizing OF
Mr.. Randall as "a traitor" and the
threat to read him out of the party be-
cause of his disagreement with Mr.
Morrison on the Tariff question, is an
insult to man of his years and stand
ing and party service. He has been in
public life much longer than Mr.. Nor
rison, has had a much larger expert
ence in public affairs, and is at least as
well entitled to speak for his party. He
has given and taken more blows in
party contests than Mr.. Morrison. And
yet, forsooth, because this Democratic
veteran, this hero Of many hard
fought fight, this man, whom his party
has delighted 10 honc', chooses TO diff
fer with the gentleman from Illinois on
question of party policy, upon which
the entire Democratic party is divided,
he is called traitor and threatened
with political ostracism. We rather
think that before this programme Is
carried out, Mr.. Randall and his friends
will have something to say. National
Republican.