The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1884-05-18
POLITICAL.
VARIOUS VIEWS VENTED.
A LIFELONG Revenue-Tarif Man speaA'
Ills siind-A Few Facts Calmly sfateo'

Every one comedies that Wnen tno p.
sent House of Representatives was eiecteu'
and for some time afterwards, tue pros
meets Of the Democratic party for victory IN
1854 were almost absolutely assured. itis
equally evident that during the session OF
this House these prospects nave peen
cloudcd until now the contest is douDtiui
onc-so doubtful that in order TO WIN next
fall the party must be thoroughly uniteu,
and It's councils directed with greater WIS
dom and discretion than has been OF la'e
exhibited at Washington. =.
Now, what has brought about ms un.
fortunate state OF thingsY lC Is not tua'
the Republicans have done anything 70
commend themselves TO the people. Ihey
have not repented or reformed. All 'ne
essential views Of their organization remain
ne they were, and are not likely to be
changed until they are dislodged from the
possession OF the National Government.
The present divided condition OF the
Democratic party is mainly attributable to
three causes.
First. The tariff issue was improperly
introduced into the contest for the speak
ership. This contest ought to have been
an honorable rivalry among Democrats,
and free from acrimony. Mr.. Randall ana
Mr.. Carlisle had both stood high in the
party and rendered efficient service to the
country. Dir. Randall had filed the posi-
ton OF Speaker with credit three times; he
had received the complimentary vote OF the
Democrats when Kelfcr was chosen, ana
it seemed only natural that lie should be re-
elected. Mr.. Carlisle was a great debater,
but was far from being the party leader
that MIR. Randall is, as recent events nave
shown. Mr.. Randall had exhibited high
executive capacity. To overcome these
in his favor the tariff issue
was lugged into the speakership contest.
The keynote was sounded from Kentucky
that Randall was no Democrat. This IN
spite of his long. faithful, and grand ser
vice This, too, from men who have
euIogized Arthur But Mr.. Randall could
not be denounced in this way without put
ting under the ban many Democrats hold
ing like opinions in Indiana. Ohio, Penn
svlyania, New York, New Jersey. New
England, Maryland, Virginia, West NIr-
ginia, Louisiana, and other States.
The tone OF tht war on Mr.. Randall and
his friends was fierce and aggressive, and
it was. Of course. offensive. The authors
of it-Messrs. Watterson, Hurd, Morri-
son & Co.-did not care for this. They
wanted to win atriumph-no matter how
to capture the organization OF the House,
and by like tactics TO nominate their nan
for President at the National Convention.
They were warned that this course would
cost us the presidential electiOn-that 1t
involved the loss of New York, New Jer-
sew. Connecticut. Ohio, Indiana, and Cali
~ Ill tbax- rorNlIp1 that what
they lost in these States they would make
up for by Democratic success in Michigan,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas. Iowa, &c.
The logic and the arithmetic OF this calcu-
lation were both bad. but they went
straight ahead, like the The dog in the old
fable who dropped his bone for its shadow
in the water.
The second error is kindred TO the first,
or part OF it. 1t is the attempt to make
the tariff issue the paramount issue OF the
presidential contest. The dOctrindire
partisans OF Carlisle insisted that il was
the only issue that now divides the two
parties. They were told that ii that were
the case, and they passed tariff bill, as
they proposed, this session, there would
be, according TO their own logic, no reason
for opposing the Republicans. This seemed
a puzZleT, but they were ready with IN
answer. They did not, they said, expect
TO pass tariff bill this session and have it
signed. Their idea was "tO formulate Il
bill" which would pass the House and be
rejected by the Senate, to serve rs a plat
form for the Democratic party in the presi-
dental election. II had not occurred to
them that the business OF Congress was 10
lcgisIate. ana not 10 make platforms. They
had forgotten that a National Convention
was to meet whose function it would be to
express the sense OF the party in making a
platiorm-a body that would be far more
and dislntcTestcd than any
number OF congressman.
Is the reform OF the tariff the only issue
left IS il the main one? As lifelong
revenuc-tariff man l utterly deny that
tariff reform is the principal issue between
the two parties to-day. SO long rs a Sec
tlonal party controls the national Govern
ment the tariff is not, and no mere
economic question can be, the leading and
issue. Is this Government not
sectional! What representation has the
South in The national Government to-day!
She is prescribed thoroughly and COM
Dletely by malignant secti0nalism. which
is none the less rancOrouS and sweeping
because not always embodied In statutes.
Neither President nor Vice-Presidcnt, and
such state Of sentiment that TO nominate
a southern man for either place on our
ticket would entail certain defeat. Not
one Cabinet Minister; no representation on
the Supreme Court, and none among the
foreign ministcrs-nO officer OF the United
States army or navy higher than lieu
tenant, or possibly Il captain here and
there, and all the offices and appointments
of the national Government throughout
the South conferred on men not because
of their worth and fitness. but be-
cause they have allied themselves with
the slanderers and revilerS Of the
southern people. We behold the nOblcst
and most hOnored sons of the South eX-
cluded from the humblest stations, while
the vilest negro can secure positions OF
power and trust. The Federal judiciary
is prosttuted to reward favorites and pun
isR political opponents. A jury is empan-
elled at Charleston and decide the question
whether or not citizen shall be torn from
family and friends-his wife and children
left without their natural protector-and he
be sent to the Albany pententiary as felon;
and yet nine respectable citizens are told
to stand aside aud not allowed to serve on
the jury because they are Democratsl We
witness ike scenes in other States. We
see the noblest and most accomplished Off
GERS OF the Confederate army branded by
Federal laws as unfit to hold any commits
sion in the United States army. We see a
campaign OF SANDER directed
against the character OF the people OF the
South, sparing neither the living nor the
dead. and the forces Of the Government at
Washington steadily directed to supply
officers and pay for the compact mass OF
blacks which is a constant menace TO So
ciety, property, and social order.
In the face OF all this and much more It
will not do to say that the tariff issue is the
only issue, or even the paramount issue, OF
the lnN IL tI.oro La. -. I,a4I...-L -