Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1884-07-18
A LOST OPPORTUNITY.

Whenever great party passes byl
it leaders and takes up men for expe-
diencY sake. there is no doubt in our
mind that it commits a great blunder,
The masses, less to-day than ever be-
fore, can be deceived by a pretense.
The two great parties of the country
exist because Of two principles that OBJ
tain wherever men congregate in a po-
litical capacity-whether it be in
monarchy or a republic, in Europe or
America. The life and virtue of these
two parties inhere in the nature OF
things, and must find fitting express
sion or languish. All make shifts, all
shams, availability nominations, and
policy platforms, the favorite dodgcs of
second-rate politicians, are futile.
Once or twice the Republican party
has been well nigh wrecked by such a
course, and mas learned wisdom the
democracy has Jared even worse, but
bourbon like did not. learn, and has
again fallen into the same quagmire.
She has passed by her representative
men to take up soldier twice: the.
peeple recognized the absurdity OF
the pretense and she was beaten.
Once she sent her leaders to the rear
and supported an old time abolition
list-and failed again. The platforms
have been changed and altered and
/. amended until a collection Of those
promulgated during the past twenty
years can be ikened unto nothing un-
der the sun unless it be the eccentric
patch work of "crazy quilt" and still
the party has failed to draw to itself
sufficient votes to carry the election.
She has coquetted with the greenback-
ers, the labor reformers, and the But
r tlerites, and for every vote she has
gained by such coquetry, she has lost
j. two others. This year she has blum
r dered again. On a platform of mean.
: ingless platitudes, she has placed
man who national notorlety dates nc
further back than two or three years
y ago. Her staIwart leaders, her Thur
y mans. her Bayards, her Carlisles
e her McDonalds, her Hewitt''
y and Randalls, where are they The.
: are relegated to private life and OBJ
- security, to make place for man whos'
whole record can be epitomized in
IS sentence. Happily the republican
o. party has committed no such blunde
10 this year. There is no citizen SO OBJ
1t. scure that he has not Leard of Blain
c and Logan; no log cabin SO remot
OF that their fame has not reached i
They need no introduction to tn
i'd American people, and no voter is cor
it strained to ask the question "who
it Blaine," OF "who is Logan?" Wha
Ill ever native strength inheres in th
he democratic ticket comes from the nam
es, of Hendricks, but unfortunately is
the democracy his position on the ia
VS. of the ticker affords ghastly contra
re to the weakness of Its head. Wit
TIC their usual facility for blundering the
have got the cart before the horse, ar
os- the fact is SO palpable that the mo
' obscure voter recognizes it at ono
nee Grover Cleveland may be an able mai
es- he may be pure man, he may be {
tic honest man-we are not at prese
ary considering that point, for there a
thousands of other men, pure, hone
OIL and able, but the real question is VIII
,eo is Grover Cleveland, that of all t
her eminent men in the democratic par
eao he should be honored What iss
les' does he represent, what national id
hef does he personify2 Let echo answ'
ives The mistake the democracy of t
hrst country has made time and again,
ono the idea that neutral platform and
tlne unknown or merely unobjectional
candidate, can make headway agai
positive. progressive and aggress
ticket and platform, such as is p
sented by the republican party in
present campaign. With such m
uch as Thurman, or Bayard, in the lie
Gay and with ringing, positive democrs
platform, there was fighting cha.
are this year for the democracy, but Il
l. have deliberately thrown that chal
AN away.
- THIS ISSUE.
ting This issue of the GRAPHIC is one