Los Angeles daily herald., 1884-11-19
A Coincidence and Subst ntially
Identical Ideas.


In its issue Of Thursday, the 18th
inst, the HERALD contained an edito-
rial under the heading, "Will the Re-
publican Party Live?" After discus
sing the matter somewhat at length,
we reached the conclusion that the
probability was extreme that We now
see in the United States the two par
ties which are destined to govern this
country for generations to come, on
the analogy Of the Whig and Tory
parties of England, on the supposi-
ton that the Temperance people fail
to swallow and assimilate the party of
Lincoln and Seward. We suspect
that they will fail. As the New York
papers reach us we find that the Sun,
on Wednesday, the 18th inst, in its
leading editorial, indulges in the same
vein Of thought, 1t says:
We hear n good deal among politi-
cal philosophers about the probability
that the two great parties that have
so long divided this country between
them will presently enter into disso-
luton, and go out OF business, leaving
their places vacant for new organiza-
tions that are not yet visible,
For our part, we cannot see the
signs of any such catastrophe.
A party that has been beaten
through II long term of years isalways
more or less in danger of dissolution.
So is party that grows to excessive
proportions, taking in all kinds of dis
cordant material, until it becomes so
large that its elements lose their rcohe
siveness, and are more disposed to
fight each other than to fight the COM
mon antagonist. But where parties
are evenly divided, and one is about
as strong as the other, so that neither
can gain a destructive victory, there
is no reason why they should not hold
together and fight again.
As for the Democracy, it has GER
tainly shown a most extraordinary
tenaciousness of life. Constantly de-
feated in every national contest from
1860 to 1884, with one single excep-
ton, and that exception removed by
successful fraud on the part OF the Re
publicans, the Democrats have come
up every time, bright and smiling, for
new set-to. It is true that much of
their vitality has been due to the fact
that ever since the reconstruction of
the Southern States, all that part of
the country has remained solidly
Democratic it is true also that their
fundamental principle, the minimiz-
ing of government, is great and pre-
cious, though there are few of them
who understand it or really believe
in il; yet, whatever the cause, the re-
suit is worthy of admiration. But
now, that they have once more car
ried national election, we can't see
any present danger that the Dem
ocracy will dissolve. No army scat
tiers and goes home in the moment of
victory. Many of the strange al
lies that have helped to elect Cleve-
land may fall away from the Demo
cratic standard, but the old party will
still be there, especially the Solid
South.
Neither is it probable that the Re
publican party will now break to
pieces, and give up the eilortto regain
the possession OF the government. 1t
has been beaten, it is true; but such
a close defeat is encouraging to re-
newed exertion Moreover, the losses
ithas suffered through the withdrawal
OF the Independents have been made
up by the accession of lrishmen and
workingmen, who went over from the
Democracy in large number on ac-
count OF their belief in the protection
OF home industry and their antago-
nism to Mr.. Cleveland. There never
before was a party which gained at
once such body OF earnest and valu-
able material from the very bone and
sinew OF the country, the men who live
by their own labor and who believe
in American ideas with an intensity
that never gives down and an ardor
that never slackens.
Since its eccentric course in the late
campaign we have rarely agreed with
the Sun. As its ideas about the fu.
ture of parties SO remarkably CORE
spond TO those expressed in these
columns, we reproduce them as q
mere literary curiosity.