The Red Cloud chief., 1884-06-27
Growth Of the Republican Party.

victory t~wenty-fOur years AGO As s
minority party which had polled but
little more than two-iifths of the votes
of the country. About 1.S00. 900 per
sons had voted for il, against $500, OOt
voting against it. Its adversaries were
at heart of like views and principles.
They all believed in saving slavery a,
any price. A division of their adver.
saries into three mutually hostile fac.
tions vas then essential to give the Re-
publicans their lease of power.
The convention which has Just n
journed assumes by the fearless vigor OF
its platform and by the ancompromising
quality of its nominations that the Re-
publican party is now in a position to
fear neither the open assaults of its
united enemies nor the seditious insur.
rectiOns plotted bv its halfway friends.
Though it says this pointedly, there is
no fear on the part of any of its mem
bers that its language is imprudent or
will provoke defeat
Such facts indicate that during the
twenty-fOur years it has been in power
the Republican party has gained more
than 4 million of voters from its enc
mics. Independently of the increase of
both parties by increase of population.
1t is Interesting to note the successive
contingencies bv which the Republican
party has steadily been maintained in
power by the acts of its enemies, when
il would have lacked the numerical
power TO rule if its enemies had not Co
operated to keep it in power.
In 1864 it WAS kept in power As a mi
nOrity party by the fact that one-half
numerically of the Democratic party
were out OF the Union and fighting to
keep out. while the other half was she'd
ding Off to the Republican party. rs re-
endorsements, every Democrat who had
the patriotism 10 fight or vote for the
Union.
In 1868 the collapsed Democracy OF
the South We're keeping themselves out
of the power to vote by their i'll, cOnSd d.
cred efforts to keep the black men from
becoming effectively free. This COM
PEELED Il total reconstruction of the
Southern State Governments and the
adoption Of such amendments to the
Constitution as would preclude the re-
turn Of the rebels to power until there
had been Il complete accession of the
blacks to freedom. In 1868, therefore,
the Republican party-though still a
minority party-triumphed because the
excuses of the Southern Democrats
compelled the people IN 90 slowly in
re-enfrauchis ne the rebel whites. and
swiftly toward the northumberland
o: the Southern blacks. 1t is probable
that at the close OF the war neither Lin
coin, Grant. Sherman. Stanton. nor any
of the members of either House of Con-
gresS expected to accomplish the I'M
mediate complete eniranchisement of
the blacks. but the tvrannical efforts of
the Southern and Northern Democrat,
TO thrust the emancipated race back
into the old status quo ante-bellum com
PEELED the forward movement.
In 1872 the forward movement had
been accomplished. and the Democrats
united could probably have outvoted the
Republicans. Some kind ~Providential
influence. however, persuaded them to
nominate Greeley, and enough Demo
Gratis refused to vote for him to secure
his defcat.
In 1876 4 majority of the popular
WAS actually east for Tilden, but
the electoral count was in doubt, and
the Electoral Commission by one vote
counted the result in favor of HAYES.
Another factor which had now be~un /
to operate i'll favor IF the Democrats
temporarily, but against them i'm the
long run. was their intimidation policy
in the South. The cuttings off the black
vote in the Southern States rendered
large gains in the Northern States nee
eSSarv to avert defeat, and thew came.
In 1880 the Republican party. not
w~ithstanding the forced suppression of
a considerable portion of its popular
vote III the Southern States. received
bv the official count 4.449,0I3 votes,
against 4,4i2.o35 cast for Hancock.
Conceding the official count in that
election to have been an Official fraud
it proves all the plainly that the
Republican party is clearly the ma ORR
ty party of the country. During TWEEN
ty-four years it has absorbed from its
Anniversaries and created by i~nfranchiSe-
ment such a body of voters that it will
itself east more votes at the approach
ing election than all the four parties
combined which voted for Lincoln.
Breckenridge, Douglass and Bell cast
in 1S60.
The great duty which now devolves
upon the administration of President
Arthur is to see that The undeveloped
Republican vote is protected
and permitted to manifest Itself.
In Mississippi, where the total white
population of voting age is only l0S,254
by the census of 1880. and the colOred
of voting age IS 1870, 27S. it
is absurd that the vote for Hancock
should be %, $50 and the vote for Gar
only 1854. Why should nearly
100, 900 blacks abstain from voting: In
South Carolina, also. the total white male
of voting age is SO. 900.
a like colored population of
lis. 1856. while the ote in 1882 was g.
l5S Democratic and l7,7l9 Republican
Republicans remaining al
home and less than q, 200 Democrats
to vote. These anomalies are
he result of fraud and force. When
they shall have been corrected the pop
liar progress made by the Republican
party in twenty-four years will appear ,
the official count" as strong as il /
is in fact. Chicago Inter ocean. {
hs~ Whatever the Republicans OF $
States may do. those of Massa- :
can assuredly do no less than
rive the nomination their usual LOYAL !