The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-08-23
Aolitiral,
BLAINE AND CLEVELAND
COntrasted by Carl Schurz, In His Great
Speech TO the Brooklyn Independent
Republicans.
rARTY AGAINST MORALITY.

Standing, VINO Dut yesterday were SnOckeu a
such things as Mr.. Blaine has done, who
thought that the people would and ought to
brand them with their emphatic disapproval
now meekly apologizing for the same things
and dismissing them as little eccentricities O.
genius. Nay, some of them grow fairly fac
tious at the "Pharisees," or ''saints," OIL
"dudes," or ''gentle hermits'' who denounce
corruption to-day as they themselves de-
nounced it yesterday. Indeed, "Pharisees'
and ''saints!'' What, then, are the strange
and extravagant things which these Pharisee'
and saints demand, and which after Mr.
Blaine's nomination have suddenly become sc
ridiculous? Do they ask that a candidate fol-
the Presidency should be the ideal man and
the embodiment of all the human virtues
That he should part his hair in the middle
and wear lavender gloves? No, not that
Butthese strange creatures, these ''Pharisees'
and dudes, insist that man, to be elected
President of the United States, should be g
man of integrity; that he should have a just
sense of official honor; that he should not be
one with record of prostituted official power,
such as the Mulligan letters and the investi-
CATION show, upon his back. That is all.
Why, how ridiculous this is, to be sure.
Have you ever heard anything so outlandish
Well, low-citizens, when you see grave
posed to laugh at other men who to-day re.
fuse to honor bad practices which yesterday
they all in common condemned, it is not alto.
gether amusing. 1t is rather serious symp.
tom of the moral effect Mr.. Blaine's mere
nomination has already produced. But it is
only one of many. The Republican party
once proudly and justly called itself the party
of moral ideas. Where are those moral ideas
now? What is the answer of the thorough
paced partisan when you remind him of ''the
party of moral ideas" of the past, and point
at the record of his candidate? "Hang moral
ideas, we are for the party And he will
tell you further that, whatever may become
of your moral ideas, you are in honor bound
to be for the party too. The Republican
party was party of freemen and volunteers.
From the Wings and from the Democrats
they came, proud of having cut their party
ties, and they gathered around the anti slavery
banner, for this they thought the cause OF
right And now the spokesman of the same
party tell you that he who opposes the candi.
dates of his party because he conscientiously
believes it wrong to support them, commits a
dishonorable act.
As member of a party do not cease to
be a citizen. Under all circumstances the
duties which | owe as citizen to my country
are superior to the duties which can possibly
owe to any party. When | go as delegate
to party convention, | consult with others
as to what may be best for party action.
When as a voter | go to the polls, | consult
my own conscience about what is best for the
welfare. And if / conscientiously
find that what the party demands is not for
the good of the country, then it is not only
my right, but my duty as citizen, to vote
against it. Who will gainsay this? But now
we are told that not only delegate to a CON
vention has no right to oppose his party S
but that an ordinary member of
the party is by his honor forbidden to do so.
A new code of political honor is invented
which forbids us to be honest There was an
outcry once in this country against the Eng
lish principle: "Once subject, always a
subject" 1t seems the Blaine party wants to
improve upon this by the proclamation {:
'Once party member, always party slave. :"
And what is worse, we see men who know
that all we say is true, and who but yesterday
said it themselves, stihe their consciences and
wear the badge of that slavery.
But that is not all the mere nomination of
Mr.. Blaine has already accomplished. As it
is tainting the present, so it is defling the
past. How often have you had to read and
to hear these days that, as Mr.. Blaine is pur-
sued with charges and abuse, so were Wash
ington and Lincoln pursued, and that between
these three there is really little difference.
What comparison! 1t is true that Wash
ington was called by his enemies monarchist
and Lincoln q baboon, but we cannot learn
that either of them found it necessary to de-
fend himself against the imputation. If the
friends of Mr.. Blaine wantt establish real
parallel between him and them they should
carefully examine Washington S and Lincoln S
private correspondence. Among Washing
toms letters they would have to find one
something like this:
HEADQUARTERS OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY.
To W. Fisher, Esq, Army Contractor;
My Dear Mr., Fisher! Your offer to admit 4e 10 a
participation in your beef contracts very generous
Accept my thanks. But ! want more, You spoke
of your friend CALDWELL who has the -four contract,
as willing to dispose of share of his interest to me-
l wish he would make the proposition definite
Tell him that feel shall not prove deadhead in
the enterprise. / see various channels in which
know can be useful. Sincerely your friend
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
PS-In looking over my order books find that
when Mr. Caldwell delivered the last lot of -four
there was some irregularity, which induced the
Commissary of the army to refuse acceptance.
promptly cut the red tape by ordering the Commits
sary TO accept the delivery at once so that saved
Mr. Caldwell much trouble in getting the flour pass
ed and in obtaining his money. Thus, without
knowing him, did him favor, that must have
been worth much 10 him. let him hurry up pv his
: Or in Mr.. Lineoln's private correspondence
they might look for letter somewhat like
thisi
EXECUTIVE MANSION.
Ny Dear Mr.. Fisher Your agent, Mr.. Blaine a
very smart young man apparently, who got your
Spencer rifle accepted by the Ordnance Department
brought me your very generous offer for share in
the contract, for which accept my thanks, / learn
also of your friend Mr. Caldwels disposition to let
me have share of his interest In the manufacture
of belts and cartridge boxes. Let him make me a
definite proposition as quickly possible. tell
You am not going to be deadhead in that enter
prise feel it. There are lots of channels in which
i can make myself useful By the way, you can tell
Mr. Caldwell that did him great favor some time
ago Without Hokss EsoTsg PIN lPe o Of he Ra
ordnance officers wanted more time to inspect them.
But the troops needed them. and ordered them to
be hurried to the front and Caldwell got his money.
You see? want him to send me Il definite propo-
'''N'' ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Well, if such letters could be found among
Washilgtanis and AiRsnla's private pnrrea-
pondenoe, and it could be further discovered
that Washington and Lincoln had publicly
declared that the interest they had in those
contracts was only such as any other citizen
might have purchased on the Boston market,
and that they could not have exercised any
power with regard to those contracts, because
in the one case it was the business of the
Commissary and in the other of the Ordnance
Department, and if Washington and Lincoln
had taken these letters from Mr.. Fisher S
haokkeepeF ,withl9Ht authority and kept them,
Notwithstanding promise to return them,
and if Washington and Lincoln, before com
mittee of Congress investigating these things,
had time and again protested against inquiry
into their private business, and if Washington
and Lincoln had accumulated large fortunes
while in office-then, admit, the parallel
would be justified, and Washington and Lin
coin too might be enrolled in the order of
Americans with big A.
But as history knows them it would have
been delight TO see Washington boot kick
the man suggesting such propositions out of
his tent, and to hear Lincoln crying out at the
insulting tempter: ''Do you take me for a
knave?' and whirling him down the stairs of
the White House.
You see what Mr.. Blaine's nomination has
already done for US. Not only has it taken
the moral backbone out of many living men
who were aggressively honest before, but it
has led even to the deseeratiol of the graves
of the dead. Washington and Lincoln had to
be paraded as tattooed men to make the
American people forget the dark spots on the