National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-02-08
Bourbons BulIdorlns Bourbons.


The Greenville Is. C.) Daily NerS of the third
instant comes to us laden with grief which
commands our profoundost sympathy. 1t
declares that some Of the property holders
of the town Of Aiken are fighting the sub
scription to the Carolina, Cumberland Gap
and Chicago railroad with the same methods
heretofore used to fight radicalism." Tho
NeDs, as will be seen further on, considers
these methods" as "Justihable" when APP
piled to radicalism-i. O., opposition to bour-
bonism--but very nefarious and not
to bo endured when applied to bour-
bons by other bourbons. This condition Of
affairs. says the Ne,rs us one of the evils
necessarily proceeding from the abnormal con-
dition Of our politics" Abnormal is good.
We commend It to tho South Carolinisns in
congress as q check upon their pronOnoss to
declare that there are no political irrogu.
larities in that state. Our lugubrious Green'
willie contemporary thus proceeds:
Methods which orc justliiable when used to save
the state from anarchy and ruin are not justif-
able under any other circumstances That fact
should be instilcd in the public mind without
delay Tho evil CON be checked only In one way,
and II ought to be checked before It grows big
enough 10 crush oil those who want honesty and
freedom to prevail and the right Of citizenship to
bo maintained Aiken is good place to begin.
Every man who Is suspected oil reasonable evil
deneo ofbulldozinE, or attempting to buldoze, In
tho town election ought to be indicted, tried in
tbs state courts, and, If found guilty, convicted
and severely punished. We must lave It under.
stood that questions OF policy and politics cannot
DO discussed and decided as contests between
| honest men and lreebooters are. We have right
TO resist an invasion OF thieves or burglars with
deadly weapons, but we have no right to use them
| to decide disputes with our nelghbors who are rs
honest rs we arc and mean rs well as we do. II
wo do use them In that way we ought 10 be pun
ished, and must be II fertilization is to continue.
Dearly beloved brethren Of the bourbon
democratic persuasion: You can no more
have your cake and eat IL too than other
folks can. You cannot have one code of cleo
tion morals to regulate your conduct toward
political opponents aud better one to
govern you in non political voting. When
bnldozing is resorted to on the pretense OF
saving tho state from anarchy, the bulldozers
mako themselves the judges of the necessity.
When you Justify their acts, you cannot
afterward instill into tho public mind the
idea that they are not equally good judges
OF any new necessity for like methods y
When you turn elections between polit-
ical parties into burlesque, on the
ground that your opponents are free
booters," "thievcs, and burglars" to DO
resisted with deadly weapons" you
invite the same treatment Of yourselves by
those who have tho power to inhict II when
ever you advocate what they choose to de-
nounce in similar terms You are caught in
your own trap, and the poisoned chalice you
had prepared for others is returned to your
own lips. You cry out that crime Is only
justifable as against radicals, freobooters
thieves. and burglars. but that ''we"--i. g.,
you and those who now bulldoze you" hav,
no right to usethem Il. e., deadly weapons} &c
decide disputes with our noighbors who are a
honest as VIC are aud mean as well as we do
Aye, there's the rub. The men who bull
doze you do not agree that you are as homes
as they, or that you mean as we'll. They
have as good rigfM to Judge of that al
you have to judge your party op
ponents and doom them to outlawry. Yor
are simply reaping the fruits of the anarchy
you have aided to produce. If any portion
of society may set itself up over the re-
mainder by violence and in defiance Of thu
constitution and the laws, then government
is question of might only and not of nun
bers, intelligence, or moral worth. We quit
agree with the Greenvllle Neps that such vic
lcpce must be restrained II civilization is +
continue, Reform it altogether.