Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-10-18
A False View.
smith County Record


The Nashville World takes the
position that no Democrat can take
Il stand agaiii-t anything In the
platform of the party, and still re-
main In It's ranks. Ii holds to the
doctrine that every member OF the
party must swallow everything that
party convention adopts and
that il a memher dissents from any
thing in the party platform, he must
get out of the party t0ido SO.
A more pernicious, dOctriue than
this can not easily be Imagined.
Granting this a party once wrong
would never be set right. Once
having made an I utterance, no
member is allowed TO suggest or in
sist that il Is wrong. 1t must be
deemed iniallible, aud that man n
traitor who would suggest other
wise. .... -.fi
If such a doctrine were to prevail,
what would become of freedom of
speech and OF the press. No man
could belong to the party and exer-
else his right OF freedom of opinion
and free uiterance OF the same. To
avoid being considered a traitor, he
must lay his finger on his lips, and
stifie aud expression OF Ibis own
views on any question, unless they
coincide with the party platform.
No man is worthy to be called
Democrat who believes, on the
whole, that party to be nearer right
than the opposing parties, unless he
believes it 10 be perfectly right, or
is willing to surrender the privilege
of free speech.
Such doctrine is in line with the
Worlds attempt to establish for IT.
self its bOssism over the party In this
State. 1.-THE World Is the only
Democratic paper In Nashville; the
World only breaches the principles
OF true Democracy, and the World
only should be listened to by. Dem
ocrats," are its sentiments. III any
other paper 'utters different views
from those OF the World, Ii must
get out OF the party to do so. 81
am Sir Oracle, and when i open
nv lips, let no dog bark" The
voice Of this Jupiter ToEans must
silence all Others.
The Worlds doctlne places party
successes above party purity and
correctness OF principles. However
pernicious doctrine may creep into
the platform (as they often dO), all
must accept 1t without questioning.
The member who attempts to keep
his party right, aud TO purge ii OF
pernicious and dangerous doctrines
by criticizing what Is wrong, is a
traitor, and must leave The party IL
he attempts II. He can not insist
on corr rlecting the wrong, for fear OF
a division in the ranks, and conse-
quent defeat.
Such contemplate palaver Is fit
only to he taught 10 lnenial slaves.
For freeman 10 so rivet himself TO
any party as to bind him to hold
his tongue, when he knows an
adopted principle is wrong, is not
to be contemplated Go preach
such stuff to geese, but not to men.
There is another false view ad-
vocated by our dictatOriai contem-
porary.-4it holds-thatno Democrat
can properly run as such, unless he
places himself unequivocally on the
platform, endorsing every feature
OF It. The platform Is the Procus-
team bed upon which every condi-
date and every Democrat must be
measured and unless he Is willing
to be cut off II too long for 1t, he
has no right to run as n Democratic
candidate. Ittwould appear to be
an attempt to prevent honest men
from becoming candidates; for we
presume that few men really EN-
dorse everything in the platform oil
the party to which they adhere.
We believe that no candidate
should run for Office withoutletiing
his constituents know his views.
but that he may properly run as a
Democrat, telling them wherein he
differs fromgthe declarations iof the
platform which he believes to be
more nearly correct than that OF
other parties, We think Is indispu-
table, Whit paper except our dog
NAUTICAL city contemporary would
undertake to say thai an American
citizen may not run for office as a
member OF any party, and upon any
definition of principles he pieasesf 2