The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-18
TO WHOM DO THE SpelLS BELONG?

a short piece from the Adyance, il
which that paper called 70 the vic>
Tins belong the spells" Il most dam
nablc doctline. OF course the DEM
oCRAT agrees TO that. But the ID
ooace saws that it wrote rtctors ano
the printer put it cicttms. Well. thai
changes it :. little. Then, the Ad-
vance calls to the vic.ors belong the
spoils Ga most damnable doctrine.
The DEMOCRAT said that it thought
the pormanency Of any party depends
ed npol its adlie:ancc to that doc
trinc. Listen TO the Adctnce:
LET us look at it.: TO the victors
belong the spoils is the only safe
true and reliable principle on which
III. permanency Of any political par
tv can ever be baseG.' That is to say
political ideas should not extend he
yund the control OF the offices. polItI>
cal thought shonld he exercised Tor
NC purl ose OF putting 100000 nen
into governmental employ and poilt-
zeal intention should end there. That
is all. we fight the battle mainly 10
secure the sroils -not for any primer
pie. not to improve upon the methods
Of our antagonists, not to direct tle
policy of the government, huC merely
to secure the offices.
X Il Il Il X
We think no reasonable man Will
doubt that an eye single to the Spots
can view no principle. that Il man
fixed npon the offices can have nc
thought above them and that in such
a contest any method will be used to
secure the end
Now don't you see running through
that an idea that represents us as
saying or meaning that the spoiis are
what we are to fight for? Surely it
does not mean to impute to the DEM
oCHAT that we mean to convey the
impression, or to countenance or ex>
cuse it, that I'VE fight the battle
mainly to secure the spoils.' Time
and again have we proclaimed our
idea that all else being equal the Of
fees, the spells, should g" to the
victorious party, Often have we i'll
these columns echoed the sentiments
of thousands of true democratic vol
ers when we have said that TO the
victors belong the spoils," when all
else is equal. But, reader, if we ever
gave you to understand or even to
imagine that our. party should have
the "spoils' because it fought for
them, then we beg pardon and say that
We impressed what VIC did not mean
and what We cannot excuse. We do
not believe. however, that GU caught
such an idea. We can not Go you
that injustice.
What we do mean is this: since
there are spells. which are in the
hands OF the victors we believe those
spells should go TO victorious friends
and not to subdued enemies. Demo.
cratic principles should he carried out
by democrats, that is what we say.
Let the AdUunce speak.
"'Then now! Will you ask reason
able and good men, full of patriotic
purpose, to follow you in fight for
spolls? Nothing but spoils? Will
the democratic party endorse that
shibboleth. fitted perhaps to jack
sons time but not to curs?"
No, we answer, No civilized man
with half sense will ask any one to
fight for or to enter the party and
use his influence for the spoils, for
nothing but spoils, Unless you in
clude in the spolls the good imt,od>
led in Democratic principles. But
if by spoils you mean only the offices
we say no, a thousand tin es no,
However, we take it that any great
democratic doctrine which suited
Jackson's time has remained stead
fast and therefore will exactly fit cur
time. The offices are here. They
must be given to some party. They
have been won. BY the victory OF
Democratic principles laet Novem
Der that party came into power
and it has control over these offices
1t is Acknowledgements the + eople de
mand the practice Of democratic prin
ciples. Now can these principles be
practiced by republicans as by dem
ocrats? Why was the change? Why
did the majority give the victory 70
our party? Not because they wanted
the Offices, but because they wanted
ref orn. in the officers. How can this
reform be had unless you gives the
"spoils to the victors?'
Some one must have the spoils
Twenty-tour years of corruption and
maladministration thoroughly de-
monstrated to the country that the
republicans either could not or w>,ulG
not handle these spoils as they
Shnui,l he handled mud ihornfnro La q