Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-08-05
"sO-CALLED DEMOCRATS ,

During the campaign, which closed
with Mondays election, it has been the
fashion with certain people and papers to
speak of the Democratic ticket and those
upon it as "so-called Democrats" 1t
calls to mind a passage in that much
abused but withal very excellent pam
phlet by Hon. Zach Montgomery on
State VS.. Parental Education " In
speaking of the partisan character of
Webster's Dictionary, he had occasion
to illustrate his meaning by quoting the
definition of the word Whig from it. He
says again, the boy asks his father, a
sturdy old Democrat of forty years stand
ing, what is the meaning of the word
'Whig" " Whereupon the father promptly
replies that Whig is the name of a once
formidable rival of the Democratic party,
which ceased its career in 1853. But the
teacher turns to his modernized Webster
and reads that Wing means one of poll
tical party in the United States from
about 1929 TO 1853, opposed in poll
tics to the So-cdlled Democrats. Thus
giving the boy to understand that his
fathers claim to Democracy is a mere
sham that in calling himself Democrat
he is simply stealing a name to which he
has no title" So it has been here,
and those who are Democrats and
sought to make Democracy triumph
ant are told that they are only
''so-called Democrats" But those who
have so termed them have neglected to
say who were the actual Democrats; and
they have done very wrong in not point
ing out the actual Democrats. They are
like We5ster's dictionary; they can tell
who are the "so-called Democrats" but
they cannot tell who are the actual
Democrats, unless they would have peo-
pie infer that the "so-called" Republi-
cans are really the actual Democrats.
We have seen how Whig is defined in
Webster, so let us see who were the $50
called Democrats" who were elected to
the Office of President of the United
States during the years when the Whig
party were most powerful In 1923 Andrew
Jackson was elected President, and John
G. Calhoun was elected Vice-President.
These were so-called Democrats. F"
In 1882 Andrew Jackson was reelected
President and Martin Van Buren was
elected Vice-President. These were also
"so-called Democrats. In 1886 Martin
Van Buren was elected President and R.
NJ. Johnson Vice-President. Likewise
these were "so-called Democrats" In
1874 James K. Polk was elected Presi-
dent and George NJ. Dallas Vice-Presi-
dent. They were "so-called Democrats"
In 1852 Franklin Pierce was elected
President and William R. King Vice
President. They were "so-called Demo
Gratis" During the period from 1929 to
1853, the period during which Webster
says the Wings were a political party
in the Uuited States opposed to the
"so-called Democrats, -. there were five
Democratic Presidents of the. United
States elected, and those Presidents and
the people generally thought they were
Democrats; but now it seems they were
only ''so-called Democrats" The Dem
ocrats of Utah thought they were
Democrats. but they are not. They are
only "so-called Democrats" There is
one consolation that remains to the Dem
ocrats of Utah, that while they are not
actual Democrats, but only "so-called
Democrats" they can look back and
know that such men as Jackson, Van Bu-
rem, Polk and Pierce were not actual Dem
ocrats, but only "so-called Democrats"
So it seems that the "so-called Demo
Gratis" of Utah adhere to the same princi-
pies as the "so-called Democrats from
1929 to 1853 adhered to; and they care far
more for principles than a name. Grover
Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks are
after all only "so-called Democrats"
And when the Mahdi mu dered Christ
ians in the Soudan, no doubt he excused
himself from the charge of being mur-
derer by saying that his victims were
only "so-called" Christians, while in
reality they were infidels.