The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-04
THE DEMOCRATIC RECORD.
What Democracy Has Committed and Omit
ted Since Its Advent to Power.

TO power In the national government by virtue
OF objectionable crimes against free suffrage
it has demonstrated its incapacity and insin-
cerity by failure to redeem its pledges made to
| the people. Promising economy in public ex-
| pendltures, the appropriations made by the
last Congress, and approved by the President
| were of unparalleled extravaganza. Its at
| tempts to legislate on tariff and finance served
| only to weaken public confidence to paralyze
| industry and to check the returning tide of
| prosperity, while it has interfered with the
| regular and orderly reduction of the public
! debt, which was conspicuous feature of
| Republican administration. Under its control
the civil service has been degraded
by the appointment, not only of unfit persons
but OF convicted. criminals to posts of response
bility and honor. It has scandalized justice
and decency by the methods inaugurated by
the postoffce and other departments to dis
| tribute the offices to party workers, while it
sought to placate the growing sentiment
| against the spoils system by false pretenses.
The federal appointments made in Indiana
are a fair sample of what has brought the
cause OF civil-service reform into needless dis
favor and made its success an impossiDility
under Democratic auspices. The attempt OF
the Democratic House of Representatives to
make odious pension legislation by adding
| special tax bill to every pension measure
| (thus declaring that pensions should not be
paid out of the general treasury. the spirit
| and language of numerous vetoes of meritori-
Gus pensions, and the failure of the Demo
| cratic House of Representatives to even re-
consider them before adjournment of Con-
| gress. reveal the continued enmity of the
Democratic party to the Union soldier and his
| cause.
Since it's advent to power the old heresy of
| State sovereignty has been rehabilitated In
the Southern States, where the political
| strength of the party resides, the country has
witnessed the resurrection of treason and
traitors, the Haunting of the rebel flag, and
| the defiant expression of sentiments at war
with the integrity of the Union. The flag of
| the United States has been lowered in honor
of man who gained unique infamy by his
despieable course as public enemy; the serv
| ices and memory of men held in n 'ence
by loyal people have been attacked on
gress by those who were formerly Ii ms
| against the government; persons have Jeen
appointed to high Office who have Extensively
declared the national government to be "a
bloody usurpation of natural rights" and in
federal appointments preference has been
| given to those who were most conspicuous in
their service to the Southern Confederacy.
Anxious for the full and complete harmonic
| ing of all sections of the Union, we can but
| reprobate these evidences of hostility to the
| principles of the government. There can be
no assurance Of permanent safety and secur-
! ity until all people unitedly honor the Union,
and as unitedly deplore the differences which,
in past years. so seriously threatened its over
| throw.
In it's relations with foreign governments
| the Democratic administration has conspicu-
ously failed to maintain the honor and dignity
of the Nation, and to protect the rights of
| American citizens 1t has disfranchised hun
| dreds of thousands of citizens in the North by
| its failure to discharge an imperious moral OBJ
| legation, imposed by the Constitution, for the
| admission of Dakota into the Union for the
same reason that led it to extinguish Repub-
lican majorities in the Southern States by
| fraud and violence.
| The last Legislature of Indiana was Demo
cratic in both branches by majority of two
| thirds. 1t passed apportionment bills disfran-
| chising nearly half the voters of the State in
legislative and congressional elections. thus
| accomplishing, under the forms of law, what
| it has accomplished elsewhere by the tissue
| ballot and the shotgun.
| 1t failed to redeem it's pledges to the labor
| ing classes made in its last platform, promis-
| ing reduction in the hours of labor on pub
| lie works, the establishment of bureaus of
| labor statistics the use of prison labor so as
not to compete with free and honest labor, the
| prohibition of the employment of children
under fourteen years of age, and the prohibit
| ton of the watering of corporate stocks. All
bills which were even introduced to accom-
| plish any of these things were defeated by
| Democratic votes
| 1t failed to pass bill to restrain the manu-
/! facture and use of dynamite for the purpose
of destroying life and property.
| It failed to amend the extravagant fee-and-
| salary BILL it defeated measures introduced by
Republicans to limit the excessive allowances
| of county officers it refused to cut down the
enormous perquisites of the Reporter of the
| Supreme Court; it refused to provide means
| for ascertaining and recovering from the
| clerk of that court sums of money due from
him and wrongfully withheld; it forced upon
| the State, at great expense and without just
cause, an extra session of the General Assem-
| bly,; and although 1t appropriated four and
one-half millions of dollars, it crippled our
| educational institutions by insufficient allow
ances, and left unpaid just debts of the State,
due to private citizens by refusing to pass
| the specific appropriation bill
| It failed to provide the citizens of the State
| with the speedy justice guaranteed in the Con-
stitution, by defeating all measures for the re-
| lief of the overcrowded condition os the docket
of the Supreme Court
It failed to obey the imperative mandate of
the Constitution to enact a law providing for
the registration of voters in the interest of free
and fair elections.
1t failed to comply with the just demands
of our colored citizens for equal rights, and a
bill to secure such rights, introduced by a rep
resentative of the negro race, was defeated
| through Democratic opposition.
1t failed to honor its profession favoring
| civil-service reform, $50 that honesty and
| capability might be made the condition of
| public employment" 1t defeated bill for
| this reform introduced and unanimously sup.
ported by Republicans. 1t consigned the
| benevolent institutions to corrupt and partisan
! boards; it surrendered the management of
| Predetermined children, and the orphans of
| our Union soldiers, to trustees and care-takers
| by whom they were debauched, outraged
| handcuffed confined in dungeons, and NAL
| treated under circumstances of unspeakable