The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-05-19
BIRDS OF ILL OMEN.

5,,.. BIRDS OF ILL OMEN.
New York Journals Who Are saddest Over
the Condition of the DemOcracy-Their
Souls Uselessly Narrowed.
One or two of our contemporaries
seem to have found their vocation.
They have taken to unburdening their
prophetic souls. They see somewhere
above their political horizon cloud no
bigger than mans hand, and there
upon they proceed to utter melancholy
vaccinations of direful flood. The
New York Tribune is especially solicit
GUS about the welfare of the Demo
cratic party. 1t fears that it may lose
its vantage ground and its prestige of
victory. 1t becomes comically lugubri-
Gus over the lack OF union in the Dem
ocratic ranks and makes a pretense of
being quite low-spirited over Demo-
cratic prospects. Alas! poor Tribune!
The New York San, which is ordi-
narily equal to any occasion, now and
then gets discouraged. Things are not
arranged in the way it would like to
have them. 1t opposed the election of
the Presidential candidate of the Dem
ocratic party, and ever since it has done
it's utmost to justify its provision by
disparaging the Administration both in
it's policy and personnel. Indeed, the
Sun is so little satisfied with the Presi-
dent and with his answering adhe-
sion to the pledges which were made
to the country in the name and by the
authority of the Democracy that it
sometimes looks back with regretful
longing to the time when that astute
and versatile statesman, Hon. Benz.
F. Butler, was its ideal Democratic
leader. .s
But the fact that these two sympa-
thetic and disinterested journals look
blue when contemplating the present
state of the Democratic party is really
no reason for despair in regard to its
future. We notice that they anxiously
magnified the Importance of some
Democratic reverses in one or two
Western cities-reverses perfectly eX-
plicable on other than political grounds
but that they were suspiciously silent
about the decisive successes of the
party in the recent elections of New
York and New Jersey. We fear our
esteemed contemporaries sometimes
utter thoughts that answer to the par
entage of their wishes, that they OBJ
serve through an obscuring medium
the events and conditions from which
they forecast the future, and that the
dark prophecies in which they indulge
are due mostly to the proverbial blind
ness of those who won't see.
1t is very certain that there is a con-
siderable lack of fairness and candor
in dealing with facts in this connection.
The New York Commercial Advertiser,
for instance, quoted at great length
from an interview with an Indiana Rep
resentative, which was originally pub
lished in the Post. That Congressman
gave gloomy picture of the discomfort
Of the disappointed office-seekers with
whom he had come in contact. But
when Representative Townshend, of
Illinois, returned from a visit to his
State, and reported that he found men,
bers of the Democratic party entirely
satisfied with the course of the Admin
istration, our contemporary did not
seize upon the facts in the case with
equal earnestness. rs ~
The fact is, the Democratic party is
not an organization of either expectant
or disappointed office-seekers. 1t is
made up, instead of the great body of
the people who desire an economical,
capable and honest Government. And
when these see the credit of the coun-
try maintained at its highest point, the
Administration pursuing an honorable
policy, and the public service being
steadily improved, they are apt to con-
clude that the intrusting of power to
the Democratic party has not been in
vain. . -.-. s-s-.t S. ..-...s3
Our contemporaries may continue to
represent all the phases Of .disappoint-
ment, and to make mountains out Of
mole-hills; but they will find il difficult
to persuade the people that what has
thus far worked SO we'll is not in itself
good. There IS lack of concerted &C
ton among Democrats in Congress
which we sincerely deplore; but it is
greatly exaggerated by sensational OF
hostile writers. At any rate it. is not
of character to weaken the faith OF
the people in Democratic principles OF
lead them to withdraw their confidence
from the trusted leaders of the Demo
cratic Washington Post.