The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1886-08-19

the Republic hundred MILLIONS OF private
deposits seized upo by these corporations
and held in denance of public law, and the
Nation emphaticaliy told thai submission to
this state of things, or a surrender Of the Gov
ernment. of liberty. and even OF hops, are the
only remaining alternatives.
Such Is the condition, such the arrogant
language addressed to our misfortunes, and
such the alternatives. by one of which we
must Inevitably abide,i II, instead Of seeking
the prime causes OF existing evils. we look
only to those of a secondary character. For
it is in vain that we ascribe our calamities to
the banking system, while we leave unex-
plored the secret power which first engen-
dered and now sustains that system, with all
its machinery of organized despotism. But
where is the source of that power? By what
agency has the who'll frame of society been
shocked and disordered?
To these questions foiled ambition returns
its accustomed answer. The measures of the
late and the inflexibility of the present ADJ
ministration of the General Government in
refusing to reverse those measures-those are
the causes Of this strange ~coniuncture IN our
public affairs. Such is the charge-such the
answer proclaimed In the face Of the world.
and in contempt OF truth, by men who brave
the peril OF detection and claim the f-st office
In the Republic as the reward of their hardi-
hood. Is this charge true? It is a charge pre-
ferred BY the same Individuals whom you
have so often rebuked for like charges against
the very same officers; made then. as now.
upon the assumption that you might be
duped. and they promoted through your Gre
dulity. I ask, is this charge true9 II 1t be,
then fellow-cftizens, is our condition melan-
lcholy indeed; for 1t discloses the frightful
fact that our Government is poised upon an
impracticable basis. It demonstrates that
the American people have, through a long
series of years. misplaced their confidence in
agents selected by themselves. mistaken the
effects OF all public measures, or persevered in
sustaining them in utter disregard OF their
disastrous tendencies; that, In the election
and reelection OF those agents, they have
shamefully abused or basely prostituted the
elective franchise, and that, therefore, the
by which this franchise. thus abused. may be
wrested from the hands Of imbeciiity or
guilt. IL on the contrary. this charge be
False. then most criminal are they who give it
publicity. They are criminal. not only Ms re-
vilers Of the innocent, but also because their
efforts most manifestly tend, not merely to
shake the confidence of the citizens in the in
tegrity OF their agents. but to impair likewise
their confidence in the sbfficiency Of their
own abilities to select those agents and Judge
of their measures. In announcing these
gloomy tidings to the Nation, these men. in
effect, appeal to the voters to surrender the
right of suffrage. as the only hope of avoiding
the repetition of former follies and Of defeat
n- cfor<,p annopofi no
from them. Are we prepared to comply with
this demand9 II this be our purpose, let 1t be
done in form and without confusion. It is
due, In reverence to the memory of our IA
theirs. that expired liberty should. at least. be
decently inurned. 1t Is due, also, In justice
and mercy, to the world of mankind, that Its
funeral should be solemnized in q manner to
impress the living ana coming generations
with the uinous. fruitless, unayailing folly
OF attempting to plant, upon the ~sanguinary
soil Of revolution, 9 tree indigenous to no soil,
and which. in the course of nature. mus,
wither and die, short of q longevity ommen.
surate with human existence.
But. il We are not prepared to MAKE this sur
render. and If it shall appear that the embar
easements Of the times, so far from having
originated in the causes assigned by these
men. are, In fact. deducible from the opera
ton Of the very principle they now urge q,
the only remedy, then you can more Justly
estimate their sincerity and patriotism. No
/ feliow-citizens, the affairs OF q great natioE
are too ponderous and unwidldy 70 be disar
ranged from their parts or diverted from
their accustomed course by Temporary or for
~tuitous causes. They move onward In theii
natural channel with the general momentum
of society, obedient to certain universal law
of inva-iable uniformity. When. therefore
as at present, any great ~irregularity Is observ
able in the ordinary condition of things
its cause is to be sought in some gen
eral principle proportionate to the effect. an,
which viii usually be found to have acte'
long, openly or In secret, to produce 1t. T
what, then, is to be escribed this wreck of tn
monetary system-this stagnation OF IRE
deemable paper-this Simultaneous seizure
by the banks. upon the whole revenues of tn
Il Governmentf Such effects. SO wide,s so calam
ftous. and extending, as tEey must, SO dee
Into the future, could never have resulte
from causes comparatively limited. Societ
would cease to exist il its affairs were thu
subject to Versatility, confusion and disorde
from impulses so disproportionate as these
30 far from this is the truth that on
condition is to be traced, and trace
only, to the workings of . principle &C
eval with the Republic itself. This prin
!. ciple is the principle of aristocracy
Wnlcn, arising IN tne pIioe anu nurture
BY the prosperity OF men, auects 70 we" VII
horror the unchecked freedom of the people
and seeks to limit the dominion Of the publ
|, a will by establishing over all the empire of
privileged few. In the structure OF our Gos
-ernmentatne genius OF Democracy hnds n
antagonist It difuses power through tn
entire mass with tndiscriminate equality t
all the parts. thus rendering the means G
protection from wrong coextenstve with tn
susceptibility o. tniury. Instead of an arts