Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-12-02
The Presidents Decided Stand.

| III iHipoItdHCe W humanity ais tnat lnt
! coming war can gain.-Republicdn
u The Presidents 5 Decided Stand.
In his letter to Attorney General
Garland, refusing to reinstate w. A.
J Stone of Pennsylvania, President
Cleveland shows sound Democracy in
its highest phase of. broad statesman
slip. It is a letter in which all Demo-
Gratis will take a just pride, because ii
is full of assurances that they made no
mistake in selecting its writer as the
leader of the greatest and best party
that ever existed, and as the president
of the freest and most democratic peo-
pie on earth.
/ In its entirety, the letter is a strong
assertion of the great truth of the radi.
cal difference between the opposing
ideas of government which divide the
American people along party lines. Il
involves also the assertion. not less
strong for being Indirectly made, that
truth, Justice and the cause human
rights and liberties lie in Democracy,
For this reason, the letter, taken In
connection with that In the Benton
case, is by far the most important act
of Mr.. Cleveland's official life. The
incident which gave occasion for the
letters was the turning point of his adj
minlstration, and the turn has been to-
! wards success.
: No careful dissection or annalvs,s ~
| the presidents phraseology is necessary
to confirm this conclusion. His action
speaks even louder and better than the
well selected and foroihle phrases in
which he definesit. He has drawn the
line between the advocates and oppo-
nents OF good government, and has
given the assurance that under his
administration it is not true that /" a
Republican ID as good as Democrat. -
"Mr. Stone and others of like DISPOSE
tion," he writes, "are not to suppose
that party lines are SO far obliterated
that the administration of the govern
ment Is to be trusted, in places high or
low, to those who aggressively and
constantly endeavor unfairly to destroy
the confidence Of the people i'm the
party responsible for such administra-
tion,"
Republican politicians in office will
have no difficulty in understanding
this to meen that they must either
cease to be politicians or cease to be
ofhce-holders.
Democratic offlce-holders will UNDER
stand that, while they are not to be-
treated as If they were Republicans.
they must not allow their party zeal to
carry them over the line beyond which
their action becomes an unwarrautable
attempt to interfere with popular free
dom through use of the federal ma
chinery.
The Democratic party, never more
solid aud united than in defeat and ad-
versity, is ever ready to divide, when
it is i'll power, on questions affecting it's
principles, but when 1t sees those prin-
ciples enforced, it has in it powers of
cohesion that enable it to hold its posi-
ton against any attack. President
Cleveland has afforded the basis of
union, and we venture the prediction
that in the immediate future the De-
mocracy will be not only united, but
enthusiastic In support Of his adminis-
rtation, giving once more the lie to the
assertion that it is a party held togeth-
er by the cohesive force to public
plunder.n
1t is not possible in the nature Of
things for Democrats to give any man
the blind and unreasouing support the
Republican party has given It's presi-
dents. Democrats are always jealous
OF power, even though it is lodged in
the hands of Democrats. But when
they are once convinced that they can
safely trust, their support, based on
honest conviction, is unwaverinr.
They follow leaders, but only when
they have become convinced that they
will be lead in the direction they iu-
tend to go.
After two years of misunderstand-
ing. they are very near now to the con-
viction that President Cleveland is
such leader. His recent decided stand
Is an assurance to them that the party
lines will be kept up and the party
principles maintained. Assured of this,
they will be willing to make many
in matters of detail.
If, for instance, President Cleveland
believes that as q matter of detail he
should retain certain number of Re-
publicans in purely executive positions.
under certain conditions which lie Dre-
scribes in the letter in the Stone case.
he will hear no objections from Demo-
,rats, when they are convinced that
he retention is q measure of Demo.
,ratlc policy and not sacrifice Of De-
principle.
The party will repudiate any leader
who refuses to enforce its principles,
even ii 1t must do 80 at the expense to
tself of temporary disruption and de-
eat. But it views the Offices as means
or the enforcement of Democratic ideas
md not as an end. So that when the
PRESIDENT supports and enforces the
,arty principles, rs he has done i'm the
Benton and Stone cases, he wins the
upport OF the party to his own policy.
We believe that this is inevitable.
The administration has fixed its feet in
old Republican.