Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-10-05
"THE CALIFORNIA DEMOKRAT"
why II supports tho Democratic
state Ticket.

St0te AlChets
Following is what the leading German
paper on the coast has to say for itself in
repudiating the Republican party;
While the California Demokrat has
supported the Republican party for the
last eight years. it has never abandoned
its independence and never degraded
itself to the position of n party slave.
Whenever, in our opinion, the party
got on the wrong way, we never failed
to denounce it without reserve. When
the party nominated candidates whose
election we CO sidered menace to the
public good and to those interested
whose maintenance we deem the special
duty to the German-American press, we
never were influenced by false sense
of shame of bting considered deserters.
Acting in such manner. We con.
sidered that we fulfilled patriot C
duty, and the only consideration we
received was the legitimate advertise
ment patronage of the party at the time
of political campaigns. Par
tally from habit and inclination, par.
TALLY from wrong conception OF the
political situation, the Republican party
lately has deemed it wise to follow di-
rection which leads directly into the
camp of the fanatics. During the State
election in Maine Mr.. Blaine gave the
watchword: "Declare openly for the
saving do o,trine of prohibi, i,ion." The
Republican party has done more to adj
vance the inter,s SITS of the Prohibition
lists than they themselves. Since
then almost all Republican plat.
forms resound the war cry OF
the leader. In the convention OF tha
so called Anti.Saloon Republicans, held
in Chicago, a platform was adopted con
tanning the following plans: ''Fhe Re-
publican party, when and wherever it is
in power, will faithfully execute the
ordinances and laws enacted with the i'll
iention of limiting and suppressing the
traffic in alcoholic beverages" The
chairman of that convention, w. Win
dom, Secretary Of the Treasury under
the Administration of the late President
Garfield, expressed in his address to the
convention the opinion that the Prohi-
bitiOnis.s under the leadership of the
Repub blican party had a much better
chance Of achieving success than by
struggling alone.
Under such circumstances the course
liberal newspaper should take is clear.
Shall it denounce the declaration it
made thousands of times as false? Shall
it tell to its readers from the time after
an election to the next that it hates
fanaticism, and then join the enemy be-
fore an election! Has liberal paper o
right to support party under whose
leadership the interests of prohibition
are sure to be tenderly cared for? To
ALLOW a party to spit in ones face and
then to embrace the same party demands
certain degree of courage not of a
very moral kind, and that courage we do
not possess, and because we apprehend
that victory of the Republican party
in this State under the leadership Of a
man like John +. Swift could become
dangerous to our liberties, gained alter
years of struggle, and to the progress Of
the State of California, ,ge consider the
defeat of The Republican party IN the
coming election desirable ecent.
AT present the program nes of all po-
litical parties in regard to certain meas
ures are the same. For instance, all
over the United States with reference
to loyalty to the Union. ant in Califor-
MIA with reference to the Chinese ques.
ton or the labor question. Again, in
connection with other questions the
opinions within party lines are divided,
and they do not constitute characteristic
party questions; as, for instance, in case
Of the irrigation question. Where there
is nothing to fight about except for the
maintenance of the inalienable right of
personal freedom, conferred by the Con-
stitution OF the United States, there is
no need of excuse for fighting party
desiring to rob us of that right Till
the Republican party has the honesty
and tue courage to openly denounce such
opposition, as it has been done by the
Democratic party, we will declare
against it.