The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-17
THE DEMOCRATIC RECORD.
What Democracy Has Committed and Omit
ted Since Its Advent to Power.

| The Republicans of Indiana in convention
assembled, invoke the dispassionate judgment
of the people of the State upon the acts and
record of the Democratic party. Succeeding
| 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-
penditures, 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, to check the returning tide of pros
perity, and to interfere with the regular and
| orderly reduction of the public debt, which
| was so conspicuous feature of Republican
| administration. Under its control the
civil service has been degraded
| by the appoin tment, 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 postofice 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 Indians
are a fair sample of what has brought the
cause of civilservice 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 q
! 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 merdtori-
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 its 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
despicable course as public enemy; the serv-
ices and memory of men held in reverence
by loyal people have been attacked in Con-
gress by those vino were formerly in arms
against the government; persons have been
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
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.
~ l.
the Democratic administration has cOnspicu-
ously failed to maintain the honor and dignity
of the Nation, and to protect the rights of
American citizens It has disfranchised hun
dreds of thousands of voters 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.
It 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 prohibi-
| 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.
1t 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 ascertainiug 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 it appropriated four and
onehalf 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 OF the docket
of the Supreme Court.
1t failed to obey the imperative mandate of
the Constitution to enact 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
bill to secure such rights, introduced by rep
resentative of the negro race, was defeated
through Democratic opposition.
| 1t failed to honor it's 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. It consigned the
benevolent institutions to corrupt and partisan
boards; it surrendered the management Of
| foahla. minded children and the orrhans of