The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1888-02-02
SHERMAN'S HARANGUE.
An Independent Journal on the Decay of
the Republican Party.


An Independent Journal on the Decay of
the Republican Party.
Mr. Sherman is a man of great ex-
pericnce in public life, and he is one of
the ablest and most eminent of the Re-
publican leaders. The defeat of the
party in 1884, and the reasons of the
defeat, made 1t very interesting in
quiry whether those leaders, or any of
them, would understand the actual
change of public feeling indicated by
the campaign of 81 and its results, or
whether they would look upon it rs a
mere mischance TO be avoided in 'S8
by frightening the lines" and '.reor-
ganiZing"-in other words, by dull
appeal to party spirit and traditions,
instead of a readjustment of the party
to The times. That, indeed, may not
be practicable with any party. The
signal illustration of its difficulty, at
least, is found in the earnest endcavor
of the Conscience Wings in Massachu-
setts forty years ago to persuade the
Whig party to adopt the anti-slavery
issue. In 1917 they proposed a resolu-
ton in the State convention that Mas
sachusetts would not support any can
didate for the Presidency who was not
a well-known and active anti-slayery
man. The debate was very hot. Mr..
Webster opposed the resolution. 1t
was defeated, and the Conscience
Wings renounced the party and organ
lied the Free-SOil party, and in 1888
the Wings disappeared.
Since 1884 the Republican party
seems to have lost the power OF re-
cuperation. 1t mas certainly done very
little to show that It is the party of
progress and reform. It's chief cam
vass during this year was in Ohio.
There it was successful, after cam
paign conducted upon hostility to the
Southern States. But Mr.. Foraker
was reelected not because of such hos
tility, but bee ause of the general hon
esty of his administration. The argu-
ment, however, that Republican Ma
tional ascendency would necessarily
be more honest than Democratic
ascendency is annulled by the history
of the whisky ring-a scandal of
kind from which the Democratic Adj
ministration has been wholly free
and by the fact that the candidate
under whom the Republican party was
defeated, and who has stronger sup
port in the party than any other leader,
is the only leader who is believed by
many of his own party to have
traf1icked in his Office. and was for that
reason defeated. Nothing has oc-
Cured to show that he would not be
as acceptable candidate in 'SS as he
was in 'S4; and so far us the enthu-
siastic preference of the party is con-
cerned, he is still the favorite candi-
date. The significance of this fact as
indicating the condition of the party,
escapes the attention of many Re-
publicans.
Last spring Mr.. Sherman made a
speech at Nashville which seemed to
show that the progressive movement
of the party. if such an impulse there
was, would find in him representa-
tive. This was so evident that ap-
parently he was himself alarmed. rs if
he had ventured quite beyond the gen
eral sympathy OF the party. Soon
after. at Springfield, in Illinois. he
made another speech, in which he
withdrew all the lights of hope that
he had displayed at Nashville and
blew them out. He has now made
third speech, in the Senate, which Of
fers to the country, as Mr. Sherman's
view of the true Republican policy.
repeal of the internal taxes except the
whisky tax, profuse public ex-
penditure to extinguish surplus and
maintenance of high protective tariff;
and he has already suggested National
of elections in the Southern
States. But this spirit of financial
and expense is one of the
causes which disturbed National con-
fdence in the Republican party. The
policy of taking money from the people
merely to divide it again is not
one which the country will approve,
and the effort to regulate elections
would not only be repudiated by the
country, but even if it should pass into
law, could not possibly accomplish its
purpose. Mr.. Sherman's
speech. both in what it says and in
what it omits, does not seem to prove
that the Republican party is resolved
to show that it is as it once was, the
party of to-day and of the future
Hnrner's UpeEI,I