Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-06-06

against which 11as been political death to every party hitherto, to sin against which
 in the future will be political suicide.
 True to the principles, the democratic party fought successfully our foreign wars, protected our citizens in every cline, com pelled the respect of all nations for our flag, added imperial domain to our terri tory, and insured peace, prosperity and happiness to all our people. False to these principles, the great federal, whig and know-nothing parties went down never to rise again, and we are here to day, repre- sentative of the party that has survived all others-the united, triumphant, invincible democracy = prepared to strike down forever the last surviving foe in November. Our standard must be the rallying point now and in the future, for all good citizens who love and cherish republican institutions, who love liberty regulated by the constitutions and the law, who believe in government of
 all the people, by all the people and for all the people.
 This has been the asylum for all good men from all parts of the earth who fled from want and oppression and mean to be- come Americans. But we invite and well come only friends to this ground and liegemen' to the republic. Our institu- tions cannot change to meet hostile wishes nor be so much as sensibly modified, save by the peaceful and deliberate action of the mass of our people in accordance with the constitution and laws of the land. Whatever problems the present has, or the future may present, so far as political ac- tion can effect them, will be dealt with by l the American people with the law, and in I the future as in the past, the people will find security for their liberty and property, encouragement and protection for their in- dustries, peace and prosperity in following l the party of the American masses, which l will ever shield them against the aggres- side, and on the other the surgings of chaos.
 While almost all the rest of the civilized world is darkened by armies, crushed by 1 kings or night-mared by conspiracies we l alone enjoy healthy peace, a | rational liberty, a progressive prosperity. We owe it to our 1 political institutions, to democratic teach ! ings, at least as much as to the exuberant who, knowing what we are, by act or word, experiment or thought in any way, will at l tempt to weaken the foundation of this splendid political structure-the Republic of the United States. We meet to-day un- der conditions new to the democrats of this generation. How often we stood in con- ventions in the past when to others it i'seemed as if the shadows of death closed ! about us, when the day of victory seemed l almost as far away as the day of general l judgment.
 It could not then be said that we met for l spells or personal advancement. We met 1 to keep the fires of democratic liberty alive l till the dawn of better day. If we were
 a party of misfortune, it must also be agreed that we were party of undaunted courage and lnfexible principle. Twenty 1 eight years ago the democratic party, rent
 into fragments, heated by feuds that only time could allay or punishment destroy,
 met, as it looks now, merely to settle in
 angry mood the terms upon which I they should become exiles from
 power: By their mad dissentions | they elected to go to defeat rather than wait for the sobering influence of time to
 close the breach. To the younger men of that day the act seemed suicide mitigated | by insanity. Their madness transferred to minority of the American people the po-
 litical government of all. That party,
 whatever the honesty and responsibility of
 it's members, however patriotic it's motives,
 was not broad and national at it's base. It |
 idea was set in the constitution
 and crystalized into law il
 ran Career of riot that
 appalled, all men. The history oi
 that period of political debauchery is toe sad and familiar to Americans to be recit.
 ed anew.
 The republican party, sometimes peace
 fully and sometimes by force, sometimes
 fairly and sometimes by fraud, succeeded | o1
 last the American people, no longer con doning it's faults or forgving it's sins
 hurled it from power and again committed
 to the historic party of thu
 constitution and the whole unio1 the administration of our political affairs We won by the well-earned confidence O the country in the rectitude of our pur
 pose, by the aid of chivalrous and conscien
 tious men who could no longer brook th'
 corruption of the republican party. was great deserved and necessary victory The day on which Grover Cleveland, tn
 plain, ght-forward, typical America1 , citizen, chosen at that election, took tn
 oath of office in presence of the multitud i day so lovely and so perfect that al , nature seemed exuberantly to sanction an' 7 to celebrate the victory-that day marked : the close of an old era and the beginning of a new one. It closed the era of usurpa ] ton of power by the federal authority, o illegal force, of general contempt for con stitutional limitations and plain law, o glaring scandals, prohigate waste and un } speakable corrup ptions; of morrow section l alism and class strife of the reign of
 party whose good work had long been done It began the era of perfect peace an s perfect union-the states fused in all thei
 sovereignty into federal republic wit limited but ample powers, of public servic s conducted with absolute integrity an
 strict economy; of reform pushed to thej extreme limit; of comprehensive, soun ;, and safe financial policy, giving securit u and confidence to all enterprise and CT i- deavor-a democratic administration faithful to it's mighty trust loyal to il !. pledges, alive to the constitution, saf, <, guarding the inte, ests and liberties of th people.
 n And here we stand on the edge of a1 . other and perhaps greater contest, wit d relation to the electors that we have nc . held for 8 generation-that of respo1
 sibility for the great trust of governmen ,-I We are no longer auditors, but accoun # ants; no longer critics, but the criticized l The responsibility good, the fault is our ,- not that of the people.
 We are confronted by willy, unscrups # lous and desperate foe. There will be |