The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-08-18
THE POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY

TWO great political parties have clearlJ
outlined platforms and there are we'll
defined issues. During the war the
Democratic party, as political organ
ization, had very little to do except to
look on. After the war had ended and
during the reconstruction period it was
almost dangerous to be an avowed and
active Democrat, and the party was not
strong in its platforms, fearing to an.
ia gonize the sup.r-loyal people
The mission Of the Republican
party was to abolish slavery,
and establish the principle that the
Republic is indissolu DIE. Its labors
having been performed to its own salts
faction, the party was left without
legitimate material with which to con.
struct platform. Convention after
convention has been held, and both
parties have constructed declaration S
of prin cipl IS" which have said as little
as possible. The Republicans didn't
know what to say, and the Democrats
hadn't the courage to say. The result
has been the nol-committal platforms
which this generation has been reading
and studying in vain effort to ascertain
exactly what they meant.
When Grover Cleveland was in
augurated he outlined his position, and
his public and official utterances since
have steadily held in view that posi-
ton. Last winter on the assembling of
Congress, he came ou5 openly and
boldly, and in his annual message
declared himself as President and as
leader of the Democratic party. There
was no mistaking the meaning of his
words. The party, in its national con-
Vention, accepted the Presldsn tariff
reform message as the basis of its plat
form, and with a degree of courage it
had not before shown for twenty
years, declared itself. The Repub-
Lcans thereupon, and necessarily took
the opposite position, and thus for
once tne issue was clearly defned-on
the part of the Democracy, tariff for
revenue only; on thepart of the Repub-
licans, tariff for protection.
What is the result of this declaration
If principles, this understanding of
platforms? It is this-there is such
general boiling of parties and plat
forms as has never before occurred in
this country. The newspapers are
teeming with accounts of supposed |
Democrats going over to the Replbi-
cans, and so many protested Republi-
cans are uniting with the Democrats |
as to threaten the reversal Of |
political majorities in certain States. |
The detection from the Republican
ranks in the agricultural States of Min
nesote and Wisconsin is so great that
the Republican managers are actually
and fear these States will be
carried by the Democrats. On the
other hand, so many Democrats in
Connecticut are going over to the PRO
tectionist" enemy that the Democratic
leaders are losing hope of holding the
Nutmeg State. Men have not known
what they were, because the parties had
no well defined platforms. One
was a Democrat by Inheritance or
for some other reasons which he could
not clearly explain; another was a re-
publican because that party saved the
Union" Now that issues have been
made up and party positions declared
are finding out they are not
what they thought they were. This
accounts for the great amount or flop
ping" Men are getting into their true
positions.
There is SO much OF this Topping, the
changes are so numerous, that ali CAL
culations as to the outcome OF the
election are necessarily misleading.
Past election returns furnish only an
unreliable basis for present estimates.
Nobody Gin tell the amount j.. of the |
detection in any State. Any estimate |
Of msjorities must be largely guess
work. Hereafter, if the parties shall |
continue to clearly define their posi-
lions, it may b, possible to say before
hand, with soma degree of certainty,
how an election will go; but this Tina,
the counting of the votes alone can de-
eide; and that counting next Novem-
Der will be a revelation to the wisest |
and shrewdest of our political managers.
A TEAM of American baseball players