Western appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1885-18??, 1888-04-14
DEMOCRATIC PROMISES.
How CIeveland's Honchmen Have Mos
Picturesquely Belied Him.

How CIeveland's Honchmen Have Most
Picturesquely Belied Him.
A few weeks hence the Democratic
party will again. appeal to the people
to support it at the polls. Upon what
grounds will this support be askedp
This query can not be answered def
initely until after its convention meets
and its platform is framed. Four
years ago it declared that no party
should be permitted to remain long in
power lest it grow corrupt and its of
fcials become the masters instead of
the servants of the people. This was
one of the principal arguments which
it used to induce the country to place
it in control of the Government. Man
ifestly this argument, which would be
much more impressive and appropriate
now than it was in 1884. will not be
employed by the Democracy this year.
-Four years ago the Democratic party,
in the platform adopted at its nomina-
ting convention, declared that it
pledged itself to restore economy, to
revive respect for law, and to reduce
taxation to the lowest limit consistent
with due regard to the preservation of
the faith of the nation to it's creditors
and pensioners. = 1t has not done, nor
is it seeking to do, any one of these
things. In the same platform the party
promised to ''revise the tariffin spirit
of fairness to all interests. No
intelligent, honest Democrat will claim
that this promise has been kept, nor
will he assert that it is likely to be
kept. The party also declared itself
in favor of honest Civil-Service re-
FORM" and avowed that it is the duty
of the Government ito mete out equal
and exact justice to all citizens, Of
whatever nativity, race, color or per-
suasion-religious or political It is
hardly necessary to tell newspaper
readers, Democratic or Republican,
that the record of the past three years
demonstrates that, in each of these
particulars, Democratic or Republican,
that the record of the past three years
demonstrates that, in each of these
particulars, Democratic professions
have been flagrantly and picturesquely
belied by Democratic practices.
Of course, no sane, sincere person
will pretend that there was any in
tention on the part of the Democrats
to carry out their promises. The in
dividuals who drew up the platform
knew, as we'll as they knew any thing
which was yet in the future, that these
professions would be contemporary
disregarded. But this knowledge did
not stay the hands of the men who
prepared this utterance. Nor will a
like knowledge of Democratic decep-
ton have any restraining influence on
those who will prepare the platform of
the party when it assemblies in June
next in St. Louis. The old pleas in
favor of popular support it would
seem, should hardly be available this
year. But those who imagine that the
party will, on this account, lack the
presumption to appeal for a continu-
ance in office are simply unaware OF
the extent and versatility of Demo-
cratic duplicity. Whether or not this
appeal will be successful depends on the
number of persons in the United States
who deliberately permit themselves to
be duped. The proportion which
these individuals bear to the entire
voting population of the country can
not be told with definiteness until after
the votes are counted in November
next. Louis GLobe-Democr0t.