The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-11-03
Democratic Extravaganza.
OCTOBER, Goth, 1855.


single issue due till the election
The subject / have been pressing
cannot be finished now, and will be
bottled up. corked tightly, and care
fully preserved for use In the Local
campaigns of the future.
1 must now refer to a subject which
has seldom been discussed by the
Republicans, and never with view
to making political capital of it,
Republicans have RETAINED from
using 1t against their political oppo'
nent because there was no prospect
of mending matters, and they are
too patriotic to je0pardize matter o.
such vital consequence by what
might be regarded as captious oppo
sition or criticism.
Our Public Schools, since she coun
ty organization, have been excIu
sivelv under Democratic control
The Bench that appointed, as well as
the appointees, have ALWAYS been two
to one democratic, and the examiner
has always been Democrat. The
Public Schools have therefore beer
managed and conducted entirely ttfI.
der Democratic influence. The ablest
Democrats of the county have had a
whack a t it, and it is notorious that
no other department of our county
government has been so presistently
mismanaged and abused. But the
result has been precisely what might
have been anticipated. Theappoint-
ing power has been taken away from
the source of power, and lodged in
the hands Of corrupt political or
ganization, and the whole thing is
rotten from top to bottom, and from
core to circumference. The school
books are specialized on, and made
to cost four times over what they
should. In the last three years we
have had but nine months Of school.
The schools had TO b. almost stopped
for two years, SO there could be
money enough to pay the salaries Of
the officials, which were not dimin-
shed in the least. The children have
been denied the opportunities they
were entitled to, have grown up in
ignorance, while the money intended
for the support Of The schools has
been consumed, and is being con-
Sumed by the warning factions of the
county Democracy; and to-day we
are confronted with the question as
to whether we have legal school
system at all, or whether our masters
have not been leYying annual contri-
buttons on US for their individual
support.
The fact of the business is, the
Democratic bosses, State and county,
have come to regard the taxi payers
as their Legitimate prey. The people
who mistakenly regard themselves
as the source of power, are treated
simply as the source of supply.
Thousands and th0uands of dollars
have been eXtorted from the tax
payers of Garrett county, and used
by the Democratic bosses to intrench
themselves in power over.the people.
Whenever the salary of Democrat
has been Increased, or whenever a
useless Office had been created for
one, the idea has been to strengthen
the party. But Garrett county has
an atmosphere considerably rarified,
so much so indeed, that Democratic
methods are not likely to be crowned
with any considerable degree of sue.
cess. They will naturally drive the
decent Democrats into better party,
and it requires so much Doodle to
keep the boodle.gang in line, that it
must soon come to be regarded as
very expensive and altogether unre-
liable sort of amusement.
But L must refer to last winters
Legislature. 1 have said, if 1 re.
member rightly, that when your
average Democrat tackles the all
important question of salaries. it
works according to circumstances.
If Democrats salary is changed it
goes up. but when Republicans SAL
airy is effected, it always goes the
other way. They have not announc.
ed publicly that Democrat is better
than Republican, or that as an off,
Ger he is in any way superior. only
as regards the size of his salary.
They have not proclaimed on what
principle a Democrat should have
more pay for doing a certain thing
than Republican should have for
doing the same thing. It is sort of
Chinese puzzle, the solution of which
everybody knows. No Democrat has
been elected in Garrett county unless
assisted by Republican votes, and we
might reasonably expect their graft
tude to manifest itself in a different