Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-02-02

BROTHER CHAPMAN, through the
Register last week, presents his readers
with an ingeniously worded editorial in
which he tries to make it appear that
we are grieved at something and want
ing to pick quarrel with him, pre-
sumably over the question of the coun-
ty printing. Such was not our inten-
ton, neighbor, as we believe our read
ers are not anxious to have the matter
further discussed.
One thing, however, you say which
we believe it our duty to nail as to
pub it mildly-a miSstatement of facts.
You say, in reference to the editors of
the DEMOCRAT and Register, that 1--WE
are both good republicans, the only
difference being that one runs demo-
cratic paper and the other republic
can paper" Your object IN making
such an unwarranted statement, was,
in all probability, to convey to your
readers the idea that we were publish
ing this paper ''for revenue only"
while at heart we were in sympathy
with your party. From your stand
point perhaps the "spoils' idea ap-
pears reasonable. You think that our
objections to some acts of the republic
can majority of the board of commits
sioners arise from a purely mercenary
motive; and if we were both good re-
publicans'' you would have some
grounds for thus thinking.
We take this opportunity to say to
the editor of the Register that the editor
of the DEMOCRAT is not republican,
but Cleveland democrat of the strong
est faith.
Back in the days when the north and
the south were spilling precious blood
for supremacy in political belief; when
the question of whether slavery of
human beings should or should not be
suppressed in this broad land of liberty,
we had father whose blood was hot
for the cause of the north and whose
crippled limbs were the only things
that prevented him from taking up
arms in defense of his political belief,
land who rejoiced when the cruel strife
had ceased and peace once more spread
her wings DER the land. He taught us
that the republican party was the party
of humanity, and believing that his
teachings were right, as we knew they
were conscientious, we cast our first
vote, when reaching the age of man
hood, for that party, giving little or no
thought to the question of politics, and
simply voting the ticket our father
voted.
But, this is an age Of advancement,
brother Chapman; an age when the
man who plods along in the old beaten
paths of his ancestors is liable to lose
most of the good things prepared for
him; and is also liable to be led into
ambush by false land marks and de-
signing path makers"
For the last few years we have given
mole attention to the question of poll
tics. We have seen the republican
party abusing its power; we have seen
it becoming more and more corrupt
each year, and we have seen the
necessity of each and every lover of
human rights and justice crying out
against the policy of the party which is,
year by year, gathering strength with
the wicked mOnied power of the land
and grinding into a servility that is
even worse than that of the slaves of
ante-bellum days the labOrers and the
farmers. And we do cry out against
it, and in doing so but echo the Cry
that is swelling from day to day and
sweeping DER the land in resistless
wave of sound that strikes terror to
the hearts of monopolists and their
allies, the time-serving republicans.
We are conversative, Bro. Chapman,
and so to extremes in nothing; we be-
lieve that the one hundred poor men
should be protected as well as the one
rich man; we believe that when polit-
ical party has become unfaithful to the
American people as has the republican
party it is time to retire it forever, and
believing all this we could not, by any
possible chance, be ''good republican"
If YOU and I, to-day, should stop
and lay our life work down, and let our
hands fall down at will-fall down to
lie quite still-and if some other hand
would stoop to find the thread we