San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-09-07
DEMOCRATIC DOOGES. NO. 4

Having failed to elect Mr.. Seymour
in 1868, a very able man, though a
copper head and loaded down with
the odium of the New York draft riot;
and having failed to run into the
White House under the lead of the
great abolition editor, Horace Greedy,
in 1872, because of his timidity in the
nations hour of peril, and having
failed with the great fraudulent ire
former S. J. Tilden, in 1876, these
dodgers imagined in 1880 they could
win with military chieftaln, and
they selected the most snowy one they
could find. Gen. Hancock had been
a superb soldier, but he had never
been suspected of being a statesman.
His willingness to aid Andy Johnson
in his war on congress and reconstiuc-
tions measures passed over his veto,
drew to his bonnet the insane buzz
zing presidential bee. He was nOmi-
mated on a pig and puppy platform,
one thing in one place, but something
else in another. He had evidently
been instructed to keep his mouth
shut, but in an unguarded
moment he forgot himself, and
observed that he had heard
of the tariff question as ''lOcal is
sue" in his boyhOod days. Garfield,
the republican nominee, swept the
country in spite of the forged Chinese
letter set afiOat by one Hadley, as he
alleged, at the instance of the nation
al democratic committee, on ''protec-
ton and an honest ballot and an hon.
est count This party had thus for
the sixth time carried the election al
most on the one issue of protection"
and had thus secured an unbroken
rule of twenty-four years. The first
four were from the assault of demo-
cratic bayOnetS against the life OF the
nation; the next eight from their as
sault on the RECONSTRUCTED laws with
shotgun experiments in their reform
efforts in suppresSi1g the negro vote
in the south, and the next twelve in
lessons in tissue ballot voting. but all
in the interests of democratic re
torm.n Thus trained they came to
the canvass of 1854. The last demo-
cratic patriot, Samuel J. Tilden, as a
prophet had discovered a new leader
Saul was in search of his father
asses. Well, Samuel anointed him as
leader. 1t is true thOt he was unknown,
but that was point in his favor, and it
was true also that his moral sky was
not cloudless, and that was of no con-
sequence either, and while he was not
man of any ability he was a man of
great weight, somewhat heavier than
their last candidate, the superb gen.
eral. PrOtitting by their sad disaster
i'll the last contest they recognized the
fact that the tariff was more than a
loyal ISSUE and issued double
platform on that issue, protection
plank written by Randall, Of Penn
sylvania. and one free trade plank
written by Watterson, of Kentucky.
With this straddle platform orna-
mented with reform" platitude and
"civil service reform" music they
made desperate effort for national
spoils. Blaine, the republican candi-
date with the old republican platform
backed up with civil service reform,
was handicapped in the house of his
friends by personal enmity, and was
heated in the state of New York by
l047 votes.
And now comes the present contest
after four years of democratic
reform and ''civil service" to secure
the prize Cleveland had pledged him
self to lone term" TO 'civil service
reform" and to reduction of the
revenues, but after a stay of four
years in the public crib he ignores his
''one term" promise; forgets his civil
service pledges; and neglect all effort
at tariff reduction, until almost in his
last hours when he issues a free trade
message that is calculated to ruin our
manufacturing industries in the in
terest of his English allies. This is
all there is OF Grover Cleveland. who
discovered that an office was a
trust He is now placed on singu-
lar dodge of platform which the
democrats resOrted to in 1856. Not
being able to agree on = declara ton