Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1889-07-06
TFE MARTINSBURG HERALD SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1889
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY TO-DAY.

The Democratic Party in earlier
days had some fixed principles,
everywhere openly proclaimed; but
it has none now save whatever its
national conventions elaborate to fit
such presidential candidates as Gree
ley, Hancock, or Cleveland, and SUBJ
feet to quadrcnnial change and mys.
LITIGATION. Once . States rights and
the resolutions of 1882 were in the
forefront of the Democratic creed;
but all this has vanished, and no one
now prctends to fear national inva-
sion of the rights of any State. An
other ringing article of their creed
was hard money, Bentonian gold,
instead of paper money, which they
denounced as being made only OF
"rags and lamp black;n strange TO
say, there is hardly anything now
that can be invented for circulation
too cheap or too soft and rickety for
the major part of the party. The
time has been when the party was
wont to denounce all internal i'm
provement as unconstitutional; but
now no appropriations for such
work appear too extravaganza to find
elastic support in a Democratic
House of Representatives. The
party once claimed as it's patent of
the equal rights and priv
ileges of all men; but in eleven
States such rights and privileges
are denied and refused to millions of
American citizens, by those who
masquerade and aim to dominate
under the name of the Democratic
Party. The party, forgetting that it
is itself, as the sole author of the re-
bellion, the sole cause of the extraor-
binary necessity for the great in.
crease of revenue, puts forth the ban.
ner of "revenue REFORM" under
which it covertly battles for free
trade, but quiyers and recoils from
any deep cut of tariff duties on
Louisiana sugar, on South Carolina
rice, on Pennsylvania iron, on Ten.
nessee marble, on North Carolina
peanuts, or on Florida oranges,
being largely products of some Dem
ocratic districs, and districts, there
fore, dangerous to touch with free.
trade reform, and inclined to revolt.
Once the Democratic Party was
wont to declare and repeat that "the
executive power had increased, was
increasing, and ought to he diminish,
ed )" but in spite of President Cleve-
lands many and frantic vetoes In
spite of his depositing sixty millions
of public money in pet banks without
interest and without law; in spite of
his appointments, without the advice
and consent of the State, of ministers
(nsinus the title) to negotiate treaties;
in spite of his attempts to govern
Congress by giving or Withholding
executive favors in order to effect
the repeal of all duties on wool and
to prevent the repeal of the internal
tax on tobacco, the party made no
protest against the undue exercise of
extraordinary executive power,
which seems to have reached a
growth not less colossal than that
under the administration of General
jackson, when Calhoun denounced
the Democratic Party as bound to.
gether "by the cohesive power of
public plunder." TO secure a re.elec.
ton, besides his reported financial
contribution, the President set forth
in his annual message his free.trade
political sentiments, which, had they
been previously known would I'M
doubtedly have defeated his first
election. AS a candidate for a third
time he may have the support of the
New York Tammany Society, but
with no vehement adherents else
where.-Senator Justin S. Morrill, in
July FOram.