The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-06-27
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Senator Morrill, Reviews Its Position and
Mr.. Cleveland's Future Chances.

Senator Morrill, Reviews Its Position and
Mr.. Cleveland's Future Chances.
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 candi
dates as Greeley, Hancock,o Cleveland,
and subject to quadrennial change and
mystification. Once States rights and
the resolutions of '9S" were in the fore
front of the Democratic creed; but all
this has vanished, and no one now pre-
tt nds to fear national invasion of the
rights of any State. Another ringing
article OF their creed was hard money,
BentoniaD gold, instead Of paper money,
which they denounced as being made
only of rags and lamp-black;' strange
to say there is hardly anything that can
be invented for circulation too cheap OF
too soft aud rickety for the major part
of the party. The time has been when
the party was wont to denounce all in
ternal improvement as unconstitutional;
but now no appropriations for such
works appear too extravagant to find
elastic support in Democratic House of
Representatives. The party once claim
ed as its patent of superiority the equal
rights and privileges of all men; but in
eleven States such rights and privileges
are denied and refused to millions of
American citizens, by those who mas
querade and aim to dominate under the
name of the Democratic party. The
party, forgetting that it is itself, as the
sole author of the rebellion, the sole
cause Of the extraordinary necessity for
the great increase of revenue, puts forth
the banner of revenue REFORM" under
which il covertly battles for free trade.
but quivers and recoils from any deep
cut of tariff duties on Louisiana sugar,
on South Carolina rice, on Pennsylvania
iron, on Tennessee marble, on North
Carolina peanuts, or on Florida oranges,
being largely products of some Demo-
cratic districts, and districts, therefore,
dangerous to touch with free trade re
form, 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 be diminished" but in spite of Presi-
dent Cleveland'5 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 Senate, of min
listers (rninus the title) to negotiate
treaties; in spite of his attempts to gov
ern Congress by giving or Withholding
executive favors in order to effect the
repeal of all duties on wool and to pre-
vent the repeal of the internal tax on
tobacco, the party made no protest
against the undue exercise of extraor-
binary executive power, which seems TO
have reached growth not less colossal
than that under the Administration of
General Jackson, when Calhoun de-
nounced the Democratic party as bound
together "by the cohesive power of pub
lie plunder." To secure re-elec'io IN,
besides his reported financial contrihu-
ton, the President set forth in his an.
nual message his free trade political SEN
timents, which. had they been previous-
ly known, would undoubtedly have de-
feated his first election. As candidate
for a third time he may have the sup
port of the New York Tammany Society,
but with no vehement adherents else
where.-The Forum.