St. Landry democrat., 1889-10-19
st. gaudry 1emotrat
The Future of Parties.
OPELOUSAS

The past sixteen years have laugh
the American people how difficult it is
to create new party. The effort to dc
this commenced in 1872, aud has con.
tinued at intervals ever since. At pre-.
sent it seems less likely to succeed than
at the commencement of the nndertak.
ing. The independent Republicans have
abandoned their efforts in that direc-
ton; the Greenback experiment is over;
the Labor movement is practically end
cd. Nothing now remains but the Pro-
hibition attempt. and this exists more
for the confusion Of old parties than for
any demonstration of its own power
otherwise.
There have been, however, important
changes in The positions of the two
great parties in The country, the Demo
cratic party and the Republican party.
The Democratic party, rs an organiza-
ton, had permanency which it seemed
impossible to affect. It's connection with
the South before the war, and it's atti-
tude toward the loyal cause while the
war was in progress, put it at terrible
Observation-Disclosures it q blow, indeed.
from which it required quarter OF a
century of time to recover. The mis-
takes OF its opponents four years ago,
gave it tho Presidency, and with that it
secured foothold which has advanced
it the longest stride of oil toward its
old vantage ground. Indeed, it may be
said to have remained with itself to say
whether this power in the government
should be continued and increased by
further victories. For more than half
century before the war of the rebellion,
the Democratic party had possession of
the Presidency, with the exception of
three terms commencing in 1926, 1s41
and 1s49 respectively. This had dem
onstrated, as much as history could,
that it was the peoples party Of the
nation. Those who have had later con-
troll Of it, provided they could recover
from the staggering blow that he war
had dealt them, had only to return to
the early policy Of the party to enter
upon another period of advantage, if |
not of triumph.
They did not fully succeed in doing
this. The skill in leadership, and the |
remarkable discipline that enabled the
Democrats to be rallied to the support |
of it, have not been demonstrated since
the war as they were before it. To
compensate for this, the Republicans
have made their own mistakes. 1t was
n bad mistake to allow their party to
fall into the hands Of men who insisted,
in 1884, on making its candidate for the
presidency one who was tainted in repu-
tation, and who alienated some of its
most respected members. But there
was an error more fundamental than
this. The Republican party was formed
as an enlightened and an intensely pa
triotlc party. It's aim was to purify the
nation and release it from reproach. {
During the war it was party that had {
ts main strength in its appeal to ma
,ionality. After the war was ended, in ,
he excess of its animosity tg@>ard those 6
Who had been in the rebellion, it forgot
hat the spirit of nationality was to be ,
WINGED in reconciliation and reunion. i
{ there was ever party Of progress, it
vas the Republican party in its infancy. 7
t ceased to progress after the war was
yer. Gov. Andrew, of Massachusetts, a
arly pointed out the way of progress I
d restoring the nation. Distinguished u
Union Generals counselled the same !,
curse of action. The Republican lead
RS refused to accept it. They lost their 9
pportunity to permanently establish "
heir party at the South. They forgot
lat their party was one with its face to O
ie future. They lowered their aim "
ON one of Cancellation and fellowship %
} one of prejudice and division. They t
scame Bourbons when they should P
ave been Progressiyes. u
Nor was it here alone that they failed -
advance. There are necessarily two G.
lrties in this country, the party of the /
st, and the party of the future. The ga
emocrats held the power for fifty :,
ars before the war by being the party So
the future. They were opposed by IN
other party that was not the party of a.
0 future in all that time. The Rcpub- Ri
ans, partly from dislike Of the Demo- s, !
ats, partly from Inherited tradition 10
portion of their public men, made the ~ or!
stake of taking up the Issues on s
Iich the Democrats won their long Is
les Of victories in the first half Of adj
!, century, thus making themselves
party of the past, and not the party IN,
the future. This is now being shown ter
The case of the tariff A high tariff A
) one issue on which the Wing party, VII
ming into being in 1894, joined issue
h the Democrats. In the thirty years
+ followed, the Wings never, except
Q, won a victory on it, and that was ia
aediately succeeded by one of the
atest reactions known in our politi- 81
history. The Wing party was the e
y OF the past. 1t was so much the ada,
" of the past, that after the year sure
lit ceased to exist When it ceased the
xist, there was no high tariff party f F. y
in the country. The Republicans, mot,
cad of advancing on this and other city
ters of policy, have distinctly retro cam
led, and thus enabled the Demo- VIII
to gain the advantage. llisre
10 position of the parties now, there per-
is, that the Democratic party is l +; 4