The daily critic., 1890-07-15
A CALL TO DEMOCRATS.
RESIST The ENCROACHMENTS OF The
FEDERAL POWER.
That is the Hirst Duty-The creed OF
tho Democratic Partv-samueI
y. Ttiden's Speech

The following is an extract from a
speech delivered by the late Samuel j..
Tilden at the New York Democratic
State Convention at Rochester in 1871.
The Democracy advances to fight
anew the battle against centralism and
corruption 10 which Il was first led bv
Thomas jefferson in the nation and by
George Clinton in the State Of New
York.
The equilibrium Of our whole politi
cal system is in danger of being over
thrown and q despOtiC and corrupt
centralism established The whole
value Of the arrangement by which our
world Is kept in Cts place In the solar
system Is the balance between the %.
posing forces. II would matter little to
MS which of these forces should be al.
lowed to prevail. IL the centrifugal
tendency should dominate our planet
would shoot madly into the realms Of
endless space, far away from the source
Of heat and life. until every living
thing upon its surface wcdld perish
IF the centripetal tndency should
prevail The earth would rusA with in
conceivable velocity tOwarl the sun.
until Il would be engulied in the burn
ing mass So Il Is with the adjustment
of powers between the State and Fed
eral Governments disuniOu aud cen
tialization are equally fatal to good
government Disunion would generate
the centralism Of military despotism In
the separate States, centralism attempted
on areas and populations so vast would
break the paris asunder, and flll our
continent as il has filled every other,
with rival nations.
"Our wise ancestors devised the only
system possible to avoid these opposite
evils. They formed a Federal Govern
ment TO manage our foreign relations, TO
maintain peace and unity between the
States, and TO administer a few excep-
tiOnal functions Of common interest;
and they lett the great residuary mass
Of governmental powers to the States
The creed Of the Democratic party
is comprised In two ideas: First, to
limit as much as possible all Govern
mental power, enlarging always and
everywhere the domain of individual
judgment and action; secondly, to
throw back the Governmental powers
necessary to be exercised as much az
possible upon the States and the loCali
ties, approaching In every case the in
dividuals to be affected.
These ideas dominate over the
Democratic party, and find In il their
best representative The opposite ideas
Ito meddle with everything properly
belonging 10 the individual, and to cen.
tIalizC ail governmental powers-cx-
press the tendencies Of the Republican
p0riy.
Under this Inspiration the Federal
Government Is rapidly selling upon an
the powers Of human society II has
assumed 10 regulate the suffrage, aud
threatens 10 take the control OF all Clcc
tons
II oppose cCuiralism because u Is in
compatible with civil liberty.
II oppose centralism because Il
creates an irresponsible power, and an
irresponsible power Is always corrupt
A government ruling all the affairs Of
individuals and localities, from the At
lanuc TO the Pacific, from the great
lakes to the Gulf Of Mexico, would be
the most incompetent for what II would
undertake, the most oppressive the
most irresponsible and the most corrupt
government of which history affords
any example.