The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1891-03-04
The Republican Party Must
Stand or Fail by its Record.

New York Herald.
The Republican leaders are very
shrewd tacticians.. They have been
in the business since 1860, and long
practice has rendered them expert
Their present position is one OF
critical danger. They therefore
seek to turn the tide of public opin-
ion, which is running against them
like a mill race, lest their party shall
suffer defeat in 1892.
The record they have made during
tie Fifty-frst Congress shows that
they have reached that measure OF
corruption which renders them unfit
to retain power.
The people, the great body of our
thinking citizens, from Maine to Cal
ifornia, are either slowly coming to
or have already reached the conclu-
sion that party which has no high
er function than to explain it's mis-
takes, which has lost even the audac-
ity to defend itself, had better step
down and out.
No party can safely retain su,
premacy in this country more than
twenty years. The influence which
constitute its environment render it
selfish, avaricious and grasping. 1t
becomes the spoilt child of power,
loses the conscience which it had
aforetime, becomes calous to mortal
obligations and uses Office for its
own advantage and benefit. In this
matter Democrats and Republicans
are alike, for the difficulty is inher-
ent not in this or that party, but in
the human nature of all parties.
The Republicans have clearly
passed the limit of their usefulness
and need the discipline which re-
tirement alone can afford.
When Mr.. Cleveland was beaten
in 'SS there was stout surplus in
our federal vaults. The monarchies
of Europe, which can hardly make
both ends meet by the severest sys-
tenn oftaxation, wondered what food
the Americans ate that they should
become so robust. They were en-
vious of our prosperity and felt that
a well filed Treasury was the most
eloquent and convincing plea for
popular government ever made.
But it is gone. 1t was bounded
out of existence as though it was a
criminal offence. Not, however, by
returning it to the pockets of the
people whence it came, but by scat
terIng it through unwise legislation,
lavishing it on schemes which gave
us the reputation of careless and
thoughtless spendthrifts. And now
we are face to face with deficit,
covered up for a time by the leger-
demaine of book keeping, but sure
to show itself in the near future.
Then the pension business, which
began as an expression of national
gratitude, was metamorphosed into
a national fraud. The pride of q
patriotism has been transformed to
greed, and the roguery of pension
attorneys has changed our old time
volunteers into a standing army
without uniform, costing moro than
the formidable forces of. Germany
or France. The troops which saved
the Union were disbauded, but the
republicans keep their names on the
pay roll and tax the Treasury for
their support. Eight dollars a
month and upward during life is a
constant bride to our veterans to
cast their ballots for one party rather
than the other. If this money were
expended on the wounded and help
less alone no one would defend the
policy more vigorously than we.
But 1T is scandalously distributed to
worthy and unworthy alike, and ON
the strength of affidavits which rem
8 resent Wholesale perjury.