Evening journal., 1892-09-07
THE TWO PARTIES.
A Complete Summary Of Their
Attitudes.
A HISTORY OF PARTY PRINCIPLES

Previous to the Death of George w. |
Curtis, Its Honored and Honorable |
Editor-The Decline of Party From |
Patriotism to Perversion of Taxation.
The two parties which now compete
for the control of the nation are the |
same in name which have thus competed |
ever since 1856 The organization of
each has been continuous. There have
been gradual and great changes in the !
membership and policy of each; but the |
Democratic party on the one hand. and
the Republican party on the other. have
maintained their opposition to one
another, each as the representative at all
timesof conflicting policies upon living
questions Neither has undergone al
any fixed time reconstruction or revo-
lutlYn either IN its creed or its member
shin saud many thousands Of thinking
mem stand in either rank. devoted TO il
a" they believe, in allegiance to the
principles it has advocated for a genera
ton
Yet the vital issues in which Lincoln.
Sumner Seward, and Chase led on one
side, and Davis, Breckenridge, Buchanan,
and Seymour on the other have no con
nectlon with the issues of today. The
Republicans were united to dislodge the
slave power from control of the nation
The Democrats, as a party, were its de-
tenders. On these lines the parties
divided, and all other questions were
subordinate. The tariff had been "a great
political issue for half a century; but the
nation had decided it in 1874: and the
tariff acts of 1916 and 1857, with general
acquiescence enforced and applied the
decision in the wisest and most success
full revenue laws this country ever en-
joyed. Currency questions in their
present forms, were unknown, the gold
or silver dollar, of equal value being
alone recognized by the nation. Tn.
evils of executive patronage were already
discussed, but only by students. and the
principles of reform in the civil service.
unknown to the voters at large had no
influence in elections. In short. no sin
gle vote for president this year win be
cast for any reasons of public policy
which had prominence in 1856. 1850 or
even 1864 Appeals for support because
of partys great achievements in those
days are addressed to habit and prejudice
not to reason.
In what then lies the continuity of
these parties2 The answer is easy i'm the
case of the Republican party. Justly
representing the overwhelming force of
patriotism, it obtained complete control
OF the government in 1861, and has never
been completely dislodged. It's develop
ment is expressed in outline by the legis-
latiye history of the last generation.
That it was soon carried too far by gen
erous enthusiasm for liberty, and. in the
civil rights law and in constitutional
amendments made provisions at variance
wit d "a 1sr ..f =
was a natural and not a ruinous excess
of zeal. Its noble record for statesman
ship was furnished by partisan extrava-
t5oueo la the tenure OF once law and in
the impeachment of President Johnson.
But its fatal error was made on economic
ground. The war demanded immense
revenues from taxation The taxes
vitality affected many industries and those
whose concentration and activity enabled
them TO influence legislation obtained ex-
traordinary fav0rs To frame a tariff
was to decide the fate of thousands of
mining and manufacturing proprietors
for vast wealth or poverty. The majority
of congress and its committees, composed
Of and by the leaders Of the party, be-
came the Oracles of destiny, the arbiters
of fortune Here is the Key to the his
tory of the Republican party. To shape
taxes for the benefit of those who could
pay for them by political support became
leading aim of its statesmanship which
eliminated in the Mckinley tariff law of
1890, as payment for the election by
manufacturing magnates of Harrison and
Morton
Thus the Republican party, which
once represented the devotion of the
people to the inseparableness of union
and liberty, has become the party whose
distinctive idea is the perversion of taxa.
ton from the support of the govern
ment to the enrichment of a class OF
political supporters The only piece OF
its policy which connected i'm any way
W Tia its original principles in the Fore,
bill the plan to make elections free IN
the states by garrisoning the polls under
direction of the party in power at Wash
ington But this conception is so at wal
with the spirit of our institutions. anC
so obnoxious to the people wherever there
is prospect of its execution. that it.
advocacy by the candidates and the plat
form is already seen to be an element OF
weakness. Devised while the war spirit
of the union survived, it has no use now
except to seem to connect the party Will
its 9figin, and, by raising a direct issu,
withthe whole South, to revive the ira
ditional fervor with which patriotism wa.
once arrayed against that section.
BY this, as a slogan for those who have
not yet accepted Apprenticeship all
who are too bitter to forgive or too mar
row to understand what forgiveness.
means; for the few unreconstructed reb
els against peace and union still found il
the North-votes are to be asked for tn,
cause Of monopoly and private taxation
In tbeisame spirit pension legislation, 10y
itsIaYish wastefulness and by dishones
administration, has been made one of the
most corruptng agencies in American
society Losing the ground of principl,
on which the party rightfully claimed
the support of Union soldiers. IL under
takes to purchase their vote i'm mas
with the public money. and that on
scale unapproached by the largesses will
which aspirants TO empire bought and de
graded the armies of Rome. AS far q
this is a polite scheme, IL is only Tia
more base because il is an abuse of a sen
timont as noble as it is univorsal-th
boundless gratitude Of the nation to it
defenders.
On the ether hand, the development