The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1892-02-20
4 DEATH sTRuooLE.
Republican Lenders Preparing for .
prems Effort.


prems Effort.
The republican party in no other
section Of the country shows as many
signs of terror, not to say panic, as If
mas been exhibiting in Illinois for some
time past Within sixty days there
have been three meetings of the repub-
liean state central committee, and two
of an organization Of republican edit
Ors called together under state central
committee auspices, to agree upon and
formulate an editorial party policy,
whatever that may be, and to arrange
and prepare for the shipment of polii
cal plate matter marked official At
none of these meetings has there been
any effort at concealment of the fact
that the party is in a critical condition.
That fact, indeed, has been stated as
the cause for the frequency of the
meetings themselves. and III stating II
the party orators have urged both per-
feet harmony and thorough organiza-
tion as indispensable requisites TO the
avoidance of disasters. It is strange,
in view of this condition of things in,
the greatest republican state next to
Pennsylvania, that democrats who
style themselves practical politicians"
should shut their eyes to the inviting
conquest of the northwest and insist
upon an adherence to the old combina-
tions which have so often invited de-
feat and so rarely brought success to
the party
Politicians can read with interest
and profit the proceedings of all Of
these meetings of frightened republic
ans in the state of Lincoln and Grant,
If they read them with wisdom and un-
derstanding they cannot fail to see
that the party is attempting to deceive
that large body of voters who left it in
1890 on the issue of personal liberty
which it had itself raised by its enact
ment of the odious and un-American
compulsory education law of 1889. In
the campaign of 1890, when attacked
on their position on the question, the
republican leaders made great show
of conviction and courage in refusing
to abandon or qualify it. They mis-
took democracy enough to believe that
they could stampede democrats away
from their party by false and per-
nicious knownothing cries. The cleo
ton returns proved conclusively that
democrats are always and everywhere
foes of oppression and friends of the
oppressed, and Illinois republicanism
found itself deserted by thousands OF
men who had hitherto contributed to
its victories in the state.
Even under defeat these men of many
unearned victories failed to compre-
hend the situation. 'Ehey attributed to
/ Rsa1
what was due to permanent and inn
portant ones. When the democrats in
the last assembly attempted to replace
the tyrannical republican law with
one more in harmony with popular in
stitutions, the republican majority in
the senate united in its opposition and
defeated it, leaving in the statutes OF
the state an educational force bill, with
all its oppressive features retained, and
with the power to close school houses
still lodged in the hands of school trus
tees.
Since that bold defiance of the
aroused spirit of freedom in the state
the republican leaders have heard some
thing. 1t is storm and they know it
is coming. They still have their con-
victions, but their moral courage has
entirely deserted them in the kuowl
edge that a great body of voters whose
; support has always been necessary tc
their success is gone out of the party
driven out, rather, by oppression-an
that the men who compose it have
abandoned the republican party for
ever, not only on state but nationa
lines
Republican trepidation, in the fact
of such crisis, is expressed by nearly
all the speakers in these prayer-meet
lngs now being led by "Long" Jones
: The unanimous expression of tht
speakers is that the party must ''comt
down" 1t must abandon it's high anG
lofty attitude and take the back track
in the platform soon to be adopted a
Springfield. 1t is desperation which
leads men to believe that. having add
ed insult to injury by refusing to evel
,, amend at one session the obnoxiou
law passed at another, the republical
party can now call back the voters wht
l are leaving it by hollow and hypo
: critical platform declaration. It ha
!, invited defeat, and it must take it-St
Louis Republic.
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