Oakes weekly Republican. (Oakes, Dickey County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1898, 1892-06-17

departure. That there should be stron, con-
victions I'D their earnest expression us to
preferences II | policies is characteristic of
the right of individual Judgment which is
the fundamental principle of Rcpublicanism.
There have lcen occasions when the result
was sure that the delegates could freely
indulge in the charming privilege of f.,voritism
and Of friendship. But the situation which
now confront" us demands the exercise of
dispassonatc ldgmcnt and our best thought
and experience. We cannot venture on un-
certain ground or encounter obstacles placed
III the pathway of success, By ourselves.
The Democratic party is nov divided, but
| the hope Of the possession of power once more
will make il i'll the final battle more aggres-
sive, determined and unscrupulous than ever.
Ii starts with fifteen states secure without an
effort. by processes which are travesty
upon popular government, and if continued
long enough will parlly2c institutions founded
upon popular suffrage. II has to win four
more states in fair fght-statcs that are
doubtful. The Republican party must appeal
to the conscenccs and judgment of the indi-
vidual voter III every state in the Union. This
is in accorlunce with the principles upon
which it was founded and The object for which
1t contends. 1T has accepted this issue before
and fought it out with an extraordinary con-
tinuancc of success. The conditions of Rerub-
lican victory from 1867 to 1850 were Great ed by
Abraham Lincoln and T. S. Grant, They
its saviors they We're the emancipation of
slaves, the reconstruction Of the states, the
reception of those who had fought to destroy
the republic back into the fold, without
penalties or punishmcnts, and to an equal
share with those who had fought and saved
the Union, in the solemn obligations and in
cstimablc privileges of American citizenship.
They were the embodiment into the constitu-
tion of the principles for which two million
fought and half IL million lad died.
They We're the restoration of public credit,
the resumption of specie payments and the
prosperous condition Of solvent business For
| twenty-five years there We're names with
which to conjurc, and eventsEresh in the pub
lie mind, which were eloquent with popular
| enthusiasm. 1t needed little else than re-
| cital of the glorious story of its heroes and
| statement of the achievements of the Repub-
| lican party to retain the confidence of the peo-
pie. 'l3ut from the desire for change which is
characteristic Of free governments there came
q reversal. There came us n check to the pro-
grcss of the Republican party four years of
| Democratic administration.
| These four years largely relegated to the
realm of history, past issues, and brought us
| face to face with what Demo racy, its pro.
fcssions and its practices, mean today.
| The great names which have adorned the
roll of Republican statesmen and soldiers arc
pll potent and popular. The great II nsurcs
of the Republican party are still the best part
of the h;stor. of the century. The unequaled
and uueNamp!ci story of Republcanism in
It's promises and in its achievements stands
unique in the record of parties in governments
which are free. But we live in practical
times, facing practical issues which affect the
business, the wages the labor and the pros
perity of the day. The campaign will b. won
or lest not upon the bad record of James X.
Polk. or of Franklin Pierce, or of James Bu-
chanan-not upon the good record of Lincoln,
or of Grant, or Of Arthur, or of Hayes, or of