Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-12-13
HAVE WE A DEMOCRATIC PARITY

The history of parties in the United
States-however fiecked bv temporary
and incidental diversions from fixed
Iines-presents a tollerably close ad-
herence to two distinct political classi-
fcations; the one embOdying a strict
construction of the Constitution, the
other a latitudinous construction; and
although they may not be wholly con-
cious of it, the people are today as
much divided by these opposing views
of organic dogma as they were in the
days of Jefferson and Hamilton, wheH
In spite OF the weight which the great
Chief Justice, and later the great Ex-
poander, threw into the scales on the
Federalistic side of the controversy,
the prepoDderance of popular favor
lay steadily with the republican, or
democratic side.
From 1900 to 1860 there were but
two political thoroughfares, each tax
ing it's start from the point where, with
the very beginning of the Government,
the roads forked. The attempt here
and there to make cress-road proved
abortive. ending in an intersection
with the one or the other of the two
highways little ahead. 1t was not
until the Slavery Issue, carrying with it
the issue OF Union or Disunien, and
obliterating all lines, came upon the
scene, that the party of latitudinous
construction gained strong foothold.
It retaius that foothold mainly because
the popular thought has been allowed
to wander away from the truths of po
litical science, as they are embraced
and unfolded by or constitutional
system Many superficial reasons
might be given for this but it has been
in the main the fault ef party leader
sincere.
These thirty years the democratic
party has, with rare intervals, found
cred in a sea, which NAV be mildly
described as turbulent and shOreless.
From a party sailing the ocean of a
public policy bounded at every point of
the compass by exploded territory
navigated from charts plainly defined
and thoroughly understood-it became
a party of mere Opportunism. beating
about from one reef to another some
times perilously9 near TO ship wreck.
That it did not go to pieces upon the
rocks toward which it so often drifted
seems to indicate the presence of the
c fc ifo
of itself, for some all wise purpose.
In 1864 a peace party with a war
candidate; in 1858, soft money party
with hard money candidate; in 1872,
Free Trade party with a Protection
ist candidates; winning the election in
1876 only to loose it by the bad luck
which seems inseperable from bad
play. and throwing away the succession
in 1880 by its refusal to see the sure
thing it had in the denomination of the
old ticket. it finally, through curious
chapter of accidents and by the hair Of
its head, came into power in 1885, af
ter ar Sbsense of exactly twenty-fOur
years.
It's leader was man wholly untried
in National affairs, wholly unknown to
his political associates; equally unac-
quainted with the great duties he was
about to assume, an6 with the men on
whom he must rely for counsels and
support.
He imagined the United States
larger State than New York. He fan
cied Washington quarto edition of
Albany, bound in half-calf. 1t took
him three years cropping about in the
dark to find a policy and when he had
found it he became frightened at his
discovery and attempted to run away
from it. It took him four years to learn
the trade of being president, and, hav-
ing learned it pretty well, he lost his
job. He came in again, however, upon
just such a tidal wave as has foated
back the republicans; and, being once
more in the saddle, he proceeded to run
things his own way asking let or hind
rance of no one. The result has been
disastrous in the last degree.
To begin with, he put the cart before
the horse in sending the tariff TO the
and r>a1chinn tho u,nnau niioafinn