The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-05-24
lGOldsbOrO Caucasian. !

The Democratic partyis wonderful
organization III some respects. There
is nothing original about it. II ari>
the courage of its convictions. H. Ill
tentions and good purposes are a'wa!>
right. Its declarations are always
sound and patriotic. As a minority
party, it has accomplished great Things
and achieved wonderful success. 1t
has been as Il balance wheel to the
government for more than twenty-five
years. But for this organization and
its resistance to the aggressive infringe
ments of the organic law of the land by
the Republican organization for the
past twenty-five years, the power Of
the government would have long since
been changed. 1t has stood like a
rock wall between the oppressor and
the oppressed. 1t has made more
promises and pledges to the people and
stood by THEM more faithfully than
any other political organization in the
country for the last twenty-five years,
and made them in good faith, and con-
WINGED the American people that, if
intrusted with the government and its
administration all promises and pledges
would be as earnestly and as faithfully
kept as made. AS a minority party, it
was grand and towering success. 1t
educated the people. 1t taught them
their constitutional and legal rights, as
well as the natural, inalienabe and in
defeasable rights. 1t advocated indl-
vldual liberty and individual citizen
ship, and educated the citizen up to
the full measurement of his citizenship.
1t opened the eyes of the great war
riors of the people, to the wrongs and
outrages committed by the Republican
tiOnal rights. 1t has educated the
people up to knowledge of their con-
stitutional rights. 1t has exposed and
made manifest to the most unlettered,
the injustice, the iniquity, and inc
quality of the protective tariff system.
This once great party, has thoroughly
instllled in the minds of the American
people, that both gold and silver are
money metals and that both were used
by our ancestors as money, and that
the trainers Of the constitution and the
builders OF this government so reCog-
nlzed the two metals and made them
money metals i'll the organic law of
the land and declared that the States
should make no other money but gold
and silver legal tender in the paw
ment of debts. Yes, this party has
been the great educator, the great in
structor and defender of the natural
and constitutional rights of the people
from the foundation of this government
until the year of our Lord 1894. From
that time until this hour the Demo-
cratic party has been departing grad
ually from the faith of the Fathers. As
minority party it did more to main
tain the rights of the people and to
preserve their liberties than the ma
lorlty party. In fact it stood like a
rock wall, against the entertainments
and usurpations of the Republican
party, and but for its powerful aud pa
trlotlc resistance to the usurpatlons of
that party it really seemed that life
would not be worth living in the South.
The truth is the American people be-
gan to believe in and trust the Demo-
cratic party to such a degree that in
1884, they repudiated the Republican
party and drove it from power and in
stalled the Democratic party in power
IN that executive branch of the govern
ment and in one branch of the legisla-
tive department. The people trusted
the party to that extent At the ex-
plratlon OF four years, they were sadly
disappointed and terribly disgruntled
at the experiment. They learned to
their sorrow, that they had selected a
leader whose opinion of his own great
ness made him not a servant but a
master. He became at once wiser and
greater than the party, and dominated
and dictated its policy. His four wears
administration was used for all it was