The Indianapolis journal., 1894-01-15
A PARTY THAT "DEyIGES."


is like an ancient palimpssst all marred
with erasures. blots. pits, dribbIes inter-
polations and premature erosions Exposure
to some thirty hot Independence days has
made the party's record look musty and
yellow, and warped. and wrinkled and rot
ten II is clouded and blurred with denials
protests and recriminations. There Is not a
fact in 1t that wears clean face. not
line in it that doss not show the track OF
the spider.
In an animated political discussion the
other day with a Bourbon OF the tradi-
tional school the writer, by way OF illus
tration, ventured 10 remark that 'the Dem
ocratic party of the North during the late
war at all times showed their active sym
pathy with"
At this point the Bourbon interposed the
familiar. but somewhat shelf-worn. retort
that every one knows now that the Demo-
Gratis put down the rebellion" But when
pressed for data IN support OF that prop
osition, he spread his countsnance into a
theatrical stimulation of scornful surprise.
pushed out his hand in a deprecating way,
! then left hurriedly. as if on the fresh scent
of feeting salary.
This circumstance is noted as incident
| of the time The reflection is that when
| men or parties make record that smells
| to heaven" it is perhaps natural for them
| 10 try 10 disinfect il with foreign Odors or
| TO din il off the earth with the clamor or
| denial. Yet such denial is none the less
! wicked and humiliatng and rank with self
qualification. But think of the work the
| Democratic leaders have had on their hands
| during the past quarter OF century-deny-
| ing their party's war record. one is re-
minded OF the immortal culprit of mythic
| lore, who was condemned TO roll a huge
| stone up hill whose summit was to him
| forever inaccessible. The myth straightway
becomes a parable. prophetic OF the vast
Democratic labor of to-day-a labor but fair
| ly begun.
After listening to ~ vociferous and re-
| verberative denials of Senator Voorhees, and
his companions in duress, If we turn TO Vol
ume III of Greeley's American Conflict"
| and read (on pages 666 TO CID that authors
| account of Democratic doings in the summer
| and fall of 1854 then call to mind the fact
| that the writer of those blistering records
| was afterwards a candidate for President.
| on the Democratic ticixet-all the scorn or
] Voltaire, all the Wit of lie Sage, ali the
| satire of Swift and all the ridicule OF Ger
| yantes, stirred together in one mortar.
| would not equal in bitterness the irony
| of these fatefuI and inpiacable condolences
4
| tutes the special feature OF the denials
| alone. "He that runs may read" / viii
| make but one quotation. Judge Miller. an
| Ohio delegate TO the Democratic national
| convention that memorable year, voiced his
| partys estimate of war Democrat In
| the following words: There is no real dlf-
| ference between a war Democrat ana an
Abolitionist. They are links OF one sausage.
| made out of the same dog"
| At the present time the Democratic lead
| ers and legislators are making more MS
| tory that will have 10 be denied In the I'M
| mediate and remoter future. Indeed, they
are already at it. Even now the oolder ana ana
| more assertive features OF the ChicaSo plat-
| form are marked by its trainers Tor NASTY
| burial-even before the Republicans nave
| had "A fair chance TO knock the Dreatn OUT
| of them. The "crowning atrocity" para
| graph was rudely thrust into hole by the
majority TepUr5 p6ud 81 fae nave ever heard Of it
| again had not the minority report dragged
| it out and rubbed ii under Mr.. CleVeiands 3
The Democratic party has been rightly
| called party of negations- Its leaders
have denied enough incontroyeTtloiJ, raTlS rs-Sy
| to prove it-without the aid OF the clergy
| that Colonel Ingersoll is mistaken an sup
! posing the modern devil to be out OF a Job
| And IL now appears plain tnat just so long
| as they continue making platforms they
| will have to keep up the practice OF deny
ing history. AS early as leSo TIE DsIio- i
| free trade Vet they have denied the fact
a thousand times. Every. stump from
IeSs Sns say of oG
plants against the accuracy OF their own
It is Stated that the philosopher Berke-
ley denied all existence He denied the tes-
timony of the senses. on the ground tnat
both the evidence and it's alleged i'm.
pressions were non-existent. He denied
that he was sentient being, which. or
| course. involved a denial OF the fact that
| ha intellectual
is duplicated by the present mental ana
moral status Of the American pemocracy:
meaner thing when he denied his own
record That was about the time when the
rooster. crowed: and here aga%in % we ma MS
tory (Nov. 9, 1922 repeating itself
The time may yet come when Democrats
will deny that their party ever existed.
public trust remains in sight. The Dem
ocratic practice of denying Is not TO be con-
strued as a habit of self-denial. as that
phrase is popularity understood. Neither
| known Democratic hatred OF corporate
trusts with those to which strings" and
salaries are attached Moreover. we. we must must
remember that about the only jobs now
| extant are the public trusts.
The fact remains. however that there are
things the. Democrats now Iretend 40 to
| ate In future campaigns. They Will deny
that they ever arrayed themselves as \ par
| ty against the American manufacturers
| They will deny that-in the year OF grace,
ISg2-the Democracy taught the people
| That "A wOrkinCTnanS worst enemy Is tne
man who gives him steady employment;
that capital is the ill-gotteE gain OF rob-
| hers and rrfsers: that the world owes every
| man a living-whether he earns IL or not;
| that rich men have no rights which high
| salaried demagogues are bound 20 respect;
| that the way 70 compel a manufacturer 10
| nav higher wages Is 10 curtai his profits;
| that the way TO get more golden eggs - TO
| splt open the goose that LAYS themi
| that the way 10 encourage Industrial
| enterprfses Is TO make their owners objects
| of public execration and targets for murder
| Gus cranlIs: that loyalty among workingmen
| to their employers means voluntary slavery.
| that the tariff can be 50 'adJusted' that IL
| will prevent manufacturers from getting
rich and at the same time induce them TO
| extend their factories. employ more men.
paw higher wages and endow more institu-
lions for the education Of the people.
| They will deny that they taught these
| wild ard se1itious vagarfes In the cam
| paign Of 1892. and that they swept 10 power
that year i'm a balloon inflated with beer
dreams and fat promises in colo
furnaces and soup houses. They will deny
the panic of 1898. and refer TO II in ths
sleek phra seoioeyy Of their President, rs
Temporary financial disturbance. Noor-
hess will probably have the impudence 20
deny that he ever denied anything ana By-
mum will deny that ne advocated foreign
markets and wildcat money In speech c%e- %
| livered by him I'm Marion. Ind, In the e-tFiy
autumn OF 1892 They will deny ulat Ihsy
raised campaign funds that year 20 ngnt
| protection) by peddling tin cups AZ % cenH, ,,,
apiece in McKinley's district They VIII
denv that they stiernatize1 their own ma
| tional platform in 1895 by procucine a nloul-
| GA mo- s,,va of urnfection in the FORM OF