Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-11-15
The Result.

| No comment is necessary to 1lumi
nate the result of Tuesdays election
The defeat of the Democratic party ha
been of the most sweeping character
| and those who make it business t,
draw conclusion from results have !;
wide field in which to operate. Dem
ocratic disaster has not been confined
/ to any state or section, but has spread
over the whole country. Only in tho:
states where the party stood for genu
inc Democratic principles, as Georgia
have the Democrats had any success.
1t is easy matter to point mora
| and to draw conclusions. It is ar
easy matter to say that the cause O
the party's defeat lies here or lie:
there, or to spin out explanations tha
do not explain. In the present in
stance, the causes of Democratic de-
feat lie on the surface, and ought te
be plain to any discerning man. The
voters of the country have not desert
ed the party, but they have admins
tered a rebuke that the leaders ought
to take to heart.
There Is one trouble with the Demo.
cratic party and only one. 1t went be.
fore the country in 1892 on platform
of principles that commanded the ov.
erwhelming endorsement of the voters
of the country. The Democratic can
didate for president was voted for by
the people, not because his name was
Grover Cleveland, but because he was
supposed to be Democrat, standing
on the Chicago platform. Democratic
congressman were elected, not because
of their names, or their height and
weight. bnt because the people sup
posed they would proceed with the
proper degree of haste and energy to
carry out the pledges of the platform.
In it's relations with the voters of the
country a party is measured by the
same standards that community ap-
plies to the conduct of an individual.
If an individual, in return for some
priviledge or benefit conferred on him
by his friends and acquaintances, SOL
emnly binds and pledges himself to
bring about certain results, honestly
and good faith demand that he shall
abide by his promises. They are in
the nature of obligations that he can
not evade without incurring the dis
trust of those who have confided in his
honesty and integrity. So with a
party. When it seeks the support and
appro val of the voters of the country.
and puts forth it's platform of princi-
pies, and selects candidates for Office,
every declaration made in that plat
form is pledge to the people-a SOL
emu pledge-and every candidate that
excepts nomination from that party
binds himself by his acceptance to en-
dorse and carry out the obligations as
sumed by the party.
With this understanding, clear and
the voters of the country
placed the Democratic party in COM
plete control of the country for the
first time since 1860, and elected
Grover Cleveland president of the
United States-the man chosen by the
party to represent it. In the very be-
ginning of the administration of Mr..
those who, for selfish pur-
poses, were interested in the establish
ment of the single gold standard, be-
gan to organize a movement to secure
the unconditional repeal of the Sher-
man act of 1890. There was nothing
to be said in favor of the act by any
man of any party except this, that it
made monthly additions to the volume
of currency. The month before the
of Mr.. Cleveland, the Re-
publicans, led by John Sherman, made
a strenuous effort to secure the repeal
of the act of 1890, but the Democrats
were unanimous in resisting this eff
fort, declaring that the act should nev-
er be repealed without substitute Dem
ocratic legislation.
But the movement went on, backed
by the president, and a serious none
tary stringency was produced, which
became panic when, in June, the
mints OF India were closed to silver,
causing a further increase in the value
of gold. While this disastrous panic
was creating havoc with the prosperi-
ty of the country, Mr.. Cleveland call
ed in extra session the congress that
had been selected by the people to sup
port him in carrying out the pledges
of the Democratic platform. Congress
in due form, and when Mr..
message was read, the
whole country was astonished to dis
cover that he not Only repudiated the
Democratic pledge, but that he had
adopted, and urged his party to adopt,
the scheme of unconditional repeal
which John Sherman and the Republi-
cans has tried to pass in the senate
in February, 1894.