The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-05-21

cred these faults any TOO BULL One
hundred wears is ample time for any
political party to become hxed In its
doctrines and understand its princi-
nIes. And vet we find more than half
of the leaders of the present Demo-
cratic organization advocating Repub-
lican doctrines and at the same time
denouncing that party because of these
Identical principles. The lines were
distinctly drawn, definitely marked
between the two old parties. The
issues were squarely made. One party
said tariff for revenue only, the other
tariff for protection. Five year ago
the same questions were submitted to
the people and they decided against
the principle of protection, and com
manded the Dem 0cratic party to re-
duce the tariff to a revenue basis. In
stead of obeying that command every
principle of the party on tariff reform
was abandoned, surrendered, or
merged into the principles of the Re-
publican party, and the great masses
of the voters were unable to discern,
or discover any distinctive principles
or differences between Grover Cleve-
land Ben Harrison, or between John
Sherman and Daniel Voorhees,, or be-
tween Senator Allison and Senator
Ransom, or between John g. Carlisle
and ok Secretary Foster, OF between
Thomas Brockett Reid and the Damo-
cratic side of the House. Of course
individuals were right in principle, but
a great majority in both houses were
anti Democratic On both the sheriff
and financial issues as understood by a
large majority of the American peo-
pie. 1t would have been far better for
the Democratic party, and the coun
try, to have done nothing than to have
done what they did. By their action
in Congress, if not guilty of perfdy
and dishonor, as charged by the chief
apostle of Democracy and tariff reform,
they have forfeited the confidence of
the American people and lost the hold
they had on the American heart for
honesty of purpose, and demonstrated
their absolute inability and want of
capacity to govern and control this
country on democratic principles &C
cording to Democratic platforms and
traditions. The sun is not clearer in
his monday splendor than that the
Republican principles of protection and
monometallism have reduced the Wes-
tern and Southern section of the Union
to a state of absolute vasilage, worse
by far in it's results than Egyptian
bondage and African serYitude both
combined. To get rid of these bur
dens and their damaging results upon
these two sections, and to restore pros
perity to the whole country has been
the avowed missions of the Democratic
party for at least twenty five years.
With these two avowed objects in
view, and no other, the Democratic
party has appealed to the people for
more than twenty years for recogni-
ton and restoration to power. At
last the people took the party into
their confidence, and drove the Repub-
lican party from place and power into
outer darkness.
And the result was, the people soon
discovered the perf1dy, the dishonor,
the cowardly makeshifts, the fake pre-
lenses and base subterfuges of the party
leaders, and their likeness unto the
Republican party. This being so, and
being forced to live under the rule of
one or the other of the two parties, for
the time being, they chose the Repub-
lican party as the lesser of the two evils.
Scrutinize the history of the world,
and in it, the purposes, doctrines,
promises, and pledges Of kings, des
pots, potentates, rulers, and political
parties, and you could hardly find
such punic faith. such reasonable,
treacherous doings, such perfdious
conduct on the part of the ruler or
party towards its friends and support
ers, as you will find in all the public
acts and declarations of the leaders
and law makers of the Democratic
party since it's restoration to power.
And the Waterloo defeat, that has
overtaken them in their recent contest,
in their perfdity and treason to the
people, is a just and righteous rebuke
administered by that portion of the
American people wholove honesty and
patriotism more than party.
Had the party leaders been honest,
faithful, patriotic, and true to the
leading fundamental principles of the
party as understood and expounded