The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-08-07
wHATIs"pRAcTIcAL DEMOCRACY?

The Farmville Herald has the folio"-
Ing to say of The Times:
The Richmond Times is constantly Of
Tending practical Dem )cracy. II mas an
ideal Democracy OF its own and TO that
IL Is always pleasant-no other DEMO
crat has any interest IN II.
What can the Herald mean by this? In
what can practical Democracy diner
from ideal Democracy? We understand
the aim of Democracy to pat all ncn
Upon the same footing before the laws.
one hundred and fifty years ago the laws
OF all civilized countries regarded some
people as better than others. They gave
privileges to a small part of the popula-
ton that were denied to the vast Dody OF
the people. and the consequence was that
the great body Of the people were practi-
cally slaves TO a few. A movement set
in amongst the people TO ABOLISH =
this state of things. which resulted IN
the American and the Frelch KeVolu-
lions There were Democrat, mD'cfnenis
iy the whole people to destroy the privi-
ileees conferred by the laws upon some
and to reconstruct society upon basis
that recognized the rights of man as man.
That was the essential idea of our own
heaval that we call the French Eevolu-
ton And when our Revolution had been
brought TO successful issue. the great
men who had steered il through lis
difficulties and straits. proceeded TO re-
constitute society in this country upon
the basis Of a Democratic Constitutional
Republic, the leading idea of when was
that there were to be privileges 10 no
men. but that all men were to stand
uron the same footing before the laws.
That was the Democratic republic which
We formed and that is the Democracy
that The Times insists we shall live up
TO. That is the ideal" Democracy. and
The Times can accept no "practicaI
Democracy that departs ore hairs
breath from that ideal"
What can il be that the Herald alleges
against us as n departure from practical
democracy? is 1t our demand that The
Democratic party shall force a discontin-
vance of fraud In elections? Surely the
Herald does not mean 20 argue that cheat
:ng I'm elections is one OF those attributes
of practical" Democracy that it would
have The Times assent to- Is 1t Tie
Times opposition 10 free silver? Without
rtopping 20 argue that free silver would
hiring ruin and destruction upon Democ-
,acy and Republicanisu alike. 1t IS
,nougt to say that the National Demo-
cratic party has never yet committed II
self to free silver, and that We certainly
carnot be said TO depart from practical
Demo crazy IN that sense when we OPP
nose free coirage. Is il The Times oppo-
sition TO ring rule and machine politics.
We cannot believe that the Herald Is an
advocatc e sucn politics as German has
established In Maryland. as Hill esta5-
lshsd in New York or as Malone set up
In Virginia
IL may be that the Herald's indictil mt
of us rests upon our opposition to the
use of money ia our politics. That GER
tainly seems to come very near TO the
idea OF practical" politics. Wei, we do
oprose the use that has been made of
money In Virginia politics, and we have
not the slightest doabt that the present
degraded condition to which our State
pHitics have descended is due TO that use
of money We had been toying with
The iaea 10 some extent prior TO 1893. but
In that year We gave ourselves over TO 1t
entirely. and our politics have been go
ing down deeper and deeper into the mire
each year since. rlank God. we believe
The Times mas done something towards
breaking up the use of money hereafter.
and we may therefore congratulate our
selves that we have aided somewhat in
ending that form Of practical Demccra-
ca.
We would be glad, however, II the Her
AID would define more specifically Just
what II means when 4 charges US with
constantly offending practical Demoora-