The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-11-26

Under the above caption the Balti-
more Ne1cs Dem.) of Tuesday even
ing says:
A considerable amount of feeble
speculation is heard in various quar-
ters as to the immediate future of the
Democratic party. There is some lit
tie talk about getting together, and
occasionally some faint anticipation
of the benefit that may accrue to the
Democratic party from blunders made
by the Republican party. This sort
of thing would be all very well in or
binary circumstances after an ordi-
nary party defeat. But in the present
situation, it is verify such stuff as
dreams are made of" There is no
ground to work from: there is no bot
tom on which to stand Until we
know what the Democratic party is,
and what it means, it is idle TO talk
of its plans or its prospects.
The Democratic party, as represen-
ted by the Chicago Convention and
platform, alienated, throughout the
country, large proportion of all the
men of intelligence and independence
| which it contained. We say through
out tae-eountry adyisGgttnny, for we do
not mean to omit the South OF the
Southern men belonging to the same
class who in the North and the West
repudiated the Chicago platform and
candidate, a great number did vote
| for Bryan or at least refrained from
! voting for Mckinley; but they did so
for reasons connected with State gov
eminent, and in spite Of intense dis
| approval of the national platform
adopted at Chicago. But, leaving
| the South to one side, we find in the
| North and in the Central West, and
also in Maryland and West Virginia,
an open and determined revolt, of I'M
precedented magnitude, comprising
an element of the population without
| whose cooperation the Democratic
| party cannot possibly be a represen-
| tatlve party, and cannot hope to re
gain control of the government. These
men did not leave the party from
caprice. They did not leave it on
trivial grounds. They left it because
| the party had made itself, in their
| opinion, the enemy of the public wei
fare, and the advocate of course,
which, if entered upon, would start
the country upon the road toward
ruin anu ulSSTdce.
The opposition of these men to a
| party committed to such a course is
| not going to diminish by the mere
passage of time. On the contrary,
many men were held back from re
volt by their traditional feelings and
their strong opposition to the Repub-
lican party; but these feelings and
this opposition will wear away if the
party of their former attachment con
tinues to be identified in their minds
with q menace to financial security
| and to public honor. If the Demo
cratic party means permanent doubt
in this great commercial country as
to what the dollar is, a permanent
menace to creditors, a sword of Damo-
cles ready TO fall upon our industrial
and commercial prosperity at the
first opportunity opened to the ac-
tlvlty of demagogues-if this is what
the Democratic party is to mean, then
the Democrats who repudiated the
Chicago platform have no course open
to them but to repudiate the party
altogether. Whether it is to mean
this or not may not be capable of i'm
mediate settlement; but until this
question is settled, all talk about re-
organization and cancellation and the
future of the party generally should
be treated as the idle wind which we
regard not.