The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-09-26
Which One Is The
Party Of The Poor?
From the Buffalo Enquirer.

| nc great issue OI lht Democratic pa
| ty In this canvass, that out of which aris-
es every specific policy that it advocates,
\ Is the profession of sympathy for the poor
| and the opprefsed and the promise of bet-
| terment. In plain words IL asserts that
| 1t is for the people against a plutocracy--
! for manhood against money. If this wee
| really the Issue. and If the Democratic,
| party were really the only champion of
| humanity, II would be the duty Of every
lover of his kind to support its efforts in
the good cause. Let us consider whether
| the contest Is between the rich and the
| poor, the laborer and the speeulator. den-
! ocracy and plutocracy; whether the free
coinage of silver at l6 - is the remedy for
| all human ills; and whether the support
| ers of the Democratic candidates are en-
J titled TO be considered the only men who
believe In manhood and the greatest good
| of the greatest number.
| At the outset this ominous fact meets
| us. Four years ago the Democratic party
| made precisely the same sort of a canvass.
| The same ou,cry was raised in behalf Of
| the poor against the rich: the same clamor
| against trusts and n,onopolies: the same
charge of robbery against great industrial
| interests. Then the remedy proposed was
| free trade: the constant practice of the
country from the first tariff law of the
| first congress was denounced as uncon-
| stitutional; the Democracy of Jefferson,
! Madison and jackson was set aside and,
| the teaching of Calhoun and the nulllfiers
! was declared TO be the party faith. a
clause in the dead and almost forgotten
Confederate constitution was treated as
the doctrine of the Federal constitution.
The Democratic party won. Has 1t done
anything to show faith in its own teach
ings? Has II Kept any of It's pledges? Has
IL iightened the burdens of the poor? Has
/ lot, ,,x1 .Nnvx.,,
the proud and exalted the humble? Has il
wiped away all tears from all eyes? Not
at all. II has given MS three years of
panic, disaster and Increasing debt And
standing amid the wreckage OF the crnsa lie
of 1892 have We not a right to be skepti-
cal as to the crusade of 1896? There Is
merely this discrimination to be made.
that whereas times were unusually good
in 1892, they are unusually bad this year.
Even In eras of prosperity there is much
suffering in the world, great evil. and not
little apparent injustice; and ii Is easy
to attack what Is bad and theorize on its
Improvement but illogical to hold those
who refuse to accept our theories respon-
sible for what Is wrong and opposed to
what is right. In eras of depression the
general discomfort and discomfort in
crease and the schemes for reform multi
ply and the fallacy of skipping from the
premise that something Is wrong to the
conclusion that a particular cha ange Is nee
ossary becomes the favorite method of ar
gument. We are ready to concede to the
Democrats, and. indeed. no sensible man
can deny 1t. that the times are out Of
joint, and that many things have gone
wrong during the last three years. The
hunger for wealth is too fierce, the tenden-
cy OF trusts and combinations to get the
better Of humanity Is too strong, the grasp
ing OF corporations after public franchises
has been too greedy. the squandering OF
American money in the pursuit of foreign
social distinctions has been too scandal
Gus.
1t Is plain, also, that the course of the
present administration has been with the
tide of plutocratic decentralization. 1t
threatened a change of our industrial sys-
tern and the establishment of free trade
and then compromised with nearly all the
protected interests: 1t undertook a revolu-
tion of our currency by discrediting our sill
yer money, forcing heavy bond sales 10
retire our legal tender currency, and
granting to corporations the privilege CT
furnishing their demand notes to the peo.
pie as money-probably the greatest
scheme of financial profit, not to say plum
der ever conceived. 1t acquiesced In the
ievying Of an income tax and yet seemed
WHICH iHt supreme court utIleu
the national authority of tax incomes.
Therefore, in so far as public mismanage-
ment may bring about misfortune among
the people, ii Is obvious that the Demo-
Gratis who were represented in the national
convention at Chicago had fair ground Of
quarrel with the Democrats who have
been running the affairs of the govern.
ment. They were clearly right in many
of the charges made against them, though
yI N Ia en n -
between the Democratic factions Is con.
cerncd It looks very like a struggle of the
many against the few, democracy against
p1utocracy, manhood against money.
But within the scope of this quarrel the |
Republican party does not come; and out |
side OF 1t many of the plain people of the |
United States. slightly bound by parties |
are withdrawn. No doubt there IL within |
the Republican party a plutocratic ele- |
ment small In bulk and large in influence |
but the great mass of the party Is Loyalty |
Republican; and the party as n whole has |,
been faithful to the Lincoln doctrine of a |
government OF the people b. the people |
for the people. For the public evils OF the |
last three years it has no responsibility: !
and IL may be said in its behalf. with at |
least great show of plausibillty. that |
II it had not been defeated in 1892 ami |
turned out of power these evils would not |
have come upon the country. The Repub- |
lican party did not hesitate to attack a |
Supreme court decision that seemed to |
conflict with the higher law: it did not |
hesitate to enlarge the court to secure Il
public policy; 1t asserted the sovereign |
right Of the nation to tax incomes In time
OF need; It issued legal tender paper: 1t is
not for monetary revolution; 1t created a
public debt In the crisis of war and reduced |
il rapidly in an era of peace. 1t Is not.
therefore, fairly in the controversy which
is carried on by the Democratic candidate
for the presidency. and by Democratic ora
tors at such meetings as those held In
Brooklyn last "Wednesday night The
Republican party has right 10
point to its record, and assert
that it is loyal, patriotic and repre-
sentative of the masses of the people; and
as the Democratic party has failed in the
administration of public affairs the nat
ural course is 10 trust the Republican par
ty with power once more. Should it be-
tray this trust as the Democratic party
has done. then let 1t be called to stern ac-
count. Why seek redress by devious poll
teal by-paths and new devices. when the
broad highway of custom is open before
us?
The Democrats propose political meas
uro, free coinage of silver at IL to I. which
tney nlalntuin VIII cure all the lliS OF So
ciety: and they made the same claim for
free trade in 1892. That notion of q ros-
trum every four years is the most primi-
tive form of public qnackery. 1t Is con-
trary to the nature of things. We did not
get free trade in 1893, but we got panic:
we might not get free coinage in 1887 In
case of Democratic victory, but We would
certainly get more panic whether or not.
There is nothing at all wrong with the
i,a Oaiul Sys of tho nj ba
remedy is based on a false dia gnosis of the
source of national ill-health. We have
abundance of money. There is plenty of
gold. plenty of silver, and enough of ab-