The sun., 1899-09-17
Old and New.

In his speech at the Cooper Union week
before last, the Hon. JOHN PARDON ALT.
GELD exalted the Democratic party as II
has been since 1896 and deprecated the
Democratic party as 1t was from 1865 un-
I'll 1895. He said that for thirty years after
the war the Democracy stood for practi-
cally the same things that the Republican
party stood for; that ut had become a
mere convenience Of political and CONNER
eial manipulators." and that during these
thirty dark years 1t held out no inspiration,
1t pointed out no great principle, 1t es-
poused no great cause 1t made no heroic
fight for anything"
The Norfolk Landmark, a conservative,
and therefore not genuinely Democratic,
journal, glows like a hot coal at these re-
marks. 1t says that ALTGELD has rec
ord ominous enough to do serious injury to
any party that takes him into It's fold, " and
that he Is "a Jealous Socialist, q violent
railer against the courts and altogether a
scarecrow to conservative voters." Finally
It's wrath breaks out a. follows:
These words are . deliberate insult 10 the Nom.
ory Of such men as BAYARp. TnDKN, TRUMAN HAM
COCK and LAMAR the lstohet Of whose shoss ALTaELp
10 not worthy TO unlooss. The same insult reaches
the living Democrats who have served their party in
victory and defeat along With these departed giants
What do DAsIzI. MoRaAH. vrsr. CooKRxLL, JONES'
and all the other lifelong Democrats who advocated
ths election Of BRYAN and sxwALL in 1895 think of
the accusation that their previous support was given
10 fraud and oorruptonf What do they think Of the
charge that thoy. a. Democrats. never fought for
any great cause for any high ideal. for any noble
purpose. during all the years before 1e9ef whatdo
they think Of the Democratic orator who describes
the hUh R0ai nat ha aotix ksJH
magnificent campaign against the Force bill a. the
more by-plAy Of systemato trading and tricksryf"
II HBAYARD, TILDEN. THURMAN, HANCOCK
and LAMAR were Democrats, ALTaELp and
BRYAN and the rest Of the Chicago plat
form Democrats are not. A Democracy
which broke absolutely with the Demo
cratic party came into being In 1899. Its
cresd is fierce radical social discomfort,
hatred OF property and business and
authority. 1t has become a socialistio
party. headed. apparently. for anarchism.
1t is true Of DANIEL, VEST and JONES
and OF most other Democrats who were
in public life before 1895 and are still
In 1t, that what they are as Chicago plat
form Democrats Is in many respects a
violent contrast to what they were before
the Chicago platform.
The elements Of the change of policies
that came in 1896 had been preparing for
some time, and GROVER CLRvRLANp's Ad.
ministration OF broken promises hasten ed
the hour Of explosion. But to the country
at large the sudden ending Of the historical
continuity OF the Democracy, the violent
precipitation with which the party rushed
to threatening extremes, was not less sur,
Trt0i OF
shocked the old-fashioned Democrats like
the Norfolk Landmark Some Of them will
never get over 1t. Some of them still rut
their eyes and cannot believe it. ALTGEnp
as man who speaks his mind and never
wraps himself up in phrases. seems partic
ularly brutal and offensive to the good old
souls. What This Anarchist Democrat
Never; there must be some mistake. He
has no right to talk as he does He has nc
right to represent the Democracy. Yet he
10 the clearest, the most logical OF the Dem
ocrats. BRYAN only follows muddy this
candid Democrat.
ALTdELDs treatment OF the old Demo.
cratic party Is as summary as hanging but
since "the new Declaration Of Independ
ence" was proclaimed at Chicago, the
old Democracy is but a memory The
Atgeldian Democracy, the Bryanite
Democracy, has the name OF the old con,
cern, but 1t has fohed its principles from
the Populists. We presume that our friends
on the Norfolk Landmark will give them
selves the pleasure of voting for the
Altgeldian candidate and platform next
year, no matter how painfully their gorge
10 affected by ALToELp.