Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-09-28
A LESSON AND A PL


next following campaign, that Q.
contains no less valuable less a
precedent In 1872, for the fir
the only time prior to 1896, the l
cratic party made deliberate
render Of its principles to the supp
claims of so-called expediency,
nominated fusion ticket for IA.
Presidency in 1872 the Democrs.s---
National Convention, which met ! q
Baltimore on the 9th. of July, de q
liberately adopted as the platform OF
| the party the declaration Of principles
already adopted by the Liberal Repup-
| lican Convention, at Cincinnati, on the
| LIST of May, and ratified and adopted the
Liberal Republican ticket - Horace
| Greeley of New York for President, and
| B. Crate Brown Of Missouri for Vice.
| President. The result was most disas-
trous. At the November election the
Republican candidate-Gen. Grant
received Of the popular vote 3,b97, 070
votes, against 1854, 079 cast: for the
candidate Of the Democrats and Liberal
Republicans, and was elected. After
4 the election, but before the nesting. OF
the Electoral Colleges, Mr.. Greeley
died and the electoral votes, 80 in
number. which would have been cast
for him we're cast for other persons or
not cast at all.
In 1876 the madness which had seized
upon the party leaders four years before
had passed There was no more talk
of fusion and no bidding. for the
Liberal Republican vote. A Democrat,
or, rather, two Democrats of the strictest
sect OF oid-fashioned Democracy, we're
nominated-SamuelJ J. Tilden for Presi-
dent and Thomas A. Hendricks for
Vice. President - upon q Democratic
platform, and in November received Of
. the popular vote 4,2S4, 757 votes
against 4,o33, $50 cast for Mr.. Hayes.
the Republican candidate. BY the
popular vote Mr.. Tilden was elected,
the Democrats casting 1,450,6T or
nearly one million and half more votes
for straightout ticket than they we're
I able to cast four years before for q
fusion ticket and mongrel platform.
Those were the evil days of Republic
can reconstruction, of carpetbag
governments, of fraudulent returning
: boards and visiting statesmen" in the
i; South. Mr.. Tilden was counted out,
and in him the people we're defrauded
i Of the President Of their choice. He
i was counted out by one vote, the vote,
| as declared by the Electoral Commits.
! sion, March I'd, 1877, being 185 votes
for Rutherford B..Hayes and William
A. Wheeler, against 1874 votes for Tilden
= margin, and by means confessedly
" unfair, the Democrats were cheated Of
the fruits of the phenomenal victory
which they won In 1876, Just four
years after their crushing defeat In
1872, when they wandered from the
straight paths of Democracy into the
crooked paths OF fusion with political
elements and parties that were not
Democratic.
In 1886 the Democratic National
Convention, at Chicago, repeated tn the
Again they were beguiled into follow
ing the political -thewisp OF
fusion. This time it was fusion with
the Populists and the Silver Republi
cans. A platform was adopted with
enough of the starch of old-fashioned
Democracy taken out of 1t and enough
OF modern isms and demagogism in
fused into it to secure its adoption By
Populists and Silver Republicans, and
a candidate nominated who was so little
of Democrat that he was ready u
source, provided the free coinage o
silver at the ratio OF 16 to l was made
the leading plank in the platform or
which he was asked to stand. As IL
O. 1872, the experiment failed disastrousy
The fusion candidates upon fusion
'platform we're badly beaten, failing 4
receive majority of either OF thu
popular or the electoral vote, although
In 1884 and again in 1892 the Demo
cratic party bad been successful with
Democratic candidate OF the straigh
Tilden school upon platform framet
upon the strictest party lines.
With the lesson and the warning 9
this experience before them, what d
the Democratic leaders propose to d.
in 1902 Mr.. Bryan, the fusion candi
date under whom they courted defea
: in 1895, is again urging them to repea
the disastrous experience OF that year
No more of Democrat today thai
Horace Greeley was in 1872, be make
public proclamation OF his READINGS
to fuse and even to ride three horse
al once 1t is only the other, day that
as delegate to ths Democratic Stat
Convention in Nebraska, and chairma
of the committee on resolutions, b
Joined with Populists and Silver Re
publioans, in separate conventions al
sembled, in the nomination Of fusio
ticket and the adoption Of 0 platforI
upon which they can all three stand
harmony. He proved his own inditfel
ence to party names and to party creed
by addressing all three s,,, convention tSn,
enough Populist to win their votes2 ]
Silver Republicans he is a Republican
TO Democrats he is Democrat
the piehald pattern.
mt, In 1876 the Democrats found the roa
(2l to victory in retracing their false STEP
;a 2, of 1879. in washing their hands OF a
s ear alliance with any other party OF tactic
rth and raising once more the banner I
den true, unadulterated Democracy IN tt
hands of standard bearer, the RIG.
of whose orthodoxy, could not possibl
~. be called In question. Can anyor
doubt that a similar course is the on
possible path Of safety In 1902 ~
Democrats Of 1876 were too wise
repeat the folly of 1872. How will
be with the Democrats Of 19O0Y Al
they so enamored OF defeat, 6ghtir
under false colors, that they pref
once more to raise the mongrel flag
Organism to fighting under the standaI
of genuine DemocraoyY
No More "Rouud-ths-w world" Letters.
"Though not so numerous as forr