The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-12-28
THE INTELLIGENCER.
I WHEELING. DECEMDER as. 1900.
Swinging Around.

There are evidences IN the air thai
politics will take queer turn with the
beginning OF the new century. the
change applying mainly to the attitude
of the Democracy on national questions
I We have had the ukase Of Cleveland
who claims to speak for the only truE
and original Democracy, and combat.
ting the heretical teachings Of Bryan.
We have heard Bryan declaiming that
s.'the principles for which we contended
In the last campaign still live. aud I'VE
who believe In them must continue to
fight for them" Then we have had the
defeated Democratic candidate for gov
ernor Of Indiana anathematiziI,g "those
Democrats who offer gratutous counsel
! to the Democratic party" which Is an
impersonal way Of cursing Clevelands
.'impudence."
Later we, heard Of a Democrat, Cen
eral Fitzhugh Lee, propagating an ad-
vanced creed OF milltarlsm. declaring In
St. Louis the other day that were 4
member of Congress would vote to In
crease the standing army to 100000 or
even to 100000 II necessary" Then TO
cap off his Democracy he declared: 1.-THE
flag stil waves over Santiago, Havana
and Cardenas, and tell you privately
the flag is going to remain there" Gen
eral Lee Is aiso sound money man,
and holding all these radical views We
do not see how 1t is possible for him to
be Democrat in good standing. or any
other kind OF standing.
But the most startling piece of news
comes from Ohio. where. 1t Is declared.
the quiet tip has gone forth that at the
Jackson day banquet at Columbus the
Democratic leaders will turn somer-
sault on the financial question that will
prove as sensational as did Vallandig-
hams new departure" in the cam
paign of 1871. and which will precipi-
tate as bitter animosities within the
ranks OF the party. Referring to this
rumor the cinclnpati Times Star. says:
VallandIgham dumfounded the Dcmoc-
T. oSy VI tlc 5l6lc anu IHC DttlOu Inut year
by offering at the Montgomery county
Z convention series Of resolutions ren0unc-
Ing the Democratic position Of slavery,
emancipation, negro suffrage, reconStrpc-
ton. repudintien Of the war debt and
+ other tenets OF the party and declaring
that the Democracy must accept tho situ-
alton that slavery was dead md secession
Impossible; that negroes were free and
equal citizens Of the republic and that the
debt on the terms that Congress had en-
acted. No one can deny In the light of
history since that time that VallandIs-
ham. was surely gifted with the spIs.ty Ut
prophecy on this occasion. and that his
action was one that should have been in
dorsed by his party. -F
ii. The Democracy had engineered itself
INTO position similar 10 that which Its
attitude on the financial question hos got
ten 1t into to-day. 1t had permitted itself
to become merely the party OF opposition.
II had opposed every plan OF the Repub-
lican party without regard to what II
finally 1t had come to that position where
y was regarded as & menace to the ma
uon itself. and was deservedly oppro-
brious- It had either to die or recant.
VallandiGham chose TO recant.
The hight made by Vallandigham was
a most bitter one. and ended In n split
In the Ohio Democracy. But there was
no Bryan In those days. therefore we
may expect a much more bitter contest
within the ranks than was put up in
Vallandlgham's time. The policy OF the
Democratic party Is quite the same,
however. for, as In 1871, 1t has permit
ted Itself to become merely the party OF
Notwithstanding for nothing but
pure unadulterated stubbornness. II
the signs of the times do not point to
the final disruption Of the Democratic
party, what, then, does the writing on
the wall portend?