The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1904-10-20

tVV wear Uepeat Vnat tartyI
| Platform Of the Dark Hours Of tn,
Civil War, and All Alike Against ths
Government and the Soldiers.
Nov, therefore, I, Abraham Lin
coin, by virtue of the power in me
vested as commander-in-c chief of the
army and navy of the United States
In time of actual armed rebellion
against the authority and government
of the United States, and as a fit and
necessary war measure for suppress
Ing said rebellion, do publicly pro
claim" etc.
This Is the paragraph In the Proc
lamation of Emancipation issued by
the president of the United States
Sept. %. 1862, warning all of the peo
pie then in rebellion that the com.
plete freedom of their slaves would go
into full effect on the next New Years
day unless they submitted forthwith
to the authority of the government of
the United States. The Cincinnati
! Times-Star fitly calls this "the most
imperial act Of any Of the American
presidents. Not only was the proc.
lamation solely an executive act, but
when congress later sought to pass a
law doing the same thing that Lincoln
had done, he declared he would veto
1t. because 1t would be unconstitution-
al" This was the way that Abraham
Lincoln. now canonized by the Dem
ocratic party, exerted his executive
authority.
How trivial, indeed, compared with
this is that exercise Of presidential
power in behalf of the pensioners of
our army and navy. which the Parker
platform condemns as executive
usurpation of legislative and judicial
functions. whether that usurpation be
veiled under the guise of executive
construction of legislative laws. or
whether 1t take refuge in the tyran,'s
pleas of Necessity Or superior wis.
dom"
President Roosevelt's act thus con.
demped by the Parker platform, and
by Parker's own public utterances and
his promise to revoke IT, was only the
same In spirit and substance as pre-
vious acts of President Cleveland
and President Mckinley, simply
changed in form to inset the change
In conditions. What Cleveland did,
and what Mckinley did for the pen
sioners In this respect. the Democrats
say nothing about. They can not crit.
icise their own Cleveland, and they
dare not now denounce William Nc.
Kinley, although free enough with It
four years ago.
Being hard-pressed for campaign
material against President Roosevelt,
however. the Democrats ring the
changes on Executive usurpation,"
and accuse him of taking refuge in
the tyrants pleas of necessity and su.
perior wisdom" This is just the way
that the Democratic party talked
about President Lincoln. They may
praise him now, but they abused him
as badly in his day as they now do
Roosevelt, calling him "Tyrant Lin.
coin" Their platform of 1904 re.
echoes their platform of 40 years ago |
during the civil war. In 1864 the Dem
ocratic convention at Chicago, Aug. 29, |
did explicitly declare, as the sense of |
the American people, that after four |
years of failure to restore the Union |
by the experiment of war, during
which, under the pretense of a mill.
tary necessity. or war-pOwer higher
han the constitution, the constitution
tself has been disregarded in every
part, and public liberty and private
life essentially impaired"
The Democratic party also IRE.
solved, that the direct interference of
The military authority Of the United
States In the recent elections held In
Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, was q
shameful violation Of the Constitution,
md a repetition of such acts In the
approaching election will be held as
and resisted with all
he means and power under our con.
rol." That's the way that Parker's
'arty stood by Abraham Lincoln when
le needed support. II ever man need.
"a the most complete cooperation of
ne entire citizenship for the very life
II tne natlOn ltSelf
Still more like the very words OF
he Parker platform was the 1864 res
luton OF the same party that "the
democratic party hereby declare that
he administrative usurpation of ex.
raordinary and dangerous powers not
ranted by the constitution is
aiculated to prevent a restoration OF
he. Union and the perpetuation OF a
overnment deriving its just powers
rom the consent of the governed"
Ibraham Lincoln was the man they
IL that time. and their words were
ientical with the terms used today
gainst Roosevelt. They were wrong
hen; they are wrong now. The peo-
le were against them then; the peo- :
lie are against them now. il