The Columbus journal., 1908-09-02
LOOKING BACKWARD.

tory of the country, that in course of
time the Democratic party always
endorses the acts of Republican
administrations.
In 1861, the Democrats opposed the
greenback issue, and later endorsed it
In 1863 the Democrats opposed the
draft, and = year later Democratic
mobs burned down colored orphan
asylums in New York city and shot
down men sent to enforce the drafting
of men for service in the Union army.
The draft was afterwards sustained BY
the Democrats.
In June, 1854, the Democratic
party, in National convention, declar.
ed Lincoln and the Union army fail
ure. Since that day the Democratic
party has praised the martyred presi-
dent and voted, first under protest,
and later with patriotic zeal, in grant
ing pensions to the soldiers who were
denounced as failures in 1854.
In 1874 the Democratic party de.
nounced the efforts of the Republican
party to arrange for the resumption Of
specie payment, and afterwards en-.
dOrsed the measure.
In 1896 and in 1900, the Demo-
cratic party declared for the free coin.
age of silver at q ratio of is to 1, and
in 1904 met in St. Louis and endorsed
the gold standard previously adopted
by the Republicans, by nominating .
gold standard candidate.
The Democratic party has been q
camp follower in the political history
of the country for nearly fifty years.
The Democratic party has been the
mob that has followed the army that
does things along the national high
way of time occupying the deserted
camps and gathering enough inspira-
ton and horse sense as it marched in
the rear to condemn its past mistakes,
but originating nothing new that has
ever been incorporated into law.
Ingalls, was right when he spoke of the
Democratic party as 1.-THE organized
ignorance of the country"
What guarantee does the Democ-
cratic party give for its future conduct
in the affairs of this nation if success
full in November? The only way, my
countrymen, you have of judging that
party is by its past history. 1t has
been a great national failure as a
political party since Andrew jackson
walked out of the White House on the
4th day of March, 1887. It has pro.
tested" and "viewed with alarm" every
four years since the days of jackson.
With the exception of the tariff it has
been on both sides of nearly every
great national question, and even on
the tariff it has favored protection in
spots while denouncing it as robbery.
1t has endorsed nearly all the fads and
fancies, whooped it up for the different
kinds of isms and then turned and
denounced its own record of stupidity
and ignorance, and endorsed the record
of the army it is always following but
never overtakes.
Along the line of march lie silent
and cold the abandoned theories of the
past. The free silver guns have been
spiked in the house of their friends.
Initiative and referendum lie bleed
ing on the sands of time, stabbed to
death by the hands of the men who
gave it birth. The twinkling stars
look down upon the upturned face of
anti.imperialism. Government owner
ship of railways was abandoned to its
fate and kicked out of the line of
march by the foot that kicked it into
publicity at Castle Garden. Only one
relic has been dragged up from the
past to keep company with the new
issues incubated in the Fairview hem
nery-the emaciated corpse of free
trade galvanized as tariff reform"
Under the leadership of Mr.. Bryan
the Democratic party has not changed.
1t is the same old camp trailer, the
same old protester. About the only
difference between the Democratic
party of today and the last time it
followed Bryan to defeat. is that it
stopped long enough in 1904, where
the Republican army camped in 1900,
to repudiate free coinage and nomi-
nate a gold standard candidate.
The Democratic party is yet four
years of weary marching behind the
Republican party, and it will require
all the turpentine produced in the