Year: 1869

the bloody chaos from which it has just es.


caped. There are reforms yet to be ac-


eomplshed, imperfeetious to be removed.


and improvements to be made in our grand


polltleal system, and it is proper that the


Republican party, which has SO gloriousIy


begun the work, should go on to its CON-


pietlon The Republican party has done


one thing at time, and has done it well.


II has advanced step BY step, and will still


progress IN the same way. Ifit bad under


taken to accomplish everything at once, as


was desiredb by some, it would perhaps, have


fallen Ia all, but, like the good mechanic


who gives his undivided labor and attention


to one thing till it is accomplished, aud


when that Is done, aud well done, takes up


another and sogoes on until his whole task


Is tinished-such is the fashion and history


Of the Republican party. Aud here call


the attention Of all reformers to the un-


questionable fact that their best chance for
success is in the bosom of the Republican


party, which viii 10 due tirue take up one
reform after another, and such as are found
to be necessary and proper will be pushed


forward to final success. The Republican
party Is emphatically the great reform party
of the nation.


What, on the other hand, has the
Democratic party to offer in contrast with
all this? 1t presents a beggarly dish of


Virginia distractions blood-stained and
spotted with the leprosy of treason and
political death, a record of opposition to all
the glorious things that [ have mentioned


"a record of negations, dissatisfaction
had almost said Of imbecility, in which you
discover not one thing that gratifes the eye,
warns the heart or meets the approval Of
the judgment. History is full of instances
where nations have been stricken with
poverty Of intellect and resources. and have
for generations failed to produce any great
or good thing, but they have continued to
to decline until they have gone down to the
point where there must be dissolution to
produce regeneration.


And so it is with parties. The Demo
e'atic party, for score of years, has been
stricken with poverty of resources, feebleness
of5urpose, submission to bad principles,
and has been incapable of producing or pro-
poiog any great or good thing


That the Republican party has made
some mistakes is not to be denied, for TO
erris human, and neither men nor par
ties are infallible; but they were mistakes
and not crimes, and when discovered and
couprehended were recG6ed.


And is there any good reason why the
Republican party, after having preserved
the Republic. should be required to turn
over the care and custody of it to the Demo
cracJ2 When the flames of your burning
house have been extinguished would you
employ the incendiary as a watchman to
protect it from FIRE in the future, or when
your child has been rescued from the waves,
would you deliver it over for tender nursing
and resuscitation to the monster who threw
it in2 And yet you might do these things
with as much propriety as to now turn over
the control of the Government to the Demo
cratic party When the Republican party
shall have grown old, corrupt and infrm,
like the Democracy, and become incapable
Of any vigorous policy or generous action, it
will then be time enough to hunt up some
new anization-certainly not the Demo
cratic-into whose hands the power of the
should be committed That
such is not now its condition, and that Il is
as capable of great things in the future as
in the past, we believe Whether it has
yet been stricken by the palsy Of corruption
and imbecility, we may judge by the pro
gress which has been made iu reform during
the short period that General Grants ad-
has been in power The last
three years of Mr.. johnson S administration
we're under the influence and control Of the
Democratic party, and were subject to all
the evils and misfortunes incident to the
domination of that party The admins
tration Of General Grant thus far has been
a glorious success, and if in the future it
shall carry out the promise which it has
already given, will realize all and more
than its most sanguine friends have anti
cipated


The success Of Republican principles, and
of the great reforms which have been in-
augurated by the Republican party, can best
be consummated and confirmed by pre-
serving the organization of that party.
Should the Democratic party propose to
surrender its organization, and to accept the
general principles Of the Republican party,
as it has in Virginia, Tennessee, Mississip-
pi and Texas, it would furnish no good
reason for the abandonment Of the Repub-
liean organization or the relaxation of its
radical standard or its discipline. They can
not form better Republican party than we
now have, and although they may take on
Republican principles, yet they will take
with them so much of the spirit of the re-
belion-s so much of the leaven of the old
Demoeracy-th their new organization
viii be at best but an Improvement OF the
Democratic party, and likely to fall back in
to all its old evils and abuses. 'Conserva-
tive Republicanism, as it is, absolutely
means reaction, at least means positive halt
in the march of progress and compromise
with the Democracy, in which they would
be likely in the end to get the alvan' sc.
But in Ohio and the Northern States gen
orally the Democratic party exhibits no
evidence of Improvement whatever. The
Chicago Times and the New York World,
conducted by men Of sagacity, long ago
perceived that the party could make no pro-
gress and stood no chance of coming into
power throughout the country unless 1t
its old heresies, accepted the re-
suits Of the war and should take an entirely
new departure, and therefore proposed to