Year: 1878

The Northern Democrats Insist Upon
nulinx the Democratic Caucus, and
| Debating the Policy Of the Democratic
Party.


| Especial Correspondence Of the Democrat
RIgas HOUSE,
Washington, April II, 1878.
have seen some blundering In my time
| but think that for stupidity Oh one side and


malignity on the other, the farce just closed
! In the House of Representatives beats every =


thing within the range Of my knowledge, ex-


perience or reading. / refer OF course to the
insane row about


| THE DOORK EEpBR


At the beginning of the session pointed
out In q letter the evils that would In all


probability accrue from the policy of system
attic bufnmerism which the Democrats seemed


to have adopted with reference to the minor


patronage Of the House. I tried to call The


attention Of thoughtful Democrats to the fact


that owing to the debasement and degrada-
| tion OF the great mass of those seeking the


places which make up this minor patron


age, the whole business was falling


into such disrepute that no man OF sslf-re-
spect could afford to be found in that category


Of oiflce-seekers. ] venture to say that first


and last, hundred applicants have appeared


for every position, high and low, from the
| clerks of committees down to the stokers who


coal the engine furnaces in the lower base


ment Of the Capitol building Another striking


TACT is that, in nine cases out of ten. the chief


recommendation OF the applicant is, that "be


needs the place. There are indeed many po-
sitions about the Capitol building which may


very properly be filled by persons Of no par
ticular capacity, and these places. perhaps.
should be set apart for eleemosynary uses.
But the average Democratic hummer from


the large cities Of the North is no respecter Of
persons or places. Taught by the discipline OF


ward primaries that


| THE BUMMER ELEMENT


holds the balance Of power In our political
| system, he comes to Washington feslinp the
| tative in the Capitol building as In the sums
| of his district, where his services as q packer
| Of primaries and stuffsr Of ballot-boxss are
Indispensable. The result is not difficult to
! premise The hummer element gains here,
rs elsewhere, the natural ascendancv of
coarseness. vulgarity and ruffiansm, simply
because NOBODY Of decent impulses will try to
| strive against the hummer on equal footing


for any place ] have been at some pains to
| locate and dissect this evil upon the body pol-
| itic Of the Democratic party. and the results
| OF the inquiry are not uninteresting. / find


that out Of some seven hundred applicants for


all sorts OF Places about five hundred we're


presented and urged by forty odd Northern
Democratic congressman, while ninety odd
Southern members contributed only two hun


dred


| PLACE HUNTERS


| to the general fund. Besides this disnov-
cred that whereas about fpur-ffths Of The as
| pirants presented by Democratic members
from the Not tn were persons who could hardly
have obtained or held IL position of the least
| responsibility in any respectable business
the Southern contingent was almost without
| exception made up OF men Of good character
fair qualifications and otherwise calculated
to reflect credit upon the members who stood
sponsor for them. This fact is very , signifi. pl
cant, and 1t should not fail to receiye the
| earnest attention Of the statesmen who direct,
and OF the politicians who manage the affairs
OF the Democratic party The fayorite cry Of
THE NORTHERN DEMOCRACY
for ten years has been that the Southern wing
of the party was d burden upon the organiza-
tiOe, to be carried and apOlDgized for but
always kept as far In the background as pos
sibe-a sort Of poor relation so to speak,
convenient to have as q prop Of the family,
but not to be introduced to general society.
Under the influence Of this argument the
Northern Democracy has been able to hold o
monopoly OF the management Of the party
ever since the war, while


THE SOUTHERN WING


has done most Of the voting. It was not in
the nature Of things that such d Iop-sided
arrangement should last long Sooner or
later q collision was bound to come between
beneficiaries Of this unnatural monopoly and
the victims OF it. The spectacle OF the pre-
ponderant ability, character and numerical
strength OF the Southern wing being held
subservtent and subordinate to the mediocrity
and minority from the North was too para
doxical to last long, and would not have
endured as long as it has but for the peculiar
reactonary or stationary policy Of the Radi-
cal party, which, by maintaining the old
issues, has afforded the Northern Democracy
the only sernblance Of logic it ever had to
sustain its demands.


However, 1t appears that the situation I
have described remained inchOate, simply
for lack OF any cause or adequate reason for
the precipitation Of the issues involved in it.
50 that for three years very weak minority
OF the Democratic caucus has been allowed
to shape policies, monOpolize the fruits Of
power and otherwise make O. convenience Of
the able and respectable majority. The
greatest and at the same time most depIora-
Bile result Of this unnatural condition Of af-
fairs was


THE ELECTION OF SAM RANDALL
to the Speakership. / will not join with the
more violent Of Mr.. Randalfs detractors to
accuse him Of corruption. | do not believe he
is corrupt, in the baser and more common
hccepGaCioh ol Inc term AZ least. But he is |
wofully unfortunate in his friendships, and
has been signally unhappy in nearly all the |
schemes he has devised and advanced for the |
benefit Of the party. AS purveyor to t1e in |
terestS OF Sam Randall he has been an en-
lnent success, but as leader and manager Of |
the Democratic party he has certainly |
cramned about as much Of failure and about |
as many blunderS into his brief term as could |
well have been accomplished by the system
attic exercise Ut ingenuity to that end.
THE BREACH BETWEEN THE TWO WINGS OF |


THE PARTY
has been widening all the time-not indeed In |
the sense OF tending to an open rupture, but |
blood and sharp controversy in the interior |
counsels Of the caucus, with incidental es-
arrangement and destruction Of confidence


The recent row about the Doorkeeper served |
antagonisns, and had not the debate been cut |
Off " here il ku rtitra ruling 1f L