Year: 1873




effected, and had in scattered way, with no
national concert of action, acted upon
it. 1t was strong and vigorous in its parts
before it combined and consolidated and be-
came in name as in fact q homogeneous ma
tional organization with machinery and power
and purpose. 1t was born, not recruited. 1t
must be confessed that the occasion when, q
year ago, seemed to call for new political
party was not by any means so great as that
which, from the chaos of the disastrous de-
feat of tho Wings IN 1859, the unsatisfactori-
ness and contemplate character of the mush-
room Know-Nothng movement OF 1S5i-5 ana
tho split IN the Democratic party on the Nan
sas-Nebraska bill, evoked the party winch
held its first National Convention at flt's-
burgh in 1856 And yet it was not slanse
that mon of intelligence and forecast through


out the country deemed the occasion llpe lor
the formation of such new party as was
undertaken Mt Cincinnati. The Republican
party seemed to them to have done Its work
and fallen into the hands of corrupt and IN


competent men, whose control it was i'm


possible to break. To 90 over to the existing
opposition party. with its offensive war record


WAS not to be thought Of There was but one
course open, and that they adopted. Inc
| movement was an apparent failure, tor tne


reason that the people believed some proml-


nent persons-who have since turned out to


be not entirely credible-who said the
| Administration was honest and pure and IN
favor of reforms; and they distrusted and
| feared very much the Democrats who COM
posed a majority of the new party. 1t was
not failure in fact, however. 1t is yet too


early to estimate it properly or assign 1t lts


place in the history of q period OF pohtlcal
transition not yet accomplished. 1t is not I'M


possible that we shall find eventually that IL


ACCOMPLISHED much moro by its temporary
check than it could have gained by immediate


success. Bunker Hill and Bull Run were very


fortunate defeats for the undisciplined armies


that retreated. Fremont and Dayton were the
forerunners of Lincoln and Hamlin.


The country, as it appeared, was not then


ready for q new party at least not ready to
intrust it with the Government. That having


been demonstrated and the further fact mado
| equally plain that the Democratic party had
lost all its vigor and prestige and was only
tagging superfluous on tho stage, 1t fell out
| naturally enough that the professional pollti-


clans out of business should after brief period
of quiet set about tho Invention OF another


new party. SO the discussion has arisen. is
it time for it nowi Plainly enough not. And
for the reason that, notwithstanding the very


sharply defined differences between the Ad-


mlnistration party and its opponents, they


are largely superficial after all; they fur


nish no fundamental question Of principle


upon which political party could found a


permanent organization; nothing substantial
| and lasting enough for q crystallization. III
| may be replied to this that the revelations OF


the last Congress and the reputation OF Its
| ante-election obligations by the Administra-
ton, offer very broad grounds for an OPP
position and a very substantial basis for
a party; and to certain extent the reply
has reason. But an enduring National party


cannot be built up, upon the single PROPOSE
ton to elect only honest men to office


Neither can it be built solely upon the effort
to do justice to the South,-sOrely as she needs
it and seriously as the carpet-bag robbery has
impeded the National growth The party that
makes honest government its aim must go
deeper and remove the temptations to dishon-
esty. 1t must have some well-defned policy
as to special and class legislation, some funda-
mental doctrines the enforcement OF which
will in large degree establish honesty and
remove the opportunities and inducements
that in some recent notable instances have
undermined the integrity OF men who had
been esteemed above reproach. To secure
trustworthy men in Office is a temporary ex-
pedient. There is not enough in the PROPOSE
| ton to organize on. To establish honest gov


ernment is something worthy of statesman
ship, and may be some time the mission of a
party. The present prospect for such
a consummation is encouraging mainly as it


shows q growing sensitiveness upon the
subject of political corruption and the direc-
tion of the honest thought of the nation to


devising some measure of relief that shall be
permanent and radical.


The organization which is to supplant the
one now in power is surely coming, and proba-
bly, coming soon, but it is to grow out of events
which cannot be hurried. The Democratic
| party might hasten it by dssolving its own
| organization and leaving new opposition to
| come I'D without the serious drawback of an


offensive name and record, and managers who


have lost the public confidence. In that event,


the stimulus of the hatred and distrust of an


old opponent being withdrawn, the Republi-


can party would fall asunder naturally of its
| own weight anu lIS lncohBruous dsSoClaJiohsi


tho corruption that has honeycombed its
official structure, and the absence of any vital


principle to hold any part of it save the


ofice-holders together; and a new departure


would follow in which men would be


governed by their convictions, and


not by partisanship, in taking po-
sition upon new issues. Meantime the most
| encouraging feature in the situation is the
fact that the people are calmly considering