Year: 1876

The Democratic party has never been
celebrated for untarnished honor on for
a scrupulous regard to right as against
wrong and truth as against falsehood
when political opponent was concerned.
Undoubtedly, the moral sentiment of the
Nation has reached higher plane than
ever attained before and that on the
part of the people there is a profounder
realization of the necessity of political
and personal uprightness. The fearful
conflict induced by the rebellion Of the
South, for which the leaders of the Dem
ocracy are held responsible, has had upon
the South, the usual effect Of all wars upon
all peoples, and opened the food gates OF
reckless ambition to get rich without.
labor, and to adopt crooked devices to
reach the object desired. But while the
better classes of citizens who, prizing
education, have been able to WELD a
healthy influence over the masses, so as
generally to hold in check in the North
that selfish lawlessness which prevails so
much in the South, the Democracy, rank
and file, with many OF the Bourbon lead
ers, have not partaken Of the benefit to
any appreciable extent. The result is
that the unexpected revival of Democratic
hope, by the assembly in the House of
hepTeSeulhLlNes Ol the tOuAeueTdbe rem
nants of the rebel armies who were
stricken by lightning when sent there,
has revived Herewith all the old vices of
the Democracy, now doubly hideous from
their long repression. And we have the
sorry spectacle OF twenty eight Demo
cratic investigating committees of Con-
gress, every one of them vigorously en-
gagged as sending abroad as unchallsnged
truth evidence which they know to be
false, and evidence which they knew
must be contradicted in the course of a
day or two. Thus the country is flooded
with Democratic falsehood from one end
to the other. Democratic chairmen of
committees listen to venomous hearsay
statements which consume the public
time at the expense of public money to
pay the fraudulent witnesses who have
not a word of truth to testify, or If they
had it would not be listened to because
it was not wanted. This practice is a
very stale trick. The lie travels swiftly


and is sent out first When truth over
takes it, the lie is supposed to have done
its dirty work. The Democracy are not
a reading people, and the Democratic
press is not given to the virtue of con-
tradicting what tells against Republicans
simply because il is not true. The float
ing lie in Democratic hands is a Demo
cratic power, and much relied on and
admired. And is not Democratic ad-
miration for Democratic lies justified
when Democratic chairmen of investiga.
ton committees select these lies with
great cheerfulness and send them on
their travels for publication7 No prom
inent Republican is safe from the attacks
OF Democratic defamers. The purest of
our public men are shining marks for
defamation, and if those Democratic
committees can by falsehood affect to
smirch for an hour a good character it is
feather in the cap OF Democracy, and
an achievement worthy of the Democrat
ic camp. Let Republicans note this.


But what disreputable employment
for a Democratic chairman What a dis
graceful method of opposing Republi-
cansi Such Democrats are nothing bet
ter than Sinking moral assassins. who
have entered the lists as rivals of the
bludgeon Of the agrarian or the stilletto
of the Italian who always stabs his vic
tim in the back. The time honored
Democracy" as they love to call them
selves, are of the same strain as those
who welcomed the rebellion; the de
scendents of the men who were in league
with disloyalty, or the very men them
selves who grew up to the pattern OF
those bewildering political lights, North
eru men with Southern principles, or
| SoutheTners whose Democracy was all
rebel Washington Republic.