The Monmouth Inquirer

the institution of human slavery and to
extend slave labor at the expense of free
labor. The sacrifice of principle neces-
sitated by this relationship led to rapid
decay. The party ceased to produce
great leaders. Men of conscience and
courage, like Thomas H. Benton, left
it. The significance of this period is the
illustration it gives of the disastrous re-
sults of a betrayal of principles, to the
morals, honor and usefulness of a party.
The people have not trusted the Demo-
cratic party since, except during the two
brief nightmares of the Cleveland ad-
ministrations.

Party's Shameful Record,
Founded on the wrong side of moral
and political ethics, it spent the first
sixty years of its existence along the
lines of self-aggrandizement and narrow
partisan legislation. While professing
in its platforms to be the friend of the
masses, it persistently enacted laws
which bound them to penury and dis-
tress. While publicly advocating
broad, intelligent citizenship, it voted
against individual freedom. While beat-
ing the tom-toms for prosperity to the
people, it voted against cheap postage,
the Homestead law, and the Resumption
of Specie Payment. Claiming to be in
favor of a higher standard of living for
the workingman, it enacted free-trade
measures which sent him into indefinite,
enforced idleness, and reduced him and
his family to the level of the pauper
labor of Europe. Professing the utmost
patriotism, it gave all possible aid to
the rebellion.

Some Comparisons.
Contrasted with the grand old Repub-
lican party: the one abolished slavery,
the other upheld it to the last; the one
put down the rebellion, the other sup-
ported the rebellion; the one preserved
the National faith and credit, and paid
the National debt, the other tried every
scheme and expedient to stultify the re-
public and avoid the debt; the one pre-
served the standard of value unchanged,
the other sought to tamper with it and
destroy it.

Gets Worse Instead of Better.
The professions and promises of the
Democratic party, during the past forty-
three years, and the absence of all per-
formance are as notorious as ever. They
show the lack of ideas, or purpose, but
abound in hypocritical dogmas and
flatulent pretenses. It has "reversed"
itself on almost every important Na-
tional measure and brought upon itself
the ridicule of right-thinking people.
Apropos of this deplorable condition in
the party, "Mr. Dooley" proposed the
following want ad., a little while before
the St. Louis convention:

"WANTED—A good, active, energetic
Dimmyerat, sthrong iv lung ar limb;
must be in favor iv sound money, but not
too sound; an' anti-imperialist, but f'r
holdin' onto what we've got; an' inimy of
trusts, but a friend iv organized capital;
a sympathizer with th' crushed an' down
throdden people, but not be anny means
hostile to vested inthrests; must advocate
sthrikes, gover'mint be injunction, free sil-
ver, sound money, greenbacks, a single
tax, a tariff f'r rivinoo, th' constitootion
to follow th' flag as far as it can, an' no
farther; civil service ravform iv th' la'ada
in office, an' all th' gr-reat an' gloryous
principles iv our gr-reat an' gloryous party,
or anny gr-reat an' gloryous parts thereof.
He must be akelly at home in Wall street
an' th' stock yards, in th' parlors iv th'
r-rich an' th' kitchens iv th' poor."

Clevelandism and Democracy.
During Cleveland's administration our
National debt increased a half million
dollars a day in the face of the party's
promise of better times. Each day we
lost half a million dollars in foreign
trade. During that administration the
value of farm products decreased more
than five hundred million dollars. Dis-
trust and panic paralyzed the great in-
dustrial system of the country. Banks
closed their doors; business houses as-
signed; the balance of trade was against
us; capital withdrew from the fields of
legitimate enterprise into secret places;
labor was forced into unwilling idleness;
we had deserted mills, smokeless facto-
ries, silent machinery. We had tramps
and beggars, industrial armies, starving
women and children. Two million able-
bodied men were begging for work—
the opportunity to earn bread for their
starving families.

Unworthy of Existence
This happened during the administra-
tion of the Democratic party which dur-
ing fifty years has added nothing to
progress, nothing to the cause of liberty,
nothing to freedom, nothing to the glory
of our common country. This is the
party that, no matter what it promises,
always goes into partnership with calam-
ity. It feeds on disaster and fattens on
despair. The only time it has had con-
trol of this country during this gener-
ation, it shut the doors of industry and
clothed labor in rags. It fought under
the dishonored banner of free silver, it
opposed keeping our flag in the Orient,
and advocated that it be lowered in
retreat and trailed in the dust of dis-
honor. Such is a part of the record of
the party of calamity, professions and
promises—the oft-defeated, discouraged,
disorganized, disgraced, divided, decrepit
old Democratic party. It stands to-day
without an issue, without a principle,
without a policy, without a platform,
without a leader and without hope.

In closing we quote S. E. Kisor, of
the Nebraska Independent, who puts
these words in Bryan's mouth as regards
Parker and his party:

"Bryan's Position.
"Friends and countrymen, let's trust him—
Though he's not a man to trust—
Let's endeavor to elect him.
Though his cause is far from just:
I have put away all rancor
As I promised them I would,
I am for the splendid ticket,
Though it isn't any good.

"Let us gird ourselves for battle—
But I hope we cannot win—
Let us pray to be successful,
Though success would be a sin;
Let us give the people's banner
Unto him to nobly bear,
But it's dangerous to do it,
For he isn't on the square.

"Let us wave our hats for Parker,
The poor tool of foxy Dave;
Let us rest our hopes upon him,
Though he's Mammon's-cringing slave!
Let us raise him up to power.
Help to send him whooping through,
But remember—here I warn you—
You'll be sorry if you do."

"In the orderly administration of
affairs of the Government it is neces-
sary that each of the three depart-
ments should repose trust and confi-
dence in the acts of the others
performed within their proper sphere
of action. We must proceed upon the
assumption that the executive depart-
ment, within its constitutional preroga-
tives, is actuated by proper motives,
and that it is as regardful of the good
name of the country as either the
legislative or the judicial depart-
mentes."—From Senator Fairbanks' speech on
Panama, February 2, 1904.