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Show MR. CLEVELAND AND DEMOCRACY. i The great overtopping party question today is, if we shall sacrifice the democratic party to Mr. Cleveland, or Mr. Cleveland Cleve-land to the democracy. Democratic faith and policy has the elements of immortality in ite bosom. It will live far beyond even the memory of Mr. Cleveland or any other single member of it. It can never be destroyed as long as we live under a republican form of government, It spoke a nation na-tion into being. It has conducted it through trials, tribulations and over the protests of civilization to the very zenith of success. It has demonstrated the great truth that there is no God-given God-given right that any one man is to rule the people that the people are both wise and virtuous enough to govern themselves. Not Mr. Cleveland nor all mugwumpery can prevail against this fact. Today the party is within two years of having won one of the most glorious victories within the history of the party or of the ; nation and it is divided, hos tile and waning. The causes are plain and widely understood. Mr. Cleveland has assumed the character of dictator -to the party, and while sound to the core upon most of the principles of democracy, yet on two leading points of party faith he is altogether alto-gether wrong. We will state them frankly and fully and for no other rea-Bon rea-Bon nor with any other purpose than the hope of seeing these two grave faults corrected in time to prevent further disintegration; ad well as to enable us to again win in '9G. These two faults, serious in our judgment as a partisan democrat, are his policy on the silver question and also upon civil service reform. So called democracy has no older, better defined or more binding tenet of faith than its long-time devotion to silver as a metal, the full equal of gold at a fixed ratio. Mr. Cleveland has elected to reverse democratic policy on this point, and favors the single or gold standard instead. We warn him now and here that no man, not even Jefferson Jeffer-son himself, could he return to earth, is or ever was strong enough to set the i party to the right about on this sacred j and timj-honored democratic precept. The distresses prevailing now in the j financial world are due only or mainly to the repuDiican party's utter demonetization demon-etization of silver. Mr. Cleveland's fault comes in when he called congress together to repeal the Sherman purchasing pur-chasing act instead of to discuss means by which the democratic party might soonest and most perfectly restore silver sil-ver to its old-time equality w ith gold. Since then he is in fault and he will so remain until he sends a ringing free coinage message to that body demand-in? demand-in? the return to specie basis, because it is all folly to claim that we can have a specie basiB with only one money metal. The other fault is scarce less in degree de-gree than the aboye, it is this vain, nonsensical, unfair and unfaithful sentimentality regarding tenure of office. It would be all yery well, were all democrats situated as Mr. Cleveland Cleve-land is. But they are not. They have worked hard through thirty years of unrelieved defeat worked steadily for the principles which we here speak of as eternal and indestructible. They are only men after all and they would s.ie party interests considered as well as other matters of higher and loftier import. They seek recognition, reward re-ward and encouragement. This cannot can-not be given them, nor even the hope of success next campaign, while the resources re-sources of the nation are all placed in the hands of republicans and continue there. The time may come in the future when the patronage of the administration ad-ministration will not epell in party matters, but alas, that time seemB a long way in the future yet. If he would serve the party and put it in trim to win next campaign, he must "turn the rascals out" at once and then with a reversal on silver the triumphant democracy will flaunt her Victorious banners in the 6ky again in ,(J6. If he don't, we are doomed again to humilitating and crushing de feat. We cannot afford to give him taffy now. It is the duty of every true liegeman liege-man of the party, every true democrat to talk honestly and plainly on this Bubject. Would that we could Bay that the president is as sound on these two tenets of party faith as he is on the tariff and all else A emocratic, but J we can't. j |