Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1886 — A PARTI WITHOLT AN ISSUE. [ARTICLE]

A PARTI WITHOLT AN ISSUE.

New York World: The “Sick Man” of the political world at this t ine is the Republican party. It has been striving hard to persuade itself that the Democracy is in a bad way, but its own con dition excites the gravest apprehensions of its friends. Five causes tend to impair the health if not threaten the life, of the once ‘Grand Old Party.’ First, it lias positively no issue on which to go before the people. It was kept alive for yea s after its mission ended by two things—the use of money and the abuse of Democracy. But it is positively destitute of an issue. “Protection” is an absurdity because there is no free trade party and the Republic ms, like the Democrats, are divide I in opinion du the tariff.— “Southern outrages” are unavailable The “bloody shirt” is washed s white as snow. The “solid S uTi’ is a failure, because it is understood that that South is as untrammelled in its political actions as is th * North. T.ie negle it of the Democracy 10 lower taxation or to relieve public bur ens is not available, because the Republican Senate ha-; sto >d obstinately and obdurately in the way of 1 etrenchnient and tax reform, the “Sick Man” has o:*ly one appeal to make to the people, and that is: “Give us back the Government offices instead of allowing the Democracy to retain its control.” Secondly the Prohibition movement is a serious cause of Republican ailment. As the Prohibition strength increases lhe Republican strength naturally decreases. For years the Prohibitionists have been allies of the Republican party.They have trusted to Republicanism to aid their cause, only to be betrayed whenever the interests of Republican leaders prompted the conciliation of anti-temperance influ nee. Now the Prohibition party looms up into the proportions of an important separate p >rty and is increasing in numbers, especially in the doubtful States, every year. Since it helped to defeat Mr. Blaine for the Presidency thousands of earnest supporters have s relied its ranks in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and the Western States. A th rd cause of the Republican malady is the labor movement.— The Republican party is the creator of monopolies. The encroachments of corporations on the rights of the people h»ve been made possible by Republican legislation. There is not an intelligent laboring man in the country who does not know that the Jay Goulds and Huntingtons have been the supporters of Republicanism; that their money has been given to elect Republican adm.nistrations to corrupt Republican office-holders and to purchase seats on the Supreme Bench for their Republican o Is. The first demand of inteTigent labor is for laws that, while just to corporations, will limit the dangerous powers that have been bestowed upon them under Republican rule and prevent them from building up monopolies dishonestly swelling their c ipital and levying undue charges on the people in order to pay interest on fraudulent st ..ck. Can such reforms be ex-

pected under a Republican administration? Fourthly, the Republican party no longer has “October States,” nor can it now concentrate upon them a Federal official army and an unlimited corruption fund. Everybody knows how Indiana was carried by “soap” in 1880 and how t ie Republican October victory in t iat State saved Garfield after his cause had been raralyzed by the defeat in Maine. This advantage is now lost to the Republicans. A fifth cause for the ‘Sick Man’s’ unfortunate condition is the loss to the Republican party of its heretofor valuable capital of ghost stories concerning the Democracy. It can no longer make even the silliest people believe that Democratic ascendancy means the destruction of business interests, the degradation of the public service, the overthrow of constitutional provisions, the payment of the rebel debt, the pensioning of Confederate soldiers and the return of the South to the saddle. The Democratic administration has shown the stupid falsity of such slanders. It has improved the business of the country, elevated the public service despite some undesirable appointments, raised the standard of the national honor, done equal justice to all sections and fait fully obeyed the Constitution, Without issues to present, without loo,ouo Federal officers to assess, without the old astistance from corporations, without money to purchase votes and without the power to successfully slander the Democracy, the Republican party is indeed a very “Sick Man.”