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MAKING MERCHANDISE OF THE DEAD.
That was a very just indignation which the
people evinced when the old lady demanded that
her husdand's body be ‘‘set agin” after it had been
found and several fishes taken from the pockets.
lint not more so than the unclothed attempt of
a small minority of the Democratic leaders to inject
into the folds of the shroud of death veiled political
motives, in connection with the enology of Grover
Cleveland through a resolution prepared by Alton
Parker, in which uncomplimentary references to
Bryan and the principles he advocates will be made,
with the hope of preventing his nomination. A
sober, second thought of the ghoulish savoring of
the undertaking should be sufficient to bring its
own very righteous self-condemnation, to even the
designers of so ill-conceived use of the dead to fur
their political triumphs.
We thought that there was enough people left,
(no thanks to the doctors) to allow th<? dead to rest!
that there was sufficient pork, grain, cotton, railroad,
mining and bank stock still loose on Wall Street
to employ all tht* time of Alt. and his henchmen in
making merchandise without resort to the grave for
a commodity of doubtful value.
The very thought of the success of any such
undertaking is sufficient to cause the foundations of
free popular government to tremble, if lack of con
fidence in the intelligence, stability and patriotism
of the people upon which the security of the nation
rest, has the power to contribute to such result.
The writer is perfectly satisfied that there are mil
lions of people incapable of committing themselves
to any such policy as the use to which it is proposed
in the Parker resolution to make of Grover Cleve
land’s body, or he would entertain the most serious
apprehensions for the future of the country of Wash
ington and Lincoln.
As we do not know but that it requires genius
to be honest ami to act righteously the friends of
the resolutions should be spared an iron rod or
half-brick, but the evil intent of their heinous de
signs should be loudly proclaimed and indignantly
THE REASON
spurned. Passion has made reason and common
sense, in their east 1 , prisoners, and this makes our
duty to the party, its principles and the great coun
try in which they are to be worked out all the more
plain and binding, if we ever hope to succeed in
electing a president or in maintaining the respect
and esteem of seif-resperting people.
If it is possible for this handful of ghoulish
fiends at Denver to dominate the convention, and
succeed in getting off the body of Cleveland at the
price they have placed upon it. we might just as
well admit now. for it is true, that th<* Democratic
party has killed itself and dug its own grave.
Tin* tendency of this plundering of the party and
the rights of the people, which it represents, will
be to plunder in another direction, to sow tht' seeds
of injustice and practice deeds of oppression and
degredation. The certain temptations to political
crime, which Parker ami his kind have satisfactorily
shown t hemsel ves incapable of resist ing makes him
and they very unsafe as leaders unless their heart
could be reached and their minds and hands al
ready inclined toward evil, changed.
Competition in this country makes the struggle
for existence severe far sharper than it would be if
we lived in a natural state. The consequence is
that there arc many failures, all of whom will not'd
the sympathy, the kindness and the aid of the
government; which, in the hands of men who would
rob flu? grave for political capital, could scarcely be
expected to render to the yeomanry any sustenance
whatever, except that obtained by force.
If we did but know it the state of the State is
just about as perilous as the life of man. It takes
a life-time to build it up just as it is the work of a
life-time to build up a great ami good character.
A moment's work may destroy it utterly, completely,
from turret to fouml.it ion stone.
The elevation of men who would use the mask
of death to sheathe their stiletto in with which to
knife a formidable rival has every element of des
truction in it that could be gotten together under
one roof any where in the world.
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