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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. 3