The Address of the Liberal Republicans
THE ADDRESS OF THE LIBERAL REPUBLICANS
The Administration now in power has rendered itself
guilty of a wanton disregard of the laws of the land and
of powers not granted by the Constitution. It has acted
as if the laws had binding force for only those who are
governed and not for those who govern. It has struck
a blow at the fundamental principles of Constitutional
government and the liberties of citizens. The President
of the United States openly uses the powers and opportunities
of his high office for the promotion of personal ends;
he has kept notoriously corrupt and unworthy men in
places of power and responsibility to the detriment of the
public interests; he has used the public service of the
Government as a machinery of partisan and personal
influence and interfered, with tyrannical arrogance, in
the political affairs of States and municipalities; he has
rewarded with influential and lucrative offices men who
had acquired his favor by valuable presents, thus
stimulating the demoralization of our political life by his
conspicuous example; he has shown himself deplorably unequal
to the task imposed upon him by the necessities of the
country and culpably careless of the responsibilities of
his high office.
The partisans of the Administration, claiming to be the Republican party and controlling its organization, have attempted to justify such wrongs and palliate such abuses to the end of maintaining such partisan ascendancy. They have stood in the way of necessary investigations and indispensable reforms, pretending that no serious fault could be found with the present administration of public affairs, thus seeking to blind the eyes of the people. They have kept alive the passions and resentments of the late civil war, to use them to their own advantages. They have resorted to arbitrary measures in direct conflict with organic law, instead of appealing to the better instincts of the latent patriotism of the Southern people by restoring to them those rights the enjoyment of which is indispensable for the successful administration of their local affairs, and would tend to a more patriotic and hopeful National feeling. They have degraded themselves and the Name of their party, once justly entitled to the confidence of the nation, by a base sycophancy to the dispenser of Executive powers unworthy of Republican freemen; they have sought to stifle the voice of just criticism, to stifle the moral sense of the people and to subjugate public opinion by tyrannical party discipline; they are striving to maintain themselves in authority for selfish ends, by an unscrupulous use of power which rightfully belongs to the people and should be employed in the service of the country. Believing that an organization thus led and controlled can no longer be of service to the best interests of the Republic, we have resolved to make an independent appeal to the sober judgment, conscience and patriotism of the American people.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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