The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-11-18 00:00:00

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1876

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY.

The uncertainty which for so many days hung
over the result of the contest of the Presidency
of the United States has lent additional interest
to one of the most remarkable struggles in the
history of the Union. It is difficult for those
who live on this side of the Atlantic to form an
adequate idea of the energy thrown into such a
campaign, or of the magnitude of the issues
involved. We have, of course, all witnessed the
excitement attending a general election in this
country. Most men have experienced that
sense of satisfaction which attends the triumph
of the cause which they have at heart; or that
feeling of mortification arising from defeat. As
the tides of the sea ebb and fie*, so the fortunes
of political parties fluctuate with the changing
circumstances of the times, and it is given to
none always to be successful, or invariably to be
in the ranks of the vanquished. The defeated
i
at one general election often come n trium.
phant at the next; and very recently we have
seen more than one remarkable revolution in
the wheel of political fortune. But a change of
rulers with us means little more than a shifting
of two sets of politicians from one bench to the
other of the House of Commons. Naturally
enough the patronage at the disposal of the
Ministers will be diverted into the channel
containing the current which carried them into
power. But this applies only to the vacancies
which are sure to arise in the ranks of the pub-
lic servants. Ministers do not disturb the acts
of their predecessors, and effect a general clear-
ance in the ranks a the army and navy officers,
nor do they turn the civil service upside down
in order to provide for their own supporters.
These mustitake their chance of getting any of
the good things which may happen to fall in,
but the idea of superseding or dispossessing
any who already hold State appointments for
the purpose of obliging one's own political
Sriends, never enters the head of a British
Minister of whatever political complexion; and
even if it did, any attempt to carry out such a
notion would not be tolerated.
They manage these things very differently in
the United States. There the success of that
particular candidate at the Presidential election
is a vastly more momentous matter than the
mere triumph of a party, the satisfaction of
success, the winning of a few wagers, and the
making of complimentary speeches at con-
gratulatory banquets. The nomination of candi-
dates for the high office of President Sakes
place there six months Wore tLe election, 011
that lay a whole ball year the country is kept

in a state of abnormal excitement. With us
this excitement would culminate in a man
shouting himself hoarse at a tumultuous meet- ,
ing, or getting an ugly bruise in a crowd. Too
much intoxicating drink or an injury received
in a free fight may lay him by for a day or two,
but he gets about again, and nothing in the
election or its consequences interferes with the
opportunities of his obtaining daily bread. Far
otherwise is it in the United States, where the
means of subsistenie of thousands of citizens
depend upon the result of the electoral contest.
Supposing for instance, as in the recent
struggle, the Republican party is in power, and
the Democrats set up a champion of their own
as a candidate for the Presidency. It is not
only that there is a Democratic candidate for
President, but throughout the entire civil ser-
vice, even down to the letter carriers, there are
Democratic candidates for the posts held by
Republicans. The latter put forth all their
power to retain their positions, their influence,
and their livelihood ; and naturally enough
equal efforts are made on the other side to
obtain all three. The failure of the " ins "
means the loss of their social status ; the suc-
cess of the "outs " means an assured position
for the Presidential term of four years. How,
then, can we wonder at the feverish excitement
felt through the length and breadth of the
Union, when, day after day, at the close of the
electoral campaign, its result was left in doubt,
and it was seen that the vote of one or two
States must decide the contest, so evenly-
balanced were the numbers? It was social life
to thousands if Mr. Tilden were returned, it was
political extinction to an equal number if
General Hayes were selected to preside at the
White House, there to control for four years the
destinies. of the American Union. We must, of
course, assume that the people of the United
States know their own business best, and that
the constitution which was framed a hundred
years ago is as perfect as the machinery which
keeps it going. But it would never do for a
general election in this country to be synonymous
with such a social revolution as that which is
witnessed every four years across the Atlantic.
Our own political excitements, it is true, to Lve
heartburnings behind them sometimes, but
these pass away. But they would not so pass
if a man were deprived of his office under the
State, and that office were given to his opposite
neighbour merely because of a difference in
politics. And if we are bidden to look upon this
picture in the United Kingdom, and upon that
ba the United States we prefer to look upon our
own. Our general elections are costly and
often troublesome, but we are all thankful that
they are not anticipated with such anxiety as the
Presidential contests over the Atlantic, and that
they leave behind them no such memories.