The Illinois free trader and LaSalle County commercial advertiser. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1841-1843, 1843-06-30


their own officers, who would be more likely than
Foreigners To carefully guard them.
Tho Charge Of Cerru",iou In the Juliet De-
Eaocrasic Convention.
We hear il frequently charged by the enemies Of
the democratic party in this district that there was
corruption prar,ised in the democratic convention
at Juliet. This was to he expected as a matter Of
course The charge Is brought against nearly eve
y democratic convention that is held in which
there 10 moro than one asprani to a nomination.
and always by two classes, viz. |. by wings; .
by the defeated candidate Tor nomination. The
wings make the charge, Of course, for the purpose
Vt creating disunion in the democratic ranks, as
TIA. is generally the only means by which they
can succeed themselves. The defeated candidate
flr nomination in making the charge, is actuatcd
by several motives. In the first place, he always
goes Int, the Convention thoroughly convinced
hat he Is the only man in the district that ought
to be nominated. No other man can possibly
pngscss qualifications superior to bic, and therefore
! il another receives the nomination it is Of course
lone hy corrupt means. GLOW else" nc argues
"coull they pass hy man Of such prc-emncnl
qualifications as Ipossess, and nominate another
50 vastly my Inferior In the second place, if a
man has made great excr.ions TO procure a nomi.
naion and, wacn the convention is held, finds
himself awfuly in the minority he naturally feels
mortified, and his ingenuity Is put to rack
to devise fictitious excuses for his defeat and what
excuse il there more convenient than that there
was corruption pr1clised in the convention And
in The third place, during tho contest for a nomi.
lion that generally takes place before the conven-
ton comes oil, feelings Of personal onmly lrc-
Iucn,y excited between the rival candidates, and
he charge Of corruption is then always made
,reiu.l ~ - .,,.-'
Generally, as the excitement and i'll failing en-
gcndcrcd 10y the convention gradually dies away,
aud as the democracy everywhere gradully unite IN
supper, of the nominee Of the convention, the de-
icalcd candidates begin to lay by their personal
lcclings, and 90 with the mass, remembering that,
after all, thc democracy are conIcndlng for "Prln-
ciples, not men" Bot if the defeated candidate
found everywhere where tho party is in the as.
ccndancy, who are democrats merely for the sake
Of the bare, and fishes, and whose sordid minds
cannot grasp virluous principle, thea will he
having been able to receive the nomination him
self, no Is determined tina, ho who ha8 received
the nomination, shall he defeated. lie will most
probably take tho stump against the regular nomi.
nee. try to take away democratic votes enough to
defeat bin, and thus he bctrnys the party to which
he prolosscs to be attached, into the hands Of the
enemy. This man is generally mos, boistcrnus
in charging corruption against the convention that
mcanncss 10 which he would not have stopped to
get the nomination himself. llo is not a demo
crat, aud should always 10 marked. lie is u
'coif sleeps cLoihiRg
We are Far from wishing to be understood as
meaning to convey the idea that there is never
any real ground Tor the cry of corruption SO irc-
qucntly raised against conventions, or that there
are not tines whom democrats are uslifahlc in op.
J
times happens that those who are democrats mere.
! ly for the sake of olicc-spunous democrats
wolves in Sleeps cothing--gct the power in a
convention and nominate men who are of very
doubtful dcmocmcy--who are infinitely worse
than wings, and in whom the party generally have
no confidence Such men it would be- an obvious
injury to the party to elect But the mass or the
porty--thc rank and lile-aro always found the
Grst to move against such u nomination. The
peoph then raise the cry Of corruption. 1t is not
raised by "a contrmp,ibo slual Of dsaillctcd dema-
gogucs who gain importance only in a close con-
test, where sometimes they WELD tho balance Of
power.
As for the corruption said to have been proc,is-
J ed in the Juliet convention, we have yet to see
the FIRST particle oft pointed out. The length Of
time notice wos everywhere given of the time and
place Of holding tho convention before it was
held, ptecluded the possibility of corruption being
pracccd to any extent; but the activity and Vi
GLANCE of those who opposed the nomination Of
him who eventually received it, render 1t pretty
|
At oil events it is perfectly absurd to say that the
very large majority Of votes he obtained in the
convention were couuplly obIaincd. Out of the
| 70 delegates who attended the convention but q
COULD he mustered against Col. Wcntwouh-2l
to sand two counties, with 10 delegates, who
were also instructed to go for Wentworth if Judge
Pcarsons should not be a candidate, which he was
not, unrcprcsentcj. II these delegates had been
present the vote would have stood II to Gilmore
than three 10 one for Wentworth! How absurd
then the charge that Wentworth was unfairly no.
minacd The party generally are united upon
him and this charge is got up to help Spring,
Let the democrats put their mark on him who
Processes to belong to the democratic party but is
doing all he can defeat it on the ground of this
miserable charge of corruption.