Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-02-21
a775 oY7c.eo CONVENTION.

W, haen fixed for holding the Repub-
- National Convention. June seemed
80 late in the season, considering that
49, democrats would meet in April, two
ontbs or more before our candidates could
he in the field. Our opinion has changed. We
think that the National Committee, in refusing
TO alter the time, have acted wisely, and done
the party an important service. The course
of things at Washington has given some OF
our active men an unwholesome passion for
cultivating partizan fraternity with the "South-
ern opposition" and allowing them to control
our nominations at Chicago. There will now
be time for this foolish passion to become cool
er and more reasonable, before the nominations
are made, and, consequently, more probability
that the selections made at Chicago will be the
very best possible.
Sometime ago, Hon. John J. Crittenden
made a statement in regard to this matter
which is worth remembering now. Somebody
had suggested to him that he might be thought
of by the Republicans as their candidate for
he presidency, His reply was, $50 went the
treport,l that it would be unspeakable folly for
the Republicans TO nominate him ; for, running
as a candidate on the Republican platform, he
would carry no more southern states than Mr..
Seward or Mr.. Chase, while he would be toler-
ably certain to lose several northern states.
Now the southern opposition have no better
man to be thought Of for the presidency than
Mr.. Crittenden of Kentucky, or John Bell of
Tennessee. But these men do not choose to
become Republicans. When a Republican
administration is elected, they may support
it if it shall prove to be worth supporting;
but, at present, it is not their policy to join
us, for they know very well that very large
proportion of their political friends at the south
would as readily vote with the southern ex-
tremists as with the Republicans.
If the nominees of the Chicago Convention
are elected next November, their election will
be due entirely to the Republican party. No
other party proposes to work for their election
Therefore they must be men whose names can
stir the whole party to enthusiasm, and move
it to its mightiest effort. And we have men
in the party whose names pronounced to us by
the Chicago Convention would be like an inspir-
man to his place and set in motion agencies
and activities that would work everywhere
with magnetic force. The enthusiasm would
be genuine apd irrepressible. No such move
ment can be awakened in behalf of candidates
who do not represent the party. Let no man
among us talk of our failing to carry one or
anoth Ter state with our best men in the field
un til he has very carefully considered what
we are certain TO lose by putting up candidates
of another sort.
Neither should it be forgotten that some
vi ctories are worse than defeats. Such a vic
tory was that won by the Wings in 1910,
which gave us the Tyler administration
Such victory was that of the Wings in 1848,
W hich gave us Mr.. Fillmore and the fugitive
lave act, and annihilated the Wing party.
The policy which regulated the movements
an nominated the Candidates of the old Wing
pa rty, gave it an admirable training for the
work Of opposition, but made it incapable Of
ad ministering the government successfully
W hen it CHANGED to be in power. 1t was the
policy of uniting in one party all who could
be induced to attack the existing administra-
t ion. Of course, when such a party carried
the country and found it necessary to
affirm and defend a given policy, there
could be no agreement. Divisions and
qua rrels arose, and, presently, the party
was in a hopeless minority, demoralized
and disgraced. Those who would bring this
policy into the Republican party, are not its
best friends. They should unlearn their old
habits, and cultivate a nobler style of faith
and hope in politics. II the Republican party
is not capable of that higher policy, which not
onl y wins success, but also keeps it, we may
as well abandon it at once and summon all
earnest men to new organization. We came
out of the contest in 1885, defeated it is true
but consolidated, resolute, defiant, and full of
hope in the future. The party has grown
stronger ever since If we now take candi-
dates who do not represent the Republican par
ty,-weak responsibilities who represent no
thing in particular,-and adopt the policy of
drawing together all sorts of discordant ma
terials, we shall be beaten so badly, that the
party will never rally again,-beaten utterly
as Republican party, even if we should rally
crowd strong enough to elect our candidate.
PoLITIoAL.-The Newburyport Herald no