Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-06-27
For the Cleveland LEADER

INV HAhA u OAA1A IN
EDITOR Il was pleased with the
general tone of your editorial of the 25th
lust, but I think you are mistaken in your
views as to how q Union ticket should be
formed. The mode you suggested of doing
it By an entirely new move, independent of
the old parties, appears well at the first
blush, but will be found when attempted to
be practically applied, very difficult to be
carried out and perhaps impossible. In get
ting up a truly Union ticket, what is the
first most necessary move? 1t is to bind the
old party organizations, those political mon
sters, ~handSand foot. They must submit to
lie dormant at least for the present. But
who will agree to this for the two former
parties that have I'll their machinery still in
operation2 Surely they must speak for
themselves, and that through their respect
i've Committees. One of the great difficult
ties in the road will be the fear of each par
ty of being "gouged" by the other. If you
have a convention independent of the old
parties, and that convention makes nomins-
tons more on one side than the other, the
one party will cry nfoul play 1t will be
said that either Democracy or Republican
ism was carried int it. In fact there is so
much danger of this that the two parties will
not commit themselves unless the matter is
safely arranged for beforehand, and that by
their party representatives. Old party feel
ings are of course strong and men win not
surrender them without first knowing where
they are going to stand. Neither party
yants to be caught in a trap and it must, to
amount to anything, be done in such a man
ner as to inspire full confidence. Then woe
to those who abuse that confidence. To
tal6 Of calling a fresh mass convention
sounds well, but such a body, to speak plain
Iy, is not in the haste in which the business
is done, very deliberatiye. And not having
a previous organization, nor having been
trained for the exigency, will see, after all is
over, that it was controlled by the artfulness
of a few ~wirepullers, who in its proceedings
did, for their selfish purposes, the right things
Just in the right place and tie right moment
to have them carried. In short we know
what the result is when there is a fight be-
tween regulars and an ~unorganized mob
In such a convention the old political trick
sters would act the well drilled regulars and
the body ofthe Convention, u~norganized and
unsuspecting, would be outdone by tactics
and strategem. A treaty of nrmistice must
be made By the representative committees of
the old parties. Think and talk as You will,
there is no such thing as getting over this.
Every man belongs to one or other Of
these parties, and however predominant his
love for the Union may be over party pre-.
judice5 yet he will have one eye upon his
party, and that eye you cannot close unless
he is satisfied it is safe 10 close it. Party
jealousy is the great fiery dragon in our
| path to a Union ticket. We must get rid of
him. Ny plan would be this: Let the Cen
trail Committees of the two parties agree for
what offices Republicans shall be nominated,
and what the Democrats shall have. Then
each party shall name in a mode satisfactory
to ITSELF men for its share of the nomina-
tons, and then let this selection of candidates
be submitted to a convention, to be ratified
or rejected, and if rejected, go over it ag in
N the same way till the convention is salts
fed with the men offered. Thus it will be
really the ticket of the Convention. What /
propose to be done by a Committe, can be
better done in the Committeeman than in
the hurry burly of Convention of men who
never acted together, but always against
each other. By taking this course neither
party will be afraid of being entrapped, and
1t will be found to be more satisfactory than
any other. A DEMOCRAT.