The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-03-19

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The Presidential Electi0n-Rng.
lfsh Review Of the Prominent
C0ndidates-Mr. LincOln,s Chan.
ces OF q Reflection.
In addition to the war IN America be-
tween North and South, suspended for the
present by the season, there is war OF an
other kind breaking out in the Federal
States, which threatens to rage with equal
or greater fury for the next year. Inc ma
terials wherewith the belligerents IN this
new war will fight are not steel ana iean.
but gold, or rather the pieces OF stamped
paper which do duty for gold and party
influence. Some of the Generals who Will
lead the armies in the campaign to which
We will allude as about to open in advance
of the campaign in the field, are real mill
tary Generals, at least, in the American
sense. The others, if not nominally Gen.
erals in virtue Of the rank they hold IN the
in the Federal armies are at least as much
qualified by education and tYaining for the
duties which the chief Of an army has to
perform as the lawyers and politicians to
whom have been given commands in this
Singularly conducted war. Conspicuous
among the great captains who will figure
in the contest will be found General Grant.
General Mcclellan. General Fremont, aud,
we presume General Butler-last but not
least But these eminent performers. who
though for different objects and upon diff
ferent principles-wili now fight against
each other for the same object and upon
the same principle. The Generals not
holding rank as such in the army, to whom
they will be opposed, and who will be no
less opposed to each other, are the Presi-
dent, Mr.. Abraham Lincoln himself, and
that great master of American finance, MIR.
Chase. Secretary of the Treasury. And
the prize to be battled for in this new
struggle is the possession OF the White
House at Washington. At present and for
some time 10 come, Mr.. Lincoln may he
sure OF holding the citadel. But even now
preparations, far more vigorous than the pa
per preparations for the spring campaign
ture the fortress and drive out Mr.. Lincoln,
who will have to defend It against his half
dozen of beseigers. Contrary, however, 10
what takes place in literal vulgar warfare,
Mr.. Lincoln finds an advantage in the num-
bers of the besiegug forces. in the mul-
titude Of tOunseliors there Is " .Sdom, IN
the multitude Of assailants, III a case like
this, there is weakness, since each is hight
ing on his ownaccount, and as much against
his Co competitors as against the immeol-
ate obiec: Of his attack. General Butler,
for example. in doing al he knows and is
capable Ola great dead, certainiy--to. get
Mr.. Lincoln oct and take bis place. would
have. ~ the same time, 10 prevent Generai
Grant and General NJ cflelian Gene raj FIRE.
mont and Mir. Chase from getting into it,
and thereby anticipate .sIla xci abe himself.
And each OF these several asp:rants % the
highes. honors % which an American citi-
zen can attain has the same sort OF polygo-
nal duel TO fight. Du,, aS possession IS nine
points O. the Law, or perhaps al. ten points
in America, NJ. Lincoln apparently stands
& better chance q. holding the place than
Il.
ing IL. The President naturally possesses
a very powerful iLach merry for insuring
success at the elections. vii en- il not avail
able to his assailants. Ne has, SO 10 speak,
his garrison equipped with Arinstrong guns
and Enfield rifles. and his fortress armored
with iron plates. he has Mr.. Seward for
his Lieutenant. and should he himself. like
Alexander, sleep, there - his faithful and
vi9ilant Parmenio, who is no more 10 be
caught mapping than the favorite American
silnile, the weasel. Besides which, ne has
upon the muster roll OF his armies mil
lion of men, and actually under arms per-
haps two-thirds, or al least oue-half of that
number. A period Of about nine months
only lies between the present hour and the
words, the day of election; and there is no
time to lose on either side. Operations of
defense and attack wilfno doubt be pressed
on with unflagging vigor.
The great gun upon which Mr.. Lincoln
will probably place the fullest confidence
appears to be the platform" which is
American for policy, of immediate and
unconditional emancipation Of the slaves,
the contiscatlon Of their masters estates,
and the distribution Of them among the
slaves themselves and the abOlitiOnist
crusaders. Not that Mr.. Lincoln will be
able, or even willing, TO carry ont this
platform into actual practice, in case of be-
ing reelected, and reduce it to fixed
American fact but it is the watchwOrd,
the great war-cry Of the party upon whom
he IS dependent for support. 1t is the
"Vipe 2 Esnperear' which is to inspire his
armies, and keep them up TO the proper
pitch of enthusiasm. The party on whose
banners this motto is inscribed is already
in the field, and fighting with a zeal which
does credit TO it's working powers, and af-
fOrds evidence OF the possession Of sound
and robust lungs no less than Of glib
tongues and pens Of ready writer's. There
are the sappers and miners. who work
underground, as the phrase is by means of
bribery and other occult means of political
strategy. There is the heavy artillery OF
the lecturer and stump orator, laundering
forth their platform Of "Buncombe''
from platforms Of wood. There
ate some who see, or think they see, a
tendency TO moderation and compromise
III the f'TeSlUent, VINO Will NeltOeT carry
out the Abolitionist policy TO extremes,
nor throw the cause OF emancipation over
board entirely, and yield every point to
the South. And certainly it must be ad-
United that, so far as want OF decision
and the absence Of definite vigorous poll
cy constitute moderation, the party now
in power have been moderate enough
This sort Of moderation, however, might
appear to some minds as being referable
TO extremely moderate capacity, rather
than to any other cause; that it was at
tributable to an absence Ofjudgment and
Intellectual power rather than to the pos
session Of we'll regulated will. There is
the philanthropic party, which thinks it
would be q recreant betrayal of its religion
to let the South 90 without determination.
With the extreme Abolitiontsts Mr.. Lincoln
scill need al his tact to hold has ground
against M. Chase, whose views on this head
are known to be as through II their
way AS Strafforde.
Some Of the arguments put forth for the
reelection of Mr.. Lincoln are redolent Of
smartness and ingenuity. For instance,
we are told that he was elected President
of the whole United States, but since then
the Southern States have seeded, SO that