Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1867-10-11
SIDE ISSUES.


Elsewhere the STAR explains potent cause
OF the result of the Ohio election. 1t teaches
an additional lesson of the folly Of permitting
fooish men to force side issues into great po-
lIucal contests. The Republican party seem
In this respect to be At times the most unwise
organization this country has known. In the
elections Of this fall they have everywhere
thus damaged their cause enormously. In
California they committed hari-kari for the
time being by the nomination. of VIGOROUSLY
corrupt and therefore justly odious guberna-
torial candidate. In Maine they seriously
wounded themselves by sustaining . law
punisbing all who dared to make cider IT their
apples, and drink or sell it. In Pennsylvanls
they frittsrsd away their strength for the oc.
casion by nominating judicial candidate ut
terIy unknown to the people at large, Though
otherwise an unobjectionabls man, against
the ablest, ana personally the most popular
Judge in the State. In Philadelphia city and
county, their selections of candidates
for the local Offices, were the worst ever
INSIDE by any party there. Nearly all
of them were old political hacks, whom
they ran in opposition to strong war men
who had earned the public gratitude BY
faithful services in the field. There I'm Phil.
adelphia city and county, this last blunder
cost them five thousand votes, at least In
truth, their mismauagemept everywhere on
this occasion was literal parody on that of
the contest of 1862. Describing the results of
that con test, the New YORK Tribune Of yester-
uuy says:
Late IN the summer OF 1862 MI Lincoln
was persuaded, after long urging and nesita-
ten, to issue his edict OF emancipation The
country, IT was said, was not prepared for it
that is, the slow coaches were not. And when
the elections that soon followed shoW wed Dem.
oe[atic gains almost everywhere-from Esst
TO Nest-the conservatives shouted that alb
CLIFTON and radicalism had recei we'd their death.
blows. Look at III anne, Massachusetts Mich.
,gsp, Wiscops sin" they exclaimed their Re-
publican msjorities redsced more than half;
see pennsylvania carried by the Democrats
and United States Senator gained In spite
of Lincoln's large majority see Ohio, swept
clean by $500 maJority for the Democrats, no
carry fourteen Representatives in Congress
"a clear gain of seven: see Indiana
Illinois likewise carried-both branches of the
Legislature, two thirds Of the Representatives
IN Congress, and a Democratic U. S. Senator
gained In each; see New Jersey, which gave
Lincoln four of her seven electors, now swept
by the Democrats by over 600 ma lority, Civ
ing another Senator, with four of the 1--WE
York, where Lincoln had $1,000 MAJORITY and
the Union ticket last year hundred thousand
now elechng Seymour Governor by 10000, and
seventeen TO fourteen Representatives ia Con
sress-6o you not see the Handwriting on
the wall Isn't il nigh time to give up niger
worship, and attend to saving the Union!'
Those who fancy that the disasters to the
Union cause in the recent State elections fore
shadow the return to power IN the National
and State Governments, of men who were hes
tile or even lukewarm towards that cause
during the rebellion, may draw a lesson from
what followed these Union political disasters
OF 1862. That is, in the Presidential election of
1854, and in the election of the last and present
Congress. Those who dream that the great
N ptru 0u;lI
their cause against the damaging mistakes and
mismanagement of the contes, of this fall. are
over-sanguine gentlemen, 10 say the least of
them or nothing may be learned from tho his
tory and results OF the contests of 1864 and
1866.