The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-09-10
The Presidential Contest-The Coming Sep-
TENDER and October State Elections.

TENDER and October State Elections.
Vermont having set ''the ball in motion
the Presidential campaign is becoming exceed
ingly animated throughout the country. In
their grand mass meetings and parades by day
and imposing torchlight professions by night
the enthusiasm of "the Boys in Blue" "the
Tanners" and the tGrant and Colfax Legions"
of the great West recalls the stirring pageants
and singing multitudes Of the memorable Har-
rison and Tyler carnival Of 1910. The late
gathering of fifty thousand republicans in In
danapolis is an event which indicates
thorough awakening of the great Union war
forces en- masse beyond the Alleghanies. 1t
is apparent too, from the extraordinary Grant
and Colfax demonstration in Trenton, New
Jersey, the other evening, to 60 no farther,
that the republicans are as thoroughly in
spired on this side the mountains. The demo-
cracy have made the contest substantially the
contest of 1864, and hence the same popular
elements that rallied around Lincoln for the
suppression of the rebellion appear now to be
as cordially concentrating around the banner
of Grant for a solid and enduring peace.
There are no indications anywhere of any
losses on the side of Grant of the supporters of
Lincoln there are many indications that there
is an end of the OBJECTIONS in the republican
camp from which they suffered their suggestive
defeats of 1867. Those defeats and their
causes pointed out the way to.a great conserva
tive political revolution in the nomination of
Chief Justice Chase by the democracy, involv-
ing the recognition of certain issues established
| in consequence Of the suppression Of the rebel
lion and the extinction of slavery but with
| the reunion of the democratic leaders and
managers of the North and South in their
late National Convention came back the
old democratic spirit of the epoch Of
poor Pierce and Buchanan. Thus in con-
temptuously casting away the half million
conservative republicans ready to fall in with
the nomination of Chase, and in taking
up Seymour with platform declaring all the
reconstruction doings Of Congress ''unconsti-
tutional, revolutionary, null and void" the
democracy reduced their popular strength to
their Northern minorities of 1864 and 1866 in
reviving again the same Issues.
That many Of the reconstruction proceed
ings of Congress may be pronounced arbitrary,
unconstitutional and revolutionary we have
all along commended; but If they are all uncon-
stitutional and void it follows that Congress
can apply no pains and penalties to seeding
| and rebelious States but that they can con-
spire, secede and make war upon the general
government whenever they please, and that
when they fail to secure by fighting separate
confederacy they can come back again into
the Union on their own terms. This was
substantially the great issue of 1864, and 1t has
become, from the stupidity and folly of the
democratic managers, the great Issue Of 1868.
The ''Boys in Blue" (and there were million
Of them discharged in 1869 are in such con-
test, as the rule, inevitably on the side of Grant
and every Union soldier has his friends behind
him moved by the same causes. The result
Of the late Vermont election may be reduced
to this explanation, and four days hence In
Maine we shall have in all probability SINH
lar result.
But what will this signifyp It will signify
that the causes operating in Vermont are moi
local, but general; that they pervade the coun-
try, and that in this Presidential year the
result in single State even in September,
on the Governor, forcshadows the national
result on the President in November. In
short If Maine goes as Vermont has gone,
with majority indicating that the republican
lines of 1864 are unbroken, we may
look for corresponding returns from the Octo-
Der State elections in Pennsylvania, Ohio
and Indiana. From the enthusiastic republi-
can revival under Grant and Colfax in Indiana,
and from the intmation from Mr. Pendleton
that the crisis in Ohio to the democracy for
bids his services in any other State, we may
conclude that the OctahsrTasuu ia no. doubt
inI ip 'hp Pennsylvania,