The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-14
MIR. Seymour on the Stump.

Mr.. Seymour on the stump.
THERE IS certain line of conduct marked out
for Presidential candidates which has come
down to us as the etiquette of campaign, and
which has never been encroached upon. ORR
ginating in the good old days in which we had
none but gentlemen for nominees, it has Wash
ington, the elder Adams and Jefferson for its
fathers, and has never been deviated from
One of the cardinal rules of this etiquette is,
that candidates for that high Office shall not
stump the country in their own behalf; that
throughout the campaign they shall preserve
a digniied silence, and let their followers de-
scant on their merits and announce their prin-
cples. In this there is no real deprivation.
The intimacy existing necessarily between the
candidate and his leading supporters en-
ables him to dictate all their actions
and utterances, and merely use them as
a mouthpiece to say for him what
custom and delicacy prevent him saying for
himself. We therefore regret that, it
seems probable, that Mr.. Horatio Seymour in
tends to throw aside the well-established and
proper custom, and to set out on new line of
conduct chalked out for himself. So far he has
made several speeches, and written letter
which is in extremely bad taste. The latest of
these orations is one addressed yesterday to
some soldiers who gathered in front of his
hotel and threw up their hats. In it he makes
bid directly and openly for the soldiers vote.
He repeats the old and stale story about his
issuing commissioners if there was any merit
in Governor issuing commissions when
the law requires him to do so.
Upon the ground that thousands of
commissions bear his autograph he demands
the soldiers vote. Curious reasoning Strange
basis on which to solicit suffrage If none
better can be found than the discharge of
duty prescribed by law, we fear the appeal
will fall unheeded on the ears of the veterans.
Has Mr.. Seymour any other claims than those
he set forth ? We might naturally take it for
granted that if he had he would have pleaded
them himself, and as he has not we may assume
that none others were at his control. But
looking over his history for ourselves, can
we detect anyl Do not all his actions, on
the contrary, go to ALLEVIATE him from the sol
diers Mr.. Seymour was throughout the
war a peace Democrat. In the discharge of
issued commissions, but all his actions and all
his words showed too plainly which way his
sympathies tended. Had the people been
asked to appoint a commission from the
North, with power to represent absolutely
their interests in convention, would any
loyal and sane man have thought of trusting
Horatio Seymour with that powerf We pre-
dict that none would have done so. Ten
thousand others could have been named at
once in preference to him. Yet we are now
asked, and the soldiers are now asked to give
the highest Office, the representative Office of the
nation, to man whom we would not have dared
to trust out of sight during the days of
war. Can we place our honor in
such hands, knowing as we do
nothing of the future? When we think of the
general distrust of Mr.. Seymour 60 prevalent
six years ago, and of the unlimited and we'll
merited confidence reposed in his competitor,
we cannot allow ourselves to doubt the result.
The soldier who fought with Grant and won
with Grant, cannot be moved by the soft utter
ances of willy politician who never held their
actions other than as misguided enthusiasm,
and whose only claim on them is that his
official autograph is attached to a number Of
New York commissions.