The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-08
The Convention in a FOg-A Grand OppOr.
tunity Lost.

The Convention in a FOg-A Grand OppOr-
tunity Lost.
From The N. Y. Herald.
The country has for some months past
looked forward with interest and anxiety to
the assembling of the Democratic National
Convention IL has been universally regarded
as an event Of no ordinary importance. The
people, weary of radical misrule, have be-
sought the organized Democracy to cast aside
all dead issues, to accept the lessons of the
war, and with a broad and comprehensive
platform and fitting candidate to unite all
the elements of opposition and rescue the
country from the hands of the Jacobins and
jobbers of Congress who have run riot in
Washington for the past two years.
Never did party enjoy more favorable
opportunity to recover its lost ground and TO
secure political supremacy for the next quar-
ter of a century, and never was good fortune
in greater danger of being recklessly thrown
away. The Convention has now been in ses-
sion in this city for two days, and enough is
known OF its action to render it almost certain
that its strength will be frittered away through
the folly and blunders of its leaders, and that
instead of coming up to the standard of public
expectation it is doomed to take rank with
the worst of those narrow minded Copperhead
gatherings that during the war left the Demo
cracy in helpless minority in every State Of
the Union.
Let us look for a moment at the facts. Two
years ago Congress perfected what is known
as the fourteenth amendment to the COnsttu-
tiOn, leaving to the States the right to control
the question of suffrage, but providing that
where any portion of the people shall be de-
barred from voting on account Of race or color
the persons thus disfTanChised shall be eX-
cluded from enumeration in calculating the
basis of representation. The Herald predicted
for such policy the universal approval of the
|, people, and upon the issue of the amendment
as full and final settlementOt the question of
reconstruction the Republicans swept the
country from Maine to California, elect
ing every Governor and nearly every
Congressman throughout the loyal States.
Hoffman and his Tammany hackers in this
State set themselves up in opposition to this
reconstruction policy aud suffered disas-
trous defeat. But the Jacobin leaders, as
soon as they had secured power, disregarded
the emphatic popular verdict aud inaugurated
an entirely new and revolutionary policy,
usurping the functions of the Executive,
raising the General of the Army into mill
taTy despOt, ruling the Southern States by the
bayOnet, forcing upon them unqualified negro
suffrage, disfranchising white citizens, aud
finally destroying the authority OF the Su-
| pTeme Court, in order that the judicial arm
might not be stretched over the Constitution
! to shield it from these revolutionary assaults.
| The country grew disgusted aud alarmed at
! this bad faith and violence on the part of the
! radical Congress- aud the result was the
! breaking down of the large maiorities OF 1866
! in State after State, the redemption Of Con-
necticut, Pennsylvania, and California, and
! finally the overwhelming flood in New York
! which swept the radicals from power aud
! buried them under fifty thousand Democratic
majority.
This powerful conservative reaction turned
! hopefully to the organized Democracy as the
nucleus of movement in the great Presideu-
tial struggle that should complete the work
commenced last fan and give peace to the
nation. Bnt IL demanded substantial re-
iom-s dua, settlement Of all the veXed ques-
uonS '' oopperh-aii.m and niggerheadsm,
ana complete reorganization OF the Oppjsi-
ton on 'A5 basis Of q recognition Of the Was