The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-10-21
The DemOralized Democracy.

Fr01H the ~ Y. Herald.
The confusion of Babel-the confusion of
topgues-has fallen upon the demoralized De-
mocracy. They too have had their decisive
defeats around Petersburg, and are on the run
for Appomattox Court House. Had they fol-
lowed the advice Of the Herald, as Seymour,
under the counsels of John Van Buren, fol-
lowed it in 1862 the whole face of things would
have been changed. After his splendid cam
paign OF Vicksburg, we foresaw what the pro-
motion of General Grant would not stop short
of the White House. After that unparalleled
campaign which began in the Wilderness, and
ended IN Lees surrender, it was manifest that
Grant, as the Republican or Democratic can.
didate, would be our next President. For we'll
on to two years, however, after Lees surren-
der the opinion prevailed that General Grant
was war Democrat, and that accordingly the
chances OF securing his great name for 1868
were decidedly in favor of the Democracy, if
they would only abandon that fatal idea that
the war was failure.
The Herald meantime had presented General
Grant and urged his commanding popularity
upon the Republicans; but the radical leaders,
managers, and organs laughed at our presump-
tion. The Republican party, relying upon it's
own strength, they said, would have no doubt
full standard bearer for the succession, who
might turn out to be another John Tyler
Andy Johnson, but they would have man
whose principles were thoroughly Republican,
and SO proclaimed to the four winds of heaven.
Thus, in the State elections of 1867, the claims
and the availability of General Grant for the
succession were studiously ignored by the
radical managers, and Chase, as the great and
reliable radical statesman, was brought into
the foreground. Then we began TO show, and
it began to be widely believed, that Chase
would in all probability be the Republican
candidate, and that to defeat him the War
Democracy would be able to compel the Demo-
cratic Convention to adopt General Grant. So
it was that even the World at last began to
discover in General Grant the qualities of
marvellous proper man for the Democracy ON
new departure. They only had to admit the
settlement of certain questions and nominate
General Grant to march on to great victory
and glorious future. The same organ has
since unblushingy denounced this same
General as nothing better than drunken idiot,
butcher, and an impostor.
But the elections of 1867 changed the pro-
gramme ON both sides. The swamping of
Chase and Old Ben Wade in Ohio, and of the
Fenton- Greeley radical managers in New York,
| and their Chase programme, was speedily fol-
lowed by popular gatherings of the rank and
| file of the Grant Republicans, and the radical
managers began at once to lose ground from
he pressure OF these spontaneous popular
| uprsings. These movements soon, indeed,
made such headway against the denunciations
of Wendell Phillips levelled at Grant as a
dTunkard, an ignoramus, bad bargain, a
man of Democratic proclivites, with a weak
ness for Johnson; against the remOnstrances
OF Greeley in behalf of the principles and dig
nifty of the Republican party; against the
opinions of Old Ben Wade that General Grant
would only talk horse, and could talk nothing
! but horse; against the complaint of Sumner
that Grant was whitewasher of the traitor
JohnsOn-such headway against all this that
a special radical organ was set up in Philadel-
phia to pooh pooh Grant and glorify Chase.
But the quarrel and the famous correspon-
dence between Grant and Johnson of Feb.
ruary, 1868, on the Stanton imbroglio,
brought General Grant out into such bold re-
lief on the reconstruction measures of Con-
gress that, with the publication of those let
ters, the radicals were vanquished the Demo
cracy were dsgusted, Chase was totally
eclipsed, and Grant became the Republican
candidate as by general consent and by accla-
nation.
Then another wonder came to light. Here
was Grant, who had been the hope of the con-
servatives changed into the idol of the radi-
calls; and next we had Chase, the fallen idol
Of the radicals, changed into the hope OF the
conservatives. From his admirable course on
the impeachment trial the Chief Justice be-
came an imp of darkness to the radicals and
an angel of light to the Democracy. Then II
began TO be seen tnat Cnase, as the fearless
defender of the Constitution, was the candi
date upon whom all the conservative elements
of the country, with the Democracy in the
van, could achieve solid and lasting triumph
over the radicals, even under the banner Of
Grant. The Herald presented this idea in
every shape and form in a series of articles
from day to day, down to the Tammany Con.
Yennon, in behalf of Chase as the sure and
} only salvation of the Democracy. We thought
! too, down to the yfasco of Seymour's nomna'
tOn and acceptance, that Chase would be the