The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-06-22
THE RATIFICATION MEETING.

THE RATIFICATION MEETING.
THE Republican City Executive Committee
has issued call for a mass meeting to be
held at Concert Hall tomorrow evening. It
is headed by a noble sentiment: :--''The Union,
the Constitution, the Laws!" The next line
ia equally unobiectionable and PATRIOTIC
cone Flag and one Government" !" The third
line is also very commendable;-"B Beloved at
home, respected abroad" The fourth an
nounces "Grand Republican Ratification
Mass Meeting" and suggests the inquiry
What is to be ratified? If the intention is to
endorse and eulogize all the Objectionable
nominations recently made by the conventions
which disregarded the popular will, and by
corruption and fraud forced upon the
Republican ticket men who should never have
been placed there, the City Executive Com
fnittee acted wisely in selecting, at this warm
season, close room instead of an open square
for this purpose. If any grave emergency
REQUIRED an assemblage of the Republican
supporters of ''the Union, the Constitution,
the laws, or of Zone flag, one government"
q building larger than the Peace Jubilee
Coliseum would be thronged with eager
spirits anxious to respond to this appeal; but
if the business of the meeting is to bolster
up the desperate and despicable pretensions
of tricksters who are neither 'beloved at
home" nor respected abroad, public hall
of moderate size will answer very well for this
purpose.
We are of those who believe that it is quite
possible to have Zone flag and one govern
ment" without submitting to the painful
necessity of selecting notoriously corrupt and
incompetent legislators, and that the Union,
the Constitution, the laws" may be main
tanned even if q nomination for lucrative
local Office, which was acquired by unfair
means, is Indignantly spurned at the general
election.
There are times when partisan machinery
serves useful purpose, and when the best
course for every Republican is to support the
whole ticket ''without why or wherefore, ="
beyond the fact that it is the ticket. But the
readiness of the people to act on this theory
becomes source of evil when politicians
grow base enough to impose upon their gene
rosity, and thrust upon them nominations
not fit to be made, in the belief that there is
no limit to their submissiveness. If such
Vaccinations are not resisted, they eventually
destroy the preponderance of any organization
which has powerful antagonist ready and
anxious to profit by its mistakes.
This general observation is specially true
of Philadelphia The first duty of the Repub.
Ican party here is to purify itself, or tc
satisfy the voters that its best men, rather
than its worst members, possess controlling
influence in its deliberations. All the assaults
made upon it by the Democratic party, united
with all the frauds perpetrated by that organi-
cation have not weakened Republicanism in
this oity. as much as its own weak, inferior
or bad nominations. With thousands of men
in its ranks who would add strength to its
tickets, it is rare occurrence for any man OF
this class to be nominated while year after
year men are put forward whose individual
claims inspire only ridicule, hatred, or disgust
If the politicians who profess to take specia
charge of the welfare of the party can do nc
better than this, it is time that their services
were dispensed with, and that the people
treated their rotten nominations with uttel
contempt. No good purpose can be served
by sending back to Harrisburg the six renomi
mated candidates who disgraced themselve
there last winter; and if Houseman is elected
the ring which secured his nomination will b
stimulated to new efforts to monopolize tn
official prizes of the city for few of the mos
undeserving men in it.
Instead of holding mass meetings to ratif
the Objectionable nominations, the best thin
the patriotic men of the party can do is to de
wise measures that will ensure their over
whelming defeat. They have neither tn
ability nor the disposition to advance Reput
hcan principles They are greedy seekers fc
the spoils, whose election will only refeC
discredit and disgrace upon any organizatio
that sustains them, while their overthrow wi
pave the way for wiser and purer action
future conventions, and for the good tin
coming when nominations will be made fl
the purpose of giving prominence to men WI
can at once crafty and serve the public. This
the true business of these preliminary gathe
ings; and when they put their stamp on m
terial known to be pinchbeck or nickel
should not be suffered to circulate as sterliI
coin.