The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1871-11-25
The Elements oa Opposition go
General Grant.

| At least three ffths of the voting citizens
| of the United States deprecate and would
! gladly prevent the reelection Of President
| Grant These opponents of his administra-
! tion consist Of the whole Democratic party
! and fully one fifth of tie Republican party.
! The only difficulty is to combine these into
one solid phalapx. The defeat of Grant and
| the deliyerance Of the country from another
/ four years of his imbecle and disgraceful
! administration. depend upon the possibility
of perfecting cordial union among his op-
ponents.
To accomplish this some things must be
done. and other things must Se forborne.-
Among the things to he forborne and depre-
Gated are these two: First. appeals to mere
party spirit and party prejudice. If Demo>
Gratis should raise their party flag too high.
and flaunt it too defiantly in the faces of
| Grants Republican enemies, they would set
a bad and suicidal example Honest Repub
licaps can enter into such union as we pro-
pose only by breaking their present party
ties and Democrats are bound, in honor and
magnanimity, to coucede as much as they
ask. We cannot, in conscience and copsis~
tency. ask others to make greater sacrifices
for the common good than we are willing to
make ourselves. OF course, it would be an
insult TO either side to expect it to make any
sacrifice of principle; but it, on a compari-
son Of views, the anti Grant men are found
to agree on essentials. it is the panest die
tate Of patriotism and public duty to waive
! minor points of difference and not allow
party puncti!io to stand in the way of sue
cess.
Secondly, another thing to be forborne is
any obstinacy of preference for favorite can
ddates for President. For our part, we do
not much care from which branch of the
| com bined opposition to Grant the candidate
is taken. provided he he one who can give
the needed tone TO our public service. Let
! it be understood that, in this respect, both
wings Of the reform party stand on the same
footing in every respect. and that there will
be on each side equal willingness and zeal
to support a Presidential candidate selected
from the other. 1t is FIR the interest Of all
TO nominate the strongest man, irrespective
of geographical position or former party con-
nections. We hope the friends of no real
reforner will be discouraged from pressing
his candidacy when the proper time comes.
To lead such a movement is object of
honorable ambition to any statesman. The
more aspirants the better, provided the sup
porters Of each will cheerfully submit to the
decision of national convention after fair
comparison Of claims. y multitude Cf com
petitors will be attended with two advanta-
vious to the nomination.; and it will develop
the popular strength Of leading candidates.
thereby aiding the Lew President 10 com pose
a strong and popular admins tration. Let
all candidates. whether inside or outside the
Democratic party, have fair show in the
/ preliminary canvass. Our chief business
meanwhile. is to settle the principles and is
sues on which the combination against Grant
shall be made.
Without undertaking to give complete
catalogue. we will indicate few cf the ele~
menls of opposition to general Grant:
l. The crusade against corypution in oL5fce.
This is one of the most hopeful issues for
combined movement Of honest Democrats
and honest Republicans. 1t has been well
started in the successful campaign against
the Tammany Ring; a campaign in which
Democrats and Republicans have served to-
gether with co operating zeal. The over
throw OF Tammany IS a preliminary engage
ment, which introduces the general battle
against official corruption. 1t has demon~
strated the possibility of sinking party differ
enCes in joint fort TO expose and deihrone
fraud and punish lis perpetrators. move
ment of this kind, which is prompted by an
awakened public conscience, cannot stop
with mere local triumph. 1t will spread
throughout the country like devouring
coufagration, consuming the nepotism of
Grant and the corruption Of his subordinates
as effectually as it has the abuses Of Tam>
many Ring. This is one plank of the plat
form on which all the opponents of General
Grant can stand together.
IL. amnesty TO the SOistA. Liberal. hon
est Republicans can unite with Democrats
on this ground as cordially as 10 opposition
to official corruption. The rascality which
has been brought to light in the Southern
State governments is absolutely astounding;
and it has chiefly resulted from the vindic>
tive, o.tracizing policy which has excluded
the property holders and intelligent classes
Of the South from their due influence in local
politics. A victorious crusade against corr
ruption necessarily includes the only radical
cure for the hideous maladministration which
prevails in the Southern States.
III. The rerenue reform on. free trade more
naent This is one Of the most important
bases Of the new political combination. For
the last three years, revenue reform has been
making great progress among thinking Re-
publicans, especially in the West. The
most widely circulated Republican journals
in Chicago and Cincinnati are ardent advo
Gates Of free trade and free trade, with am
nesty for its ely, carried Missouri against
Grant and elected Gratz Brown last year.
The revenue reform Republicans and the
Democrats can cordially act together on this
great issue.
| ". These and some other bases for the
concurrent aud harmonious political action
of all good men set forth in THE WORLD
prospectus for 1872, in another column
| Though addressed to our Democratic readers
| and though setting forth distnctively Demo-
| cratic principles which neither we nor they
! eau surrender, abandon. or compromise in
| the estimation of hair, we are assured that
it none the less commands the support Of
those who must be our allies if our defeats
on issues Of the dead past are to be replaced
by victories on issues of the living present
and the near future.
Such new movement as we propose af-
fords the best promise of enLsting The Ger
| man vvte in opposition to General Grant. The