The New York herald., 1872-08-19


Quantities.
We publish in the HERALD to-day an inter-
esting interview with Mr.. Charles o Conor, in
which that able lawyer anil old line democrat
avows his intention to support neither Grant
nor Greeley in the Presidential contest but TO
cast his lot with the genuine, straight-out
Bourbon democracy and vote for the candi-
dates of the Louisville Convention, should
regular democratic ticket be put in nomination
by that body. Mr.. O'Conor can see no princi-
pie involved in the present Presidential strug-
| gle as between Greeley and Grant, and hence
feels at liberty to adhere to his old democratic
inclinations and to vote for straight-out Bour-
bons if any are to be found in the field. We
judge that it is probable Mr.. O'Conor would
not decline to allow his name to be placed at
the head of such ticket, although he must
see that it would have no more chance of
success than will the ticket of the temperance
reformers. But, in the event Of Mr.. o Conors
nomination, the politicians believe they dis
cover prospect of breaking Greeley's Irish
strength in this city, and thus giving the State
to Grant This certainly is shrewd policy
as the Irish could never be induced to vote
directly for party whose organs persistently
misrepresent them and whose artists love to
caricature them as half demons and half
baboons. If they can be persuaded to go Tor
straight democratic ticket with Charles
O'Conor at its head, it would, Of course, an
swer the same purpose as if they should vote
directly for the republican candidate. But
oo<so of kho
few stubborn democrats who refuse to
bend to the will of their party, it
is morally certain that this Presidential
battle will be sharply and closely contested
that against the combined forces of the demo-
Gratis and liberal republicans General Grant,
in 1872, will not have his easy walk over the
course of 1868, and that, under the circum-
stances, the Cincinnati programme for fusion
of the opposition elements is the best that
could have been adopted in view of the COM
mon desire among the anti-Grant leaders of a
change in the administration and their general
readiness to accept anything for change"
Yet there are certain doubtful political ele-
ments and unknown quantities which are so
inexplicably mixed up in this contest as to
reduce us in our calculations of the crowning
results almost entirely to presumptions and
probabilities.
These doubtful elements, with their un-
known quantities, are the anti-Grant republi-
cans, the anti-Greeley old line or Bourbon
democrats, the free traders, par excellence, the
labor reformers, the temperance reformers
and the German vote. From the results
of the late North Carolina election it
may be safely assumed that the colored
vote of the country, with some scattering
exceptions, is good for Grant while, on the
other hand, the boilers against Greeley from
the solid democratic phalanx of our Irish-born
fellow citizens. Notwithstanding Mr.. O'Conor's
example, will probably be very few and far be-
tween. The ahti-Grant republicans have not
yet given us any well defined manifestations of
their strength as balance of power. In Gree
ley and Brown, Sumner, Banks, Schurz Trum-
bull and others, they have brought forward
considerable body of powerful party leaders;
but their followers in every State remain an
unknown quantity Their strength, as o
balance of power, remains still to bo demon
strated. We are as deep in the fog in refer
enco to the strength of the anti-Greeley Bour-
bon democrats. According to our travelling
correspondents, they are, one at q time to be
found almost everywhere east and west; but
nowhere do they appear to create any active
alarm among the democrats who march to the
music of their national convention. On the
Sd of September these anti Greeley democrats
are to have national convention of their own
at Louisville, Ky, and from the attitude of
reckon one good name among their supporters.
| In support Of this Louisville movement
there was in this city the other evening meet
ing of some fifteen or twenty "old liners"
representing twelve States; but at the meeting,
as it appears, numerous letters from SYM
pathizing friends were read from every State
Of the Union. The conference lasted several
hours, and its leading results were that Horace
Greeley, as the Presidential candidate of the
democratic party, is not satisfactory to these
sold liners" and that it is eminently proper
that they should put up some other man.
Then, in discussing what man, the names and
claims of such distinguished individuals as
Charles O'Conor, General Hancock, Judge
Davis and Senator Hendricks were discussed,
though Hendricks is just now doing yeoman's
service for Greeley and Brown in Indiana
| The members of the conference, furthermore
after making arrangements, as reported, for
the representation Of every Congressional dis
trict in the Union at Louisville, separated to
join the Convention in that city on the Sd of
September, to assist in the work of nomi-
mating straight democratic ticket on
''straightout' democratic platform, in oppo-
sition to both Grant and Greeley. This may
mean something or nothing; but the Con-
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