New-York tribune., 1872-06-06
THE CONTENTION.

Four years ago Convention of tho Repub-
lican party nominated Gen. Grant for Presi-
dent of the United States. There had been
great deal of previous discussion, and many
who doubted his fitness for civil affairs, or
preferred other persons to this inexperienced
officer, had opposed the selection with con-
siderable energy. But when it became evil
dent that the majority wished for Grant, dis
sension ceased; the choice of the Convention
was unanimously accepted; and those who had
objected to his nomination worked with all
their might to elect him. There had been
fair interchange of views, and it was adj.
mitted on all sides to be reasonable that the
deliberate judgment of the leaders OF the
party and the vast majority of the voters
should overrule the personal preferences of
the Objectors.
Yesterday Convention met in Philadelphia
to nominate Gen. Grant again. But this is
not like the former gathering, an assemblage
of delegates from the whole Republican party.
Practically, everybody who wants a new can
didate is excluded from this body. There has
been no such thing, inside the party, as free
and frank discussion of the Presidents claims
to reelection, but the task of debating the ac-
ton of the Convention was taken in hand by
knot Of professional managers long ago.
and whoever ventured to dissent from their
resolution was instantly accommodated.
Those who believed that Gen. Grant had been
unfaithful to his trust, that he had filed every
department of the Government with cor
ruptiOn, that he had prolonged discord in the
South, that his Administration had been ex-
travagant, that under the rule of his Military
Ring a contempt for law had been introduced
into the executive branch Of the Government,
and the fundamental principles of Repub-
lcanism had been imperiled, were not
allowed to be heard in support of change of
candidates; but mountebanks like Nye, and
pretentious persons like Conkling, assumed to
read them out of the party and conSign them
to the limbo of political heretics. The conse-
quence is great and growing schism, and
the National Convention" no longer
represents the historic party which carried
us through the war for freedom and equal
rights, but mere faction, fighting for a man,
not principle, and ruled by little army of
Civil Service appOintees. We miss from its
counsels nearly ali the leaders who made the
early career of the party illustrious. We miss
Charles Sumner who has been for aquarter
of century the apostle of Republican
ideas; Carl Schurz, who is to-day the most
brilliant Republican orators Lyman Trum-
bull, one of the foremost Republican states
men and jurists Adams, the ablest and
most cultivated of Republican diplomatists.
In their places we have Pomeroy and Chand-
Ter and Flanagan, Thomas Murphy and Charles
S. Spencer. OF the journalists who had more
to do with the formation and success of the
party than even the politicians, almost every one
of eminence is absent. For White, and Medill,
and Halstead, and Bowles, and Goodwin, and
Bryant. and Greeley, we have the editors of
The Nelo- York Times and The New- York Stand
ard, and many a score of village publicists
who swell their income from post-ofdces and
assessorships with the profits of a country
printing Office. .l4
1t is preposterous to pretend that q separa-
tiOn like this can be the result of personal
jealousies and disappointments. The Republi
can party proved its willingness in 1868 to
sacrifice individual preferences for the COM
mon good and if the Liberals in 1872 are not
willing to be dragooned into voting as Gen.
Grant dictates, it is because experience has
shown the misg1vings with which they regarded
him four years ago TO have been well-fOunded.
He has proved himself incompetent
as civil administrator. He has de-
veloped shameless disregard of con-
stitutional restraints and an alarming
fondness for personal government He has
surrounded himself with corrupt fayorites and
demoralized the public service by improper
appointments. He has fOmented discord in
the party, and the antics of his henchmen in
Congress have degraded the legislative branch
to the lowest point it has ever reached in our
history. For these and other reasons the true
Republicans have resolved that he shall be |
their leader no longer. For these and other |
reasons they protest that the faction which |
does his will at Philadelphia is not a repre- |
sentation Of the intelligent Republican masses, |