The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1872-07-31
MIR. Greeley's Advantages as a DEM
cratic Candidate.

Mr.. Greeley's drawbacks and disad-
yantages as Democratic candidate,
have been sufficiently set forth in these
columns. During the two months
which interviewed between the Gncin-
natl and Baltimore Conventions, the
World felt constrained by its sense Of
duty to show the party what it would
have to face by making Mr.. Greeley its
standard-bearer. We performed this
duty with our habitual zeal. We dill
gently went through the files OF the
Tribune, culling out all the most Often
sive things MIR. Greeley has said OF the
Democratic party and Its trusted lead
ers, reprinting them with such intro
ductory matter and commentsis seemed
most likely to heighten their force as
arguments against his noDination.-
We were unwilling the party should
take blind leap in the DARK; were de-
termined that it should be no fault Of
ours If the objections to this strange
nomination were not forced upon pub
lie attention.
We felt under stronger obligations to
perform this necessary duty from the
fact that the World has been, for the
last five years, the most untiring advo-
cate in the Democratic party of the pol
icy nicknamed "the new departure;
that is, the policy Of dropping dead is
sues, and frankly accepting irreversi-
bic facts. We did not wish our views
TO be travertised, and thereby rendered
more unpopular in the party, by carry
ing them to ridiculous extremes We
have steadily sought to smooth the pas
sage from the old to the new era, and
render it as easy as possible for the
mass of Democratic voters, This was
the motive of our strenuous advocacy OF
Mr.. Adams. He was absent from the
country during the war, took no part In
the reconstruction controversy after his
return, and has never affrontad Demn
Gratis by impugning heir nataf2tism Or
assailing their char, -or. 1T seemed to
us that his high integrity, great SER
vices, and unsurpassed ability az a
statesman, would make it infinitely
easier for Democrats to vote for him
than for any other man outside of their
own party; and that by adopting him as
our candidate we could most easily aud
most surely overcome the repugnance
of the slower elements of the party TO
the new departure. For years, our only
hope of the Democratic party has been
In the possibility of liberalizing it, and
we feared that the nomination of Mr..
Greeley would cause violent reaction
towards the Bourbonism which 1t has
been the chief labor of the World, for the
last five years, to disarm.
We are now satisfied that we took toe
discouraging view of the capacity Of
this stiff element of the party for change,
The arguments which the World has SO
industriously addressed to the party
since the close of the war had made a
deeper impression than we dared to
hope. Democrats have accepted the
new departure with suddenness and a
defiant boldness which quite surprises
us; and whether Mr.. Greeley be elected
or defeated his nomination has accom-
plished one great result. 1t has cut the
party loose from the dead issues of an
efete past, and forever disembarrassed
it of the antecedents which INSTRUCTED
its success. When the Democratic par
ty has advanced to the point of making
Mr.. Greeley its candidate for President,
it can no longer be reproached with
hide-bound adherence to the past. We
preferred to see this result accomplish
ed in different way; bu' in no other
way could it have been accomplished
with such decisive completeness.
There is every reason to expect that
Mr.. Greeley's nomination will be ac-
cepted by the party with substantial
unanimity. The Democratic Journals
and leaders that opposed him up to the
meeting of the Baltimore Convention,
and the delegates that opposed him in
the Convention, have pretty generally
signified their acquiescence. Such
statesmen as Senator Thurman and Sen.
ator Bayard will have tenfold the influ.
ence in bringing up the Democratic real
that they could have exerted if they had
been original advocates of the Greeley
movement. By their early opposition
they have retained the confidence Of
that portion of the party who still need
persuasion to reconcile them to the
ticket. The free expression of Demo.
cratic opinion before the nomination
bears some resemblance to what takes
place In council OF war previous to 8
great battle. Each officer urges hi:
plan with unrestrained zeal; but when
he is overruled he goes to his post and
fights with just the same fidelity as il
his own plan had been adopted. Thi:
Is precisely what the whole Democratic
press and all the Democratic leaders
that opposed Mr.. Greeley's nomination
are about to do now.
Our objections having been overru1ed
we are willing to recognize Mr.. Gree
ley's strong points as candidate with
out going back and repeating the offset
ting disadvantages. The most impor
tant drawback has been removed by tn
unexpected unanimity of the COnven