New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-05-16
GREELEY VS.. GRANT.
Liberal Review of the Presidential
Situation.

A Liberal Review of the Presidential
Situation.
From the New York Spirit Of the Times, May II.
Already responses have been heard from
all portions of the Union in evidence tina
the first choice of the convention was the
result of no accident or bargain, but the
ripe fruit of an established wish-a natiOna
wish-which exhibited itself during the en-
tire week at Cincinnati in the unmistakable
sign that Mr.. Greeley was the expressed
second choice of almost every delegation
And we do not hesitate to declare, on cur
own personal observation as a delegate
that at no time, from Monday morning
until Friday noon, had any of the
candidates even the shadow of a chance
for the Presidential nomination except
Horace Greeley. 1t is true that the
name of Mr.. Adams led the ball0ting, and
at one tins was within fOrty-nine votes of
an apparent victory, but every delegation
sat all the while with pencil auxiOusly in
hand ready to record change of vote the
moment the Adams tide should rise too
high for Mr.. Greeley's safety. The de-
-cisive action took place on the sixth ballot.
at which period the impotence of the con-
ventiOn could be restrained no longer. 1t
was then precipitated by the Illinois dele
cation, which on this ballot recorded, for
the first tune, fourteen of its votes for
Horace Greeley. This was the keynote of
the true expression. A stampede took place
at once among the other votes. Screaming
chairmen sprang to their feet in all por-
tons of the hall, anxious to place their
delegations well on the victorious record
and then the convention got its choice.
And, as we have already said, this de-
cision was not the result of any accident or
bargain. Had there been any bargain to
that effect it could not have been accom-
plished without the aid or privity of the
New York delegation, which was the chief
representative of Mr.. Greeley's candidacy;
and we, as a member of that delegation,
who had full cOgnizance of all its wishes
and proceedings, declare that it not only
kept itself alOof from all bargains or com
promises whatsoever. but it did not know
of any. We we're even ignorant of the in
tended Endorsement of Mr.. Greeley by Gratz
Brown on the last day of the convention; in
evidence of which it will he seen that New
York did not respond by giving Mr.. Brown
as many as One-haf of its votes for the
Vice Presidency. Had there been a bargain
under Governor Browns performance. one
sign of it would necessarily have exhibited
itself in New YOrks solid vote for the Mis-
sour candidate. The truth is, there was
no bargaining, except among those who
were afraid Of the overwhelming popularity
of Mr.. Greeley. All the arts Of intrigue
and persuasion were resOTted to by ad
herents of Mr.. Adams and Judge Davis,
and it was evident that in their behalf
money had been freely 1--WE do not mean
improperly spent. Nothing, however, en-
gineered for Mr.. Greeley, except the in
herent force of his own popularity, which
constantly worked him ahead, and which. !
on the sixth ballot, as we have said before, |
burst all bounds and carried him in with a /
tempest of applause.
Tremendous and very able efforts, but of |
the pure politician type, we're made for
Judge Davis and for Mr.. Adams: but the /
former advocacy had more noise than heart
in it, while the latter was mainly Demo-
cratic effort. 1t was crattlly conceived. and |
was intended to result in the defeat Of the
convention, and the subsequent nomination
of straight Democratic ticket. II was
known to the Democrats that the Irish
would refuse to vote for Mr.. Adams. and
they conceived that the future deyelOpment
of that fact would justify them in not GIVING
him the Endorsement of their national con-
ventOn; whereupOn they felt they MIGHT
reasonably expect that the Liberal Rep1b
licans, having hopelessly broken with |
Grant, would be recruited into the Demo- /
cratic force, and go for some compromise |
reform candidate of the mild form OF Groes- |
beck, Tilden or Hendricks.
But tricks seldom succeed in matters of |
great moment and never when measured |
against the instincts of a people. There |
was no reason in the world why Charles |
Francis Adams, with his aTistOeratic incli- |
nations and freezing scholarship, should be
selected to champion a popular emotion, or
20 represent party so terribly IN earnest
as the Liberal Republicans-es specially in
the face of the declaration of his letter Of
the tWenty-fOuPth Of April, that he was en-
tirely isolated from all political assOcia-
tons" In addition to these obvious neon
gruities, it was decidedly against Mr..
Adams chances that two of his family had
been Presidents before him, with fourth
busily in training, who had been baptized
for the succession, under the patrOnymic of
John Quincy. With these facts in view, it
was freely said that if the convention should
take Mr. Adams, it might as well decide in
favor of primOgeniture, and entail and
likewise declare for family succession. 1t !
was generally felt that the choice of a man |
of such characteristics and surroundings |
would not only be out of sympathy with an |
ardent, popular and progressive movement, |
but that the mere fact of the country being |
obliged to 20 three times In its short pOliti- |
cal history to the fountain of a single fam
lily and within the circuit of single State |
for chief magistrate, would reflect but |
little credit upon the intellectual resources |
of a republic. We are thus special in Civ |
ING the character of Mr.. Adams candidacy, |
in order to Justify our statement that not |
withstanding the largeness of his vote dur
inc the first five ballots, he never had
chance for the nomination from the start |
his position was carefully worked up, but
II was entirely artificial, and when it col
lapsed it caused no surprise to the bulk of
The convention. There we're few earnest
Republicans supporting Mr.. Adams such
as The Connecticut and Massachusetts dele
cations; but. like the Democrats who en-
gineered him, they were chiefly Of the silk |
stocking stamp-gentlemeR who desire to
establish an aristocratic, lOng-haired long |
cared King Charles court at Washington,
and who, having had some experience in |
training candidates, feel it to be due to |