Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-05-08
Gbe freeman
MONTPELIER, VT,
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1872.
Cincinnati.

lists. These are the candidates for President
and Vice President given US by the Liberal
Republicans at Cincinnati last week. The
result is, in the main, wholly a surprise. 1t
is too soon to do more than speculate upon
the probable effect Of the nominations and
these speculatiOns will be of little value, as
the political elements in the country will
need some time to adjust themselves to the
new situation. Some tolerably evident
probabilities may, however, be now properly
considered.
In the first place, it is apparent that the
convention at Cincinnati did not fully do
what the really honest men who went there
meant it should do. 1t did not get away
from the politicians. 1t had the misfortune
to be looked upon in advance as having the
chance of naming the next President. This,
and the fact that it was a mass convention,
gave it decidedly miscellaneous character,
and made its sessions a struggle of rival
interests and candidates rather than a sincere
effort to purify politics. Senator Schurz' ;
very able speeches and the strong position
taken by the editors of such papers as the
Springfield Republican, the CinciaHati COM
merciaI. and the Chicago Tribune only
prevented the convention from nominating
Judge Davis, which would have been really
a Democratic nomina ton. On the other
hand, the mere politicians who did not care
to beat Grant unless they could control his
successor, defeated Charles Francis Adams
Greeley, in the tumult, came to the top,
because his honesty, frankness and avowed
and well known principles attracted much
strength to him among honest men, and his
alliance with Fenton and the trading poll
ticians gave him support in that quarter.
These antagOnistic influences combined to
nominate him and it Is not to be disguised
that they were helped by feeling that
possibly, in many senses his nomination
would be a more serious hindrance to Grants
success than any other nomination the
convention could make. Thus the con-
vention, while not wholly surrendering to
the mere managing politicians who have
some hates to crafty, did vet leave its work
open to the charge that it totally failed to
come up to the high standard which Schurz
asked it to strive for, and fell quite short of
becoming, what it nOminally set out to be
8 noble protest against huckstering politics.
In the second place, it does not now seem
at all probable that even the elements repre-
scented in the convention can he counted on
to support the candidates and it is much
less probable that the Democrats are likely
to adopt Greeley as their standard bearer
Instead, therefore, Of the convention having
made a nomination which viii unite all the
opposition to Gen. Grant, it has undoubtedly
presented the weakest candidate it could
have named to secure that end. We cannot
imagine the Democratic party voting for
Horace Greeley, and it is very clear that
they have now no purpose of doing So
This leaves the Cincinnati nomination, if it
remains in the field, third ticket and il
remains to be seen whether it will perform
the office of the Buffalo convention in 1913, /
or of the Cleveland convention il 1864
In view of the possibility that the next
presidential campaign may be a triangular !
fight, Mr.. Greeley's nomination is one Of too /
much consequence to be laughed at. While |
the great majority of the Republicans Of the
country will vote for the nominees of the |
Philadelphia Convention, Mr.. Greeley, as
boiling candidate, will get more Republi-
can votes, in our judgment, than can well
be spared in such States as New Hampshire,
Connecticut. Pennsylvania or Indiana. He
cannot carry a single State, but he may max
several Republican States doubtful. As the
head of third party, his candidacy would
strengthen rather than weaken the Demo
cratic party, as it would make it possible for
a regularly nominated Democratic candidate
to be elected. What votes he would receive
would be taken from the Philadelphia can
didate. In this phase of the contest, the
action of the Cincinnati convention and Of
Mr. Greeley in accepting the nomination, has
not an agreeable look.
We trust we need not say, that while we
regard Mr.. Greeley as an honest man, and
as having done valuable service to the
Republican cause, we consider him untitled
for the Office Of President Of the United
States. In saying this we do not mean in
the least to depreciate his abilities, or even
express doubt of his fidelity to Republican
principles. But his political associates in
New York are politicians of the Chandler
and Cameron and Murphy stripe by which
we mean trading and professional politicians.
If he were President we should have no
hope of sceins any more purity in politics
than we lave low. OF Mr.. Greeley's exec
utive and administrative ability we have
not high opinion, every other person pre-
scented to the convention we believe excelling
him in the qualities which, when coupled
with honesty, are most needed in the chief
executive. We should regard his election
as political blunder; certainly if reform in
administration were expected to come out of
it.
But this does not put out of sight the
fact that he will get votes, and possibly a
good many of them, and from persons who
voted for Gen. Grant four years ago That
fact must be considered. By the date of
the Philadelphia convention public opinion
will have so far developed that we can
estimate more certainly than now Mr.
Greeley's probable strength: and the Gin
cinnati convention makes it thus all the
more necessary that the delegates should 90
to Philadelphia bearing in mind the sensible
and sound advice of this resolution adopted
at Bellows Falls last week:
The first preference of the State is for the
nomination Of Grant and Colfax, and we wish
our delegates tc regard that preference so
far as upon consultation with the delegates
from other States they shall find that prefer