The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-05

What VIII 10 Done mt Ciscinnati s-where
Is tho Anti.Grant Candidate, and What
Is To Be the PIatforms
What do our reformed republican" friends
propose to do when they reach Cincinnati?
Ifitis the lasting duty of every patriot to defeat
General Grant, who Is to be the champion of
the movement and upon what principles is
the canvass to be made? We are now on the
verge of spring. The State conventions of
the republican party are eecting dele
gates. The malcontents are In negotiation
with the railway companies for free passes,
and there will be liberal gathering Of needy
adventures. The democrats are holding
themselves in reserve, although the demo-
cratic organ acquaints us with the fact that
while they are dormant they are certainly not
dead. The republicans are compact and dis
ciplned, and their machinery is in motion.
The opposition Is disorganized, impatient,
weary, and we may all ask what will be done
at Cincinnatip
A great party has every season or two
sloughing off. When the democrats were in
power every Presidential canvass developed a
fraction of disappointed patriots, who organ
lied themselves into an Independent move
ment. Calhoun abandoned Jackson and sup
purated into notification. Van Buren, carried
away his disappointed fragment and became
freesoiler. The Wimot ProvisO democrats
seeded from Polk ultimately to become repub
licans. The anti-Nebraska democrats rejected
Pierce and joined the anti-slavery party. The
anti-Lecompton democrats repudated Blu
chanan and gave the organization of the
House to the republicans. While the
wings were in power there were ''Silver
Gray" and ''Native American" and ''Know
Nothing" factions, composed of disappointed
leaders anxious to make grievance prin-
ciple and attain power by intrigue and
mutiny. When the republican party became
dominant it underwent the same process.
Lincoln's first term generated the Cleveland
comedy. When johnson came into power he
carried with him men like Blair and Seward,
Randall and McCulloch, Welles, Dixon and
Doottle. That was secession, backed by
all the power of the administration. What
came of it? The party dressed ranks,
closed up the gap and marched in solid and
triumphant column behind the Hero of Apo
mattox, leaving the eminent deserters to
starve and mourn on the line of march. Now
Schurz Greeley, Wilkes and their followers
have gone into mutiny, and earnestly contend
that the country will follow them as the leaders
of great and necessary reform movement
Now, we by no means despise this mutiny,
nor do we underrate the genius and power of
the men who head 1t. But let us always
remember that the phenomenon we see now is
only, as we have shown, what every successful
party has seen, and that these ''prodigious
| intellects'-if we may believe their support
ing newspapers-have no more genius than
the men who preceded them as seceders. We
are told to look at Trumbull, Greeley, Sum-
ner, Schurz and Wilkes to admit that ''the
intellect OF the party" Its courage and its
moral sense, are In revolt against Grant. But
we do not think so. Seward and Chase,
Doolttle and Cowan, the Blars and Andrew
Johnson were as able and illustrious as the
leaders of this new conspiracy but the party
threw them out, and who cares for them now
This alliance is really weak. MIR. Sumner is
scholar and rhetorician, but he never had
a party in his life larger than would ill an
omnibus, and he has no party now. Mr..
Trumbull was never heard of, except as an
exactng party foower-much given to
scolding and i'll temper, a kind of an
old maid politcian-unt he was beguled
with dreams of the Presidency. His pub
lished virtues are, by his own confession, about
three years old. Mr. Greeley has never had any
allegiance to party leader since Henry Clay,
and il is quite probable If Clay had been
elected he would have discovered that he was
given to liquor and cards and dicing. AS for
Mr.. Schurz, he is simply shrewd German
adventurer who has been laden with Office
ever since he began to study English, who has
been signally honored by the republican
party, and, having failed in every position,
means to succeed as Q malcontent. 1t is the
vanity of Mr. Schurz that he has a
lien upon the German vote. Liens like
this are very uncertain, and the Ger
mans will require from Mr.. Schurz
some better reason for following him thar
President Grants refusal to receive his caro-
when he came from the West AS for Wilkes,
he has capacity and force, is an audacious
leader, and if the anti Grant men were in ear
nest they would nominate him on their ticket
What do these men propose to do in Cincin
natl ? They must find man and platform
Will they give us any of their coalition
Internal jealousies will prevent that, as eacl
member expects to be a candidate, no
Q excepting Mr.. Schurz, who sees M
l difficulty in amending the constitution
e to make him eligible. Can we have Judg,