Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-06-13
WoRCEsTEB
THURSDAY, JUNE Is, 1879
"I.ihernIn Crilicisnls.

The Philadelphia convention has given Our
"hberal friends a great deal Of trouble and
anxiety. much more than could have been antic-
ipated from the light-hearted way in which they
allowed themselves to speak of the office
holders meeting before it assembled. 1t was
TO them a source of inexbaustible amusement
that ANYBODY could think of putting another
candidate in the field TO compete with their all
accomplished and overwhelmingly popular
statesman, aud to renominate Grant under these
circumstances, they protested to regard as al
most incredible stupidity. They knew, Of
course, that the convention would be held, and
that the customary forms would be observed,
but the affair would have no interest for any.
body, and would be of no consequence whatever
Judging by their eontemptuOus estimate of its
Importance, one would suppose that they
would merely mention its doings in a
brief paragraph and say no more about it; but
on the contrary, it has been their chief topic for
the past week and they have not yet settled among
themselves how they can best impress their
readers with a sense OF its weakness and its
shortcomings. Some of the so called "inde-
pendent journalists think it best to represent
lAt tonNtuIlOu As UAl tuu ldllCs painfully utSil-
tute of enthusiasm or the semblance of it, their
correspondents, either by instruction OF other
wise, so report it, and the editorial comments
are constructed upon this basis. Others, think
ing this too glaring style of misstatement adj
nit the appearance of enthusiasm, but take
pains to explain that it was altogether simulated,
and in fact was rather overdOne. The Tribune,
for example, speaks of "a howl, like that
Of forty thousand Numdian lions, and bel
low like that of forty thousand Columbian
buifaloes;" and, again; "This was unques-
tionaby the most vociierous, spasmodie and
simply noisy convention ever held on this con-
tinent." The Tribune has its daily article on
the subject, making such awkward and ugubri-
Gus fun as its fears viii permit, ever since the
convention assembled. Its descriptions have
not been remarkable for their consistency in
anything but in trying to make the convention
appear ridiculous, and its frequent repetitions
Of this effort make us fear that il has not sue
ceeded TO its entire satisfaction Eight articles,
however, on as many successive days are, so far
as quantity goes, a liberal treatment of a
subject which is prolessedly regarded MS utterly
insignificant.
The platform is as troublesome as the other
proceedings of the convention. 1t is easy, of
course, TO say in general terms that it is meager
and unmeaning, or magniloquent ard evasive,
and to contrast it with the "crisp, fresh, auda-
cious" utteraHces of the Cincinnati meeting
All of the liberals say this or something like
it, But when they come to particulars they
are as inconsistent and contradictory as in their
descriptions of the assembly. Some condemn
the resolutions for their failure to express the
general desire for progress and reform in the
government. Others, admitting that the ex.
pressions are well enough, complain that they
are manifestly insincere. 1t sounds little
oddly to hear these Cincinnati Performers, -
who in their convention and elsewhere
arraign the government and the republican
party for their shortcomings and transgressionS
in the matters of civil service reform, the extern
sion of amnesty and various Others, and pro-
fess TO find their warrant for the organization of
new party in the popular demand for action in
these directions, now condemning the republic
can platform for taking somewhat similar, but
more advanced and better defined position in re-
gard 10 some of these same matters They, in
slntiuS Ahdi tuCN dit alul tlOuHu
with the addition of "liberal" to their party
title, see that these reforms or advances are
needed and are in earnest when they say SO, but
other republicans, who are content to use the
old party name without prefix, must be lnsin-
cere when they see and say the same things
The proof Of their insincerity is that congress
though having republican majority
has not yet done what the convention
now declares that the republican party means
TO do. The answer TO this criticism is easy and
conclusive. The convention is not congress; it
has not the power of legislation, but it is au-
thorized to declare the policy of the party to
which the future action ofits representative mem
bers is expected to conform. The very object of
these resolutions, as of Others of their kind is to
admonish as well as to commend those members
of the party who have a share in the govern
ment, to make them understand what the peo-
pie expect and will require of them. If our
representatives have in some respects failed to
accomplish all that we think they ought 10
have done, may we not as party organization
say so without deserving the charge of insin-
cerity2