New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-05-09
Horace Greeley and ID. GTatz
Brown.

j uc SiIlOkc anu uust nave uOW TOllcu away |,
one of the least honest political movements
our country ever witnessed has just reached
its eliminating point and vanished. The
scene is truly bleak, icy and desolate. Two
figures, cold and grim, are all that are visible
of the Cincinnati Convention. The lawyers
have gone home to their books, the merchants
to their counters, and the professional politi-
clan to wisely await the result. Not one of
the men who voted for HORACE GREELEY
and GRAFT BROWN as candidates has the re-
hottest idea that they can be elected. The
only shadow of such possibilty-all know
depends upon one of two most impossible
things: One is, that the Democratic party
will refrain from making any nominations and
accept those Of the Cincinnati Convention {;
and the other is that the Republican party
will abandon its preferences and accept its
candidates from Cincinnati. In either of
these cases Messrs. GREELEY and BROWN
would have something like chance of being
elected. But neither of these contingencies
is possible. The Democratic party can hardly
be expected to disband at the bidding Of Gin
cinnati, and accept a candidate like HORACE
GREELEY, who has fought that party in every
phase of its history, during nearly forty years.
To surrender its organization, its prestige, its
stronghold upon nearly three million of
American voters, on conditions so absolutely
Insulting as those offered by Cincinnati would
imply baseness, an emptiness Of political
conviction of which even the Democratic
party cannot, we think, be justly accused.
Whatevermay be said Of that party, its leaders
are not fools. They know very well that the
power of this country when not welded by
the Republican party, must be welded by the
Democratic party. They know very well that
any mere third party, must prove ephemeral.
They know, too, that to give up their nomi-
nations, is to give up their organization, and,
in fact, to cease to exist as a party.
But suppose the Democratic party knavish
and foolish enough to commit this almost I'M
imaginable suicide, the prospects of Messrs.
GREELEY and BROWN would hardly be much
improved. The very act of party inhdelity
and disgrace embraced in it would be likely to
send a larger number of Democrats into the
Republican party, than will be lost to that
party by the bolt Of the liberals, and hence
leave the Republican party stronger than
ever. Besides
Let the country know that the Cincinnati
movement is only the thin veil to conceal the
grim features Of the old Democratic party, and
that the conflict is, after all, not between Gin
cinnati and Philadelphia, but between the
principles of the Republican party and those
Of the Democracy, and the old spirit of free
dom and loyalty will burst forth again, bear
ing GRANT and COLFAX, or who ever may be
the. candidates of the party, triumphantly to
their high places.
OF course, Messrs. GREELEY and BROWN
cannot hope to be taken up by their old asso-
ciates-whom they have abused and desert
ed-gOing out from them because no longer of
them. Having sought TO scuttle the ship
and failed-they cannot suppose that her
passengers and hands will now turn around
and vote to give them command. They who
boast that they have "burnt their ships'
must now be content to stay on the other side.
But we are told that the people, the honest
people, will rush to the polls in November
and elect GREELEY and Brown. Nonsense
al! The people care but little for theorists
They are plain and practical. They take no
steps in the dark. They are neither capable
Of political miracles nor believers in them.
They send no missionaries t., the moon, and
are quite content to remain on this planet,
without repining because they cannot be here
and there at the same time. There is moth
ing in the Cincinnati ticket or the Cincinnati
platform that can cause second rush. The
greatest rush Cincinnati-wise has already
taken place and subsidized. Neither curiosity
nor the love of experiment will cause them to
rush to Messrs. GREELEY and Brown. They
know MIR. GREELEY, at least, and have taken
ms measure with creditable accuracy. For
the good that he has done the country will
kindly remember him. Far be it from us to
underrate him. In this fight we welcome to
our hands no poisonous weapons of personal
detraction. We only say here, what must
be conceded, that while HORACE GREELEY
could have been elevated to any position In
this country, for which the grand old Repub-
lican party, which he did SO much to organ
ize, might have nominated him, he is no
political power outside of that party. 1t is
really sad to see such man led astray at h,s