Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-08-08

the cheat. Our country appears to hav
already reached that state Of debauehe'
craftsmanship in which the historian
found Rome when he bitterly
caesar had his party, Cassius had his
and Pompey his, but the commonwealth
had no party Grant has his party
Greeley llis, and the party of the com
mOnwealth, of the Constitution, seem
to coalesce with the latter. / do no
wish to be misunderstood. ] know tn
! Democratic party had faults; it ha'
shortcomings; it made mistakes; but
as the poet COwpeT said of England,
may say from the bottom Of my hear
laying hisTight hand on bis breast) witt
all thy faults I love thee still. It is to-
great a tail 10 be tackled on 10 so small ;
/. kite. My convictions were that the tim'
had come when
i THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
could have gone into convention anC
solemnly adopted its platform, put fOrtl
lits principles and its choice for President
and been triumphant Mr.. johnson
REQUIRED to the memorable struggle o
1910, when everything seemed TO pOin
to the success of the Wings, and wheT
the way was paved for the admission o
Henry Clay; but the Convention threw
! him overheard, and defeat was the re-
suit. Corruption has been going on
Constitutional violations of a most dan.
gerOus character openly avOwed, advO-
Gated and praeticed, and-a shameless anC
| squandering administration has beeI
disgusting the people. They were ripe
for change. Everything was favorable
to the Democratic battle, and in the face
l,f oil Is oil nh
prefers because he is more Republican
than
GRANT AND SUMNER,
the cOnsolidationist. He will be Secre.
tary Of State. When they see every.
thing going to rot, so TO speak, the Re
publican party win rally around Greeley
and he will become their man, and then
where is yOur triumph? Mr.. Johnson
emphasized the words, and thought al
/ the moment that he was talking to the
representative genius of Democracy, and
l moved uneasily in my chair, because
my slender shoulders were never meant
| to wear such mantle, and if they were,
my unsteady legs could not carry me
long under such a weight of glory. ]
felt, however, entranced at the rapid and
easy flow Of patriotic elOquence from the
lips of a man whom l esteem as the
| greatest living exponent of Democratic
| principles. After this / directed my
conversation, without being impertinent
or propOunding rude questions, to the
prospects of the Democratic party in the
event of the election of Mr.. Greeley, and
also 20 ascertain, if possible, what were
Mr.. Johnson's views Of
THE COMING CONTEST.
He said he expected Greeley would be
elected. He did not seem to entertain
any doubt upon that point, and then re-
flectively he added, by way of qualify
ing or explaining what went before, the
new departure was the first weak
kneed sin of the Democracy; it had a
demoraliZing effect. The Cincinnati
Convention followed, and the party was
left in such a fix that it would be diff
cult for it to adopt any other than the
course it had pursued. He suggested one
thing they might have done at Balti-
more. They might have made up their
platform with sOlemnity and delibera-
ton, put it before the people, held their
election for State electors, and then left
those electors to cast their votes accord
ing as eXpediency dictated or the eXigen-
cies of the hour required. They would
in that case have preserved their princi-
Piles and party intact, have their mem
bers of Congress a strong, perhaps an
overwhelming phalanX in the councils
of the nation, and might be in cOndi-
ton to WELD the destinies ofthe republic.
That would have been s
A WISE COURSE TO PURSUE
in this peculiar crisis. Our dignity and
our party would have remained without
the shadow of compromise, and our.
succe,s S might have been great. What
was the attitude of Greeley? After the
Cincinnati Convention, and during the
interval that elapsed before that great
aud solid body met in Baltimore, the
threat went forth that unless the De
mOcracy accepted Greeley he would
withdraw and go for Grant. How does
that look? A man is accepted who
would prefer Grant to the Democrats!
You see the position? Suppose you
were 70 run such man in your local
contests, what would be his fate? Let
us be logical. But, mind you, am not
TO be understood rs saying aOtU that
anything better can be done. merely
wish it understood in the future, when
storms assail, and the wind and the hail
THE CONSTITUTION
afresh, that / was not of those who be-
lieved Greeley the man to save the
country. Here was an atmosphere pure
of malaria, nOXious vapors, disease,
death. Our political life was threatened;
the people remove it; a vacuum occurs;
andif Greeley is the fresh and wholesome
air that is to rush in and take its place,
welcome; but am willing to take my
chances on any sort of air coming in to
ill the vacuum which the removal of
the deadly vapOr produces. We must
take our chances now" Mr.. Johnson
in the opinion that if the
Democratic party was to be preserved, it
would be by the men who were sent to
Congress. / remarked TO him that we
were in the midst of such peculiar
political circumstances at present
the people were anxious all over the
State to send men to Congress who |
would at least bring back portion of
TENNESsEE's LEGISLATIVE RENowN.
The people were anxious to send men
in with Greeley who would work effec- |
tually in carrying out the great prinei-
pies of the platform. 'fYes,v said Mr.. |
Johnson, 'if Greeley does right; if not. |
men viii be wanted thele who will at |
least let the country know it, and who, |
in any event, will not allow the mighty !
Democratic party to be Greeleyised.'i y l
He referred to Summers letter to the |
cOlored people, and read extracts from I
it, showing that he, Sumner, took Gree
ley in preference to Grant because the |
former was the better Republican of the |
GFIO Cd 70, - hot L..
ner, being man of brains and culture, /
could not, perhaps, bear any longer to |
follow man of Grants stamp, a person /
without brains, and who did not under
stand even the nature of our Republican |
government. Nr. johnson seemed to |
lcquiesce in this view, but he gave no 4
opinion ON it. He denounced Grant in /
he strongest terms, but without bitter /
less. Indeed, he spoke all through like
A PHILOSOPHER
;peculating on the destines of the eoun- |
.Ty rather than as one who took ac-
i've part in the greatest events that ever
in the government. He said |
hat politics was the profession of states
men, and in as much as there must be
human machinery for carrying on the
government, there must be offices and |
people to fill them, revenue collected,
army and navy departments, Judiciary
md all that. Offices and places Of |
smOlument come in as incidents. But
here and in late days the politicians
% depraved has the profession % states
becOme-the offices aud spoils
ire the primary objects, and the govern
nent.a secondary consideration. Here
$ the root and cause of all our misfor-
.mes. 1t is
A GIGANTIC SCRAMBLE FOR OFFICE,
lnd principles, honestly held and heart
ly cherished, are strangers in the land.
/ was profoundly moved as Mr.. John
iOn uttered those words of solemn
ruth in a sad and deprecating
one, as if in regret for the
departed glories of the Republic.
'Onr government, be said, was only a
Young one. Institutions that are des-
.ined TO last must be Of slow growth.
The Republic had not vet crystaiiZed