The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-08-30

The Democratic Party and the Outside
Anti-Administration Elements OF the
Gsrntry.
The dream is over. The incongruous and
incoherent coalition of 1872 against General
Grant is abandoned by the democratic party.
The democracy of Ohio for the West and
their brethren of Pennsylvania for the East,
in taking their new departure for their APP
preaching fall elections have as quietly ignored
the liberal, or anti Grant, republicans as if no
such organization had ever existed, and as If
such lately conspicuous political engineers
and pioneers as Greeley and Brown, Sum-
ner, Trumbull, Schurz, Curtin, Forney and
Fenton belonged to the Dark Ages The
reaction of the democracy from their strange
adventure of last summer, in which they ap-
peared as the followers of an unknown body
| of deserters from the administration on their
! Cincinnati platform, has been very quiet, but
| it is decisive. From the proftless pursuit OF
those strange gods the old party of Jefferson
| and jackson and Buchanan returned to its own
| affairs.
So far, then, we have the foreshadowing OF
at least the main body of the opposition
organization for 1876 The democratic
party, accepting the established order OF
things resulting from our late civil war,
adheres to it's ancient organization, and
all the efforts from within or without the
party camps to divert and merge it in some
new party, with a new name and upon new
issues, may be considered as decisively de-
feated 1t was thought in 1872 that, consider
ing its disastrous defeats Of 1860, GA and
'68, the party could not do worse than to
might do better by withdrawing into the rear
as the ally Of revolving faction from the
party in power But in its action at Baltimore
as the democratic party, while confessing its
weakness in adopting the Cincinnati ticket
and platform, it too clearly betrayed its pur-
pose as a trick of strategy for a democratic
restoration, and hence the decentralization,
failure and collapse of the impracticable ad-
venture.
Casting aside, then, the useless disguise of
the Cincinnati Convention. and dismissing
the liberal republicans as a proftless balance
itself, and, adhering to old name and ancient
faith, is recognizing its forces for the
Presidential succession. What, then, is the
prospect? Will this old party serve as the
nucleus around which may and will be rallied
all the outside anti-administration or anti
Grant elements, or are we to have in 1876 two
or three opposition tickets in the field, as in
1882 against jackson, as in 1886 against Van
Buren,, as in 1S4S against Cass, as in 1856
against Buchanan or as in 1860 against Lin
coin? Upon the answer to this question de-
pend the possibilities or impossibilities of a
democratic restoration. IF there is no union
of the opposition elements they will be de-
feated in 1876, as the wings were in 1882 and
1885, and as the democrats were in 1848, and
as the republicans were in 1885, and as the
democracy were again defeated in 1860. But
can the various opposition elements be fused
in the democratic party?
| Our lights for the future are our experiences
of the past Turning to these, the nearest are
! the lights of our late Presidential contest.
Before the meeting Of the democrats at Balti-
! more there were placed before the country the
Presidential tickets of the temperance reform
| ers the labor reformers and the Cincinnati
liberal republicans After the Baltimore Con-
vention the democratic Bourbons from Louis
Vile threw their ticket into the canvass, and
the free traders from the Fifth Avenue Hotel
issued their Presidential ticket and pronuncid-
naiento; but, while the Bourbons created con-
siderable disaffection in the democratic ranks
against Greeley and Brown, the temperance
party, the labor reformers and the free
traders disappeared in the smoke Of the battle
Excepting the democratic Bourbons, we may
say, the opposition forces were concentrated
upon Greeley and Brown. In the coming
contest, with the lines more sharply drawn
between the administration and the democracy,
may we not, therefore, assume that the fusion
of the opposition forces will be more cordial
and effective? Will they not more fully appre-
ciate in '76 the necessity of union from the
disastrous consequences of their disafections
and discords in '72, particularly as the demo
cratic party, relieved of all DISCUSSES and
entangling alliances, will itself present COM
pact front against the party in power?
we Snouiu rest uPoh 1uiS coAciuSion put ior
| the disturbing forces at work and the effects
of which upon the two great parties cannot
now be estimated. For example, the new
and powerful self-protecting organization Of
the farmers oranges against our railway
monopolies and extortions is q league which,
at present, is acting independently of the
republican, the democratic and every other
merely political party but we apprehend that
the oranges will, nevertheless play an
active part and WELD the balance of power in
our next Presidential election. The repub-
licans and the democrats, in their State Con.
ventions, are bidding high in large promises
for the support of the oranges; but as
| most of the farmers concerned are repub-