Litchfield enquirer., 1874-01-01
Politicians. and the Political
 Future, se~z

ea Anyone who reads many papers, as eve
 rY editor iscompelled to do, cannDs ou nave noticed how rapidly freedom of DO
 ilhca opinion has been growing among them oflate. The New York Time; ar5
 the New York World, indeed, claiming
 the merit of special orthodoxy, keep tol-
 erably closely to the old political ruts; but most of our political papers are smashing
 through the hedges that once restricted
 their course with recklessness that this
 generation of Americans has never before
 seen. The politician used to go to Con-
 gress with firm confidence in the "loyal-
 ty" of his own party papers. Now he re-
 turns home on his prolonged holiday trip
 and is received with general shout of
 disapprobation prolonged through all the
 administration, opposition and neutral papers of his district. His course may have been such as to save him the person. al modification of being ranked with his class, but he finds that the public feeling towards congressman generally is one of the keenest distrust. The conviction IS general that our politicians are self-seek- ing, unreliable, if not dishonest set of men. Exposure on exposure has proved that many of those we considered the pur- est were mere whited sepulchures. The last Vice President of the United States is thought by most to be periurer. The present Vice President stands comprom- ised by mean evasion. The last Con- gress increased it's own salary under the leadership of Ben Butler, and the present Congress is plainly detected amid a cloud of contemptible pretences and evasions, retaining all they dare of that increase. An Attorney General, nominated for Chief Justice of the United States, is proved to have had his private carriage paid for out of the public treasury; and people say in his behalf that he only followed the general practice of the heads of depart ments. The financial panic has brought to light innumerable official defalcations. Political corruption must be held, in all to be "withoub distinction of par ty." People are learning to distrust all politicians of all parties, and their disgust finds no more than fair expression through the press. F
 What is to be the result of this wide spread dlstrust on the part of the people, and of this unaccustomed plain speaking of the editors, we can only guess. The failure of the Cincinnati convention to in- anything useful will make the way of future reformers hard. The in- of the Liberal Republican vote in all the states where they had separate ticket, last fall, shows how con- plete a failure that organization has proved; and no doubt the Democracy have acted wisely, as a party, in not merg- ing their existence with that of so feeble an ally.
 The result of the last years elections las been, too to encourage the Demo- cratic party to hold fast to their old col DTS. They have had 8 majority over the straight republicans in Ohio, New York md Connecticut, and have helped the irangefs to defeat the Republican party n several western states. With the sure support of Delaware, Virginia, West Vir- slnia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas in the South, they have apparently about equal chances with straight Repub- icansm in New York. Ohio, Indiana, Connecticut, North Carolina, Arkansas md Alabama; making their position al- most equal to that of their old oppo- rents for the elections of 1874
 The condition of things is therefore much more favorable for the rise of gen. line new party. now, than in 1872. Then, he Democratic party was so hopeless of 'uccess that it seized upon the Liberal organization with the desper- ation of drowning man, and swamped it before it could draw to itself any inde- pendent, popular support. In 1874, if present appearances can be trusted, the two old parties will contest the older states with about equal chances of suc- cess. .... ...s
 But what are the prospects in Califor- mia, Oregon, Nevada, Nebraska, Wiscon- sin, Missouri, Mississippi and Illinois? If the somewhat chaotic political force commonly known as ''The Changers" de- velops into real, independent party, if will carry all those states, if not more, and will hold the balance of power in the Forty Fourth Congress.
 It is in view of this condition of offairs that we heard 1t shrewdly remarked, not long since, that Gov. Newton Booth of California, just elected to the United States Senate against the opposition of the railroad interest and of both the old party organizations, stands the best chance of any one man of being our next presi- dent. He now occupies the most promi- nent position of any man in the Independ- ent Opposition that showed such strength in the West, last fall. But the party that is to sweep the West, and crush both the old organizations, and elect him or some other man to the Presidency, has yet to be formed; and it is just as unsafe 10 pre- dict crash in politics as in finance; yet the people seem ready for such party.
 Another oratoric.
 At the request of number of the cho- rus who performed the Creation at Wash ington and New Milford, the past season,
 MT. Buckingham has selected Mendels
 sohn's Oratorio of Elijah for practice dur