Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-07-10
The Political Future as Painted by Sem
atOr Gordon, OF GeOrgia-What
the Ex-COnrederate Thinks
Of Grant.
The Cbauees for a Third Term-1 he
Financial Question, the Civil Rights
Bill, and the DemOcracy's
Opportunity.

: who ELECTED the following very interest
ing expressions of opinion from Senator
= Gordon ON political topics, all of deep
importance to the soutll:
GRANTS POSITION AND VIEWS AND A
THIRD TERM.
Reporter-Do you, general, think that
there is anything Of truth in the third
term aspirations of General Grant, as
suggested by the CouTier-Jougndl?
General Gordon-I certainly do.
think that President Grant is exceeding,
ly anxious to run again, and is apt TO do
10. am very Intimate with him, as
much so as almost any one, and he is
: always very cordial with me. ] think
he certainly intends to run again.
Reporter-Will the Republican party
nominate him again?
| General GordOn-I don't think Gen.
eral Grant desires a party nomination
at their hands. His ambition is to run
As the peoples candidate; not Demo-
cratic nor a Republican candidate, but as
4 candidate of the people of the United
States; as candidate Of great Grant
party, if you please. Evidences of this
ambition are evineed daily. His abso-
iute independence of all Republican
leaders; the indifference with which he
incurs the enmity of Merton, Logan or
/
| he takes to show the south that he is
not her enemy. A man cannot be with
| Grant any length Of time before
! ne catches his kindly drift in
/ favor of the southern people. His
idea seems TO be to show our people that
/ he is president not OF one section, but Of
| the republic, and that he shall deal to
| them just such judgments as to those
I who followed the stars and stripes. Still,
! II Grant wants the nomination Of the
| Republican party, he will get it. Not
! that they prefer him to any other candi-
date. Not at all. For, with the tradi-
! tion of the republic, and in the spirit of
our institutions so decidedly against
such a cOurse, they will he timid about
offering third-term candidate. They
will nominate him though, because they
will be afraid not TO do it. For two rea.
sons: First, they believe he is the only
man who can hold the Republican party
TO victory. And they are right in this)
that he is much stronger than his party.
Secondly, they fear that if they leave
him out he will be picked up by some
middle party, or even by the Democratic
party, and Iun against them. Hence, II
he wants the nomination, in my opinion,
he will get it without any trouble.
IF NOT GRANT, WHO THEN?
Reporter-In the event Of Grants not
offering, who will be the probable Repub-
Iican candidate?
General Gordon-I Think that Hon.
Eli b. Washburne, our present minister
to France, is by long odds the most
prominent. He is Grants especial
friend and adviser, and, besides his own
power and popularity, would have the
bt netitiOf Grants strength in the party.
Ia
Republican nominee, and / think he
could pretty nearly do it, be would GER
tainly name Washburne.
TIE DEMOCRATIC CHANCES AGAINST |
GRANT AND THE RADICALS.
Reporter-What are the chances, in |
your opinion, for the success of the Rad |
ical party under Grant?
General GardOn-I think the Democ-
racy will have certain victory. They
will have three points, either one of |
which will be almost irresistible. First,
Grant cannot be elected on his financial
platform. The great mas Of the people
are opposed to the speedy return TO spe-
Gle payments that be advocates, because
they believe twill bring panics ten times
worse than the one we are just recover
ing from, and ruin the country. They |
all believe in hard money as a
fact, and love to talk of it as
a boast, but they don't believe in
wading through ruin and bankruptcy to
resumption. Grant, on his veto platform
or his policy set forth in his memoran-
dunn to Senator Jones, can't, in my
opinion, carry a single western or SOUTH
ern State, and don't think he can carry
Pennsylvania. Second, it would be al
most impossible for any man to enter
the White House for a third term. The
whole spirit of the republic is against it.
1t would be esteemed an audacious
grasp at a dictatorship. The people who
revere the republic and its traditions will |
rise to put down. And yet, with this
terrible influence against him, Grant is
the strongest man his party can run.
Morton and Logan are both aspirants,
but neither can bring the same spirit, |
and influence, and enthusiasm to the |
canvass that Grant can. So that think |
if the party runs Grant, the alarm of the |
people at the approach cf absolutism
will entail defeat. If it throws Grant |
overheard, there is no other man in its
ranks that is strong enough to lead the
party through another victorious cam
paign.
STRONGEST POINT AGAINST TIE RAD
ICAIs.
bu pdAN AAldN ALCA6 hEAC
three ''strong points, that the Democ-
racy could put 10 the country against
the Radical party, and you only mem
ton two-what is the Otheli
General GOrdOn-Oh, that is the
strongest of them all. Ii is the corrup-
tion and the rOttenness of the party.
1t cannot stagger along much longer
under its load of infamies. The San
born contracts, the credit nobilier, the
mOiety system, the District Of Columbia
jobs, and above all the carIetbag scoun-
drelisms 10 the southern States; all
these arrayed against the party will kill
il.
CAUTION TO THE SOUTHERN PEOPLE.
Reporter-You think the Democratic
party mas victory ahead of them, then,
in the next campaign?
General GOrdon-Almost certainly,
unless they make some terrible blunder.
If, by any imprudence of speech or
action, the southern people give the Re-
publicans q chance to fly the issue of
corruption and misgovernment, and the
differences on which the war was fought,
and which are still invincible in the
north, we will lose the fight. The pas
sions and prejudicss of the war are dying
out very rapidly in the north, and, If
nothing rash is done TO revive them, we
can meet the Republicans on the paper
issues and rOut them, hone, foot and
dragons. One reason that / have
for believing that the war prejudices
are dying out in the north, is that the
house, which Is the freshest from the
people, is much more conservative and
liberal than the senate. This is a
noticeable fact, and a very significant
one.
WHO ARE THE DEMOCRATIC AsPIRANTS,
Reporter-The chances OF the De-
mocracy being 80 bright, there must be
in that party number of candidates for
the coming nomination. Who do YOU
consider the coming man in that race?
General GOrdon-Allen c.. Thurman,
of Ohio, Is at present by far the most
prominent candidate. His splendid
campaign in Ohio last year, carrying it
for the Democracy for the first time in
many years, gives him splendid start.
You see Ohio at one time polled forty
two thousand Radical majority. To |
have whipped this down, aud then car