New-York tribune., 1874-08-25
PFNNSYLVANIA POLITICS.

ton meets at Pittsburgh tomorrow. 1t has
everything to gain by wise and prudent
action, and it has but little to lose by doing
as it pleases and following its own sweet will.
Last wear the Democratic State Convention
did at least one very wise and sensible thing
when it took Salary Grabber who undertook
to preside over its deliberations and led HIM
gently to the door, with the remark that his
kind of politicians was not then in order.
This year it has the opportunity to take a
position upon the questions OF finance and the
currency that will be equally positive and
pronounced upon the side of honesty and good
government Whether the Convention will
do it or not is just now an open question. 1t
was not 80 difficult matter last year, when
all the Democratic newspapers had been
raising huliabaloo over the Salary
Grab, and all their Conventions had
been denOuncing 1t as an Administration meas
ure, to take the position the Convention did and
refuse a Salary Grabber the empty honor OF
presiding over it. 1t would have been the eX-
treme of stupidity to have done otherwise. 1t
was not until the elections were over and the
harvest of fools had been gathered in, that they
took the risk of nominating for Speaker OF the
House of Representatives an advocate and de
fender of the Salary Grab.
The Pennsylvania Democrats have before
them to-day much more complicated question
in the financial issue. Upon this the lines have
zigzagged so between the parties that they can
not readily discover which side they are on or
which is safest to make fight upon. All the
traditions of the party are for hard money and
sound currency. But here are a hundred shining
lights of Democracy favOring all sorts of wild
schemes of initiation and reputation, and only
small proportion of the leaders standing by
the party traditions and advocating honesty.
They have dim and shadOwy notion too in
Pennsylvania that in the main Mr.. Buffers
political ethics are sound, and that the pOpu-
lar pulse responds to the sentiment, that what
ever brings good times and makes money
cheap is best, no matter by what means IL Is
accomplished. They have seen their opponents
cater to this view in resolutions that wlnked
at initiation with as visible dropping OF the
lid as a decent regard for common honesty
would permit. They stand, accordingly, In
something of quandary what to do. We be-
lieve we do them no injustice when we say
they will take just such a position upon
the whole subject as will command the largest
support for their party and the most votes for
their ticket. 1t is for disinterested honest
people outside the slate and outside politics to say
only that there is but one course open and they
NAV take it or not to antagOnize their OppO-
pents fairly and sQuarely in an unequivocal
and unmistakable utterance in favor OF an
honest currency. Pennsylvania politics are not
proverbially clear or her politicians prOverbl-
ally honest, but the masses of her people are
honest and mean to act honestly i'll politics as
in all other things. Whatever party can rise
above the fog of the caucus and the stump,
and assert the simple living truth that dol
lar means dollar will not only do itself honor,
but what Is of more consequence to parties
and party managers, will catch thousands OF
votes from men who have simple and sin
cere desire to be honest and tell the truth.
One other thing the Convention cannot fail
to do as a matter of policy as well as prin-
ciple, and that is to put on record its OppOsi-
ton to a Presidential third term, whether it
be of President Grant or any one else. The
Republican Convention has already, in most
indirect and circuitOus fashion, indicated the
opposition of that party to third term, but
the nomination of Gov. Hartranft for the
Presidency is so manifestly blind that it
passes for nothing. Nobody in Pennsylvania
or ont, unless 1t be the gentleman himself,
has the remotest idea that Gov. Hartranft
can be nominated for the Presidency; if any
one had, the Convention has taken the surest
way in the world to kill his chances. The
resolution naming him as candidate was
only an indirect method of saying what the
Convention dared not put in form, that it
was opposed to President Grants renomina-
ton for third term. The Democrats have
an opportunity, whicA Of course they will not
neglect to say distinctly what their opDo-
nents only imply, that they are opposed to
Presidential third term upon principle, and
for good reasons which they can set forth.
These are the most important points to be
touched in the declaration of principles. In
the nomination of candidates they can show
their title to public favor and popular sup
port by the selection of men who are above
reproach, who have no connection with any
Rings who are honest and able, and whose
names are a guarantee of good faith and
integrity. Their opportunity is to profit by
the blunders and worse than blunders of their