National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-01-02

to deceive the public-frst, by nisrepre-
senting the President; second, by misrep-
resenting Congress, and third, by ma
liciously exalting the Cabinet officers re-
ferred to in the public estimation at the
expense of others who are equally deserv-
ing of praise. In short, their conspiracy is
TO create and foster dissension in the party
ranks. "If the President" says Mr..
Bowles, would intrust the discovery and
enforcement of a policy to Vice President
Wilson, Secretaries Fish and Bristow and
Postmaster General Jewell, to Senators
fisherman, Schurz, the Morrills. Connec-
"ticut Ferry and Washburn, and Repre-
''sentatives Blaine, Dawes, Garfield, Judge
"Hoar, Hawley, Indiana Wilson and the
'like, we should see the old ship righted
"in less than thirty days, the spirit and
intelligence of reform, so long lacking,
dominant, and the problems of 1875 we'll
"nigh settled in advance" The hypoc-
risy of this advice is apparent when 1t is
remembered that Bowles does not care
feather to "see the old ship righted;" but
he stoops to the trick Of offering it for the
evident purpose of arraying the gentlemen
whose names are mentioned against the
President-for the purpose OF fiattering
them with the belief that they are capable,
unaided by the Executive, to put things to
rights; and for the purpose of misleading
the people into Belief that the President
and his party friends are at variance. 1t
remains to be seen whether any one is
foolish enough to bite at such bare hook.
Watterson, writing of Speaker Blaine,
says:
al can see that he (Blaine) is preparing
himself, hardening and radicalizfng himself
for the work. He will step down into the hall
over which he has presided so long, the readi-
est parliamentarian, not excluding Banks,
alive. He has style at once audacious and
penetrating. His knowledge of the arts of
Congressional warfare Is almost equaled by the
infinite variety of his political information.
His vitality is amazing. Ever since knew
him Blaine has reminded me in some sort of
the description left of Fielding by Thackeray,
minus the vices, of which this rough-and-tum-
bic Yankee Titan is free. He has an admira-
bic natural love of TRUTH says the great
satirist of the great humoEist, the keenest
instructive antipathy to hypocrisy, the happiest
satirical gift of laughing it to scorn. His wit
is wonderfully wise and detective; 1t flashes
upon rogue and lightens up rascal like
policeman's lantern. He is one of the manli-
est and kindliest of human beings
$50 much may be said of Blaine; and with
these gifts and virtues he is about to become
By force of circumstances the leader, and of
necessity the defender, of that party which
more than any which has preceded it-needs
to have its errors forgotten. His wit will flash
to conceal, not to expose, and his vGst muscular
poWcr-to say nothing of his Intellectual
equipment-be thrown across the pathway of
investigations designed to purify the public
service. 1t is his destiny, I suppose, although
on this point it may not be improper to observe
that he seems les nervous about the success
sion than he did year or two ago, when the
only fault that could be found with his play
was that 1t was too skillful to win. He really
seems Indifferent, and probably has in his mind
that, not being himself composed of sacriicial
stuff, 1t may be just as well to drive his friend
Elihu to the slaughter"
In these shrewd comments Watterson
has allowed his cunning to overreach it.
self, and he has exposed his malicious OBJ
ject But Bowles follows this part of the
conspiracy closely, with predictions that
Mr.. Blaine in the next House will find
plenty of flaws to pick in the Opposition,
and an enormous amount of imbecility to
TidicHle. Here we have it again; fattery
so apparent that such careful observer Of
human nature as Speaker Blaine cannot
fail to be disguised with It. He must feel
that praise from such a source-Watterson
q Democrat, and Bowles something indie
scribably worse-is not faint but earnest
damnation.
But it is useless to follow these sehemers
further. They have exposed their own
game, and as we have intimated have ne
elected while climbing back to their
perches the teachings of one of the most
ordinary, not to say vulgar, lessons of ma
tural history. The painter of one of Crom-
wells portraits understood the lesson we
allude to-