New-York tribune., 1875-09-24

| was not inside politics., nau ahs"cIou
from a back seat when his name was called
on the ballot for Governor" Charles Francis
"Adams." Why the whole Convention would
have fairly jumped to its feet and faced 70
the rear to see who the bold intruder was,
and the delegate would have been fortunate
not to have been hustled out of the hall.
Well, they learn slowly; but they do learn
When the Republican party OF MASSACHUSETTS,
was in the Butler business, and the BOutwei'
and Richardson business, and the party lead
era went wandering over the country weeping
over imaginary Outrages and protesting that
wisdom and good government would die
with them; when Mr.. Butler from his
position of power in the organization, and his
confidential relations with the Administration,
was the terror of all decent people, who feared
he would reach out and pocket the State as he
had the party when little men were dividing
up the offices and censuring Sumner and pay
ing court to Grant, and the whole crew
went wild, it never seemed to occur to
any of the influential persons who were
running the machine that they had better
reach up for Governor. There was never
a convention that did not tOady to Grant ;
and conventions that did that sort of thing
habitually were not of the sort that went about
looking for statesman for Governor The
question in the State Conventions for several
years past has been, not whom does the
Office want, but who most wants the
Office. Mr.. Butler raided the State for
it in shameless and indecent way; and his
example has not been without imitatOrs. There
was Mr.. Charles Francis Adams all the time.
He has not changed. His opinions are the
same to-day that they have been
any, time these past four or five
years, while the Republicans of Massachusetts,
have been wandering about under the leader
ship of the Buffers and LOrings and BOutwells
and Simmonscs. But they did not want him
or anybody like him. They were dividing
spolls, and he was not in the ring.
Times have changed. A Democratic Gov
ernor and half dozen Democrats in Congress
have set the party thinking. They have been
undergoing the discipline of defeat. Mr.. Butler
is no longer potent in their councils A con-
siderable number of his kind of people who
were prominent and active before have sub
sided. There seems to be strong desire on
the part of some of the more thoughtiul
and sagacious leaders to sweep out and begin
anew. They think the nomination ol ~ oican
and honest gentleman, who has not been IN
the midst of the noisy goings-on OF the past
few years, and who represents an up
ward tendency in politics, would be
judcious and wholesome proceeding
and would take the bad taste out of their
mouths. No doubt it would. The question is
if they can do it. For it is almost revolution
ary in its character. 1t is no easy task to clean
up after Mr.. Butler and his sort, and Mr.. Butler
has been less than a year in retirement
His evil influence will continue to be felt for
a long time to come. We shall be happily
disappointed if the movement in favor OF Mr.
Adams is successful but whether it is or not
we recognize the fact that there is such
movement rs one of the encouraging indications
that the Republican party has grown wise
under the discipline of defeat.