The New York herald., 1876-07-05

St. Louis delegates, and the cry is ''beef I"
'beefr' ''beefw 1t is plaintive cry, for
these delegates are very hungry. For sixteen
years they have wandered in the deserts
living on roots and leaves. A few of them,
like Boss Kelly and Demosthenes Wickham,
have had little butcher shops of their own,
like Tammany Hall, and have kept in good
condition. A few like Dorsheimer and
Bigelow have had some years of good republi-
can rations, and now can ''reform" quite COM
fortably. But the great mass of the party,
how hungry it is ! The poor Confederates,
under the command of Watterson and Fitz-
hugh Lee, about whom the republican dele
gates resolved and resolved tho other day,
have not had a square political meal for
fifteen years. No wonder they ask, "Who
is the man to win p Hard money or soft
money; free trade or protection, State
rights or centralization. Allen or Tilden,
Hendricks or Bayard, anything or anybody,
so they win, anything or anybody SO the
hungry souls have beef The question
as to Mr.. Tilden, therefore, is not, 'Is
he the first man in the party in intellect,
character, experience and requirements?
Is he the man to bring back the government
to the customs of the fathers? Is he the
best type of democracy but 'Can he carry
New York; The leaders of the dem
ocratic party are discussed, not from
that lofty standard which is applied to
statesmen by political orators on the
stump, but simply from this point Of view,
''Can they win tho roast beef?' All is
merged in that. We see nothing of the old
democratic devotion to principle, nothing of
the spirit of Jefferson and Silas Wright.
Upon every question now before the
country the democracy divide as ire
vocably as the republicans. They have no
policy on the finances, on the revenues, or
anything. They cry "retorm" vaguely, for
getting that in Tammany Hall and the
present House they have defed the first prin-
ciples Of reform in their treatment of civil
service. Every living question is made sec
ondary to the question of living, and Gin
cinnati having determined that Hayes and
Wheeler will do the best in the way of roast
beef OF oil the republicans named the coun-
try is agitated with the question, What will
the others do?
And we sit by and look on, we remember
the Arabs habit when his burnous is in
tested with ants. He throws it on the
ground; another group comes along and
drives away the troublesome incumbents
Every four years we have one swarm of ants
driving the other out of the government
Lincoln drove out the Buchanan swarm,
johnson the Lincoln swarm, Grant the John
son swarm. Who will drive out the Grant
swarm? Will the Office fall upon Hayes and
Wheeler or Tilden and Hendricks? That is
the solemn question. AS to craftsmanship,
patriotism, Saving the country" ''boys
in blue" and so on, there is no harm
in talking about it. It suits a campaign.
But il is Of no use. We shall go on as
we have gone on. There will be the same
favoritism, the same peculation, the same ele-
vation of feebleness and mediocrity. We
shall have the same beef-eating. Office
holding class, who make politics profession
and live in public employments, controlling
conventions, nominating candidates, dom
mating the country. There is no reform in
what was done at Cincinnati we expect as
little now after ST. Louis. There will be in
different tickets on both sides, and the coun-
try will permit the canvass to flag, reserving
its enthusiasm for the Centennial.
The time will come, however, when the
word of quickening will be spoken, when
America will awake to new duties and high
responsibilities and noble achievements, rs
when in larger sense she awoke to the
enormity of slavery and in smaller sense
to that of Tammany Hall. 1t will not come
this year. The true inwardness of the Cen
cakes and ale.