Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-07-15

presents the principles Of pacificatior
union, economy and reform than an
other which was possible to eithe
party.
If it shall not be elected, it will b
the first time in our history that th
party which had obtained majorit
in the House of Representatives, tw,
years earlier, failed to win in the pre-
sidential race. The nearly unanimou
nomination of Tilden is due to th'
fact that to him, more than any other
except perhaps Charles O'Conor, il
due the cleansing of the Augean stables
of New York politics, both in Tam
many Hall and wherever the great
canal system permeates the State
Even prominent Republicans like
Horace Greeley preferred to be on good
terms with Tammany Hall, because oi
the incidental favors it could confer.
The city government of New York, in
the years from 1850 to 1870. disbursed
annually more money than all the
State governments combined, after de-
Quoting New York State and California
Its politics had been controlled by the
Tammany society, secret incorpora-
ted organization or club, formed as
early as 1915, and whose sway for fifty
years had been so complete that no
other Democratic nominating conven-
tions were held for the city or county
than the eabalistic sessions OF the Tam
many club. For half century these
nominations had been ratified at the
polls substantially without an excep-
ton. This club nominated the sue
cessful candidates for the bench, and
almost always chose the governor.
When q prominent Republican journal
was asked to attack it, it pointed to its
$60, 900 year of advertising and print
ing, received from Tammany, and said
I'VE cannot afford it.
For two Democratic politicians like
'O'ConOr and Tilden to attack Tam
many corruption was u very honest,
vigorous aud manly reform. 1t could
not consist, like the Bristow whisky
reform, In giving immunity to the big
scoundrels in order to capture the lit
tie ones. 1t involved the sending to
the penitentiary and into exile of VIM.
M. Tweed and Peter B. Sweeney, and
Richard B. Connolly, men who, for
twenty years, had, as controlling sach.
ems Of Tammauy, governed a city of
one million of people. They had not
done so without allying thousands of
persons to their interests by their con-
tracts, favors and benefactions. 1t
involved the overthrow and prosecu-
ton of A. Oakley Hall, mayor, and
the impeachment aud removal of
Judges Barnard, Cardoza and Me-
Gum. Barnard became a vendor of
cigars; Cardoza resigned; McCunn
died Of chagrin. All this involved
furious charges against Tilden OF dis
loyalty to the Democracy on the part
of those who held the sole object of
Democracy to be plumber, as for some
time indeed it had been, at least in
New York city. But it redeemed the
State and restored its Democratic ma
jority.
In this crusade, Tilden's success was
more complete, and the overthrow of
Tammany more condign and ignomin.
ious than any other purely political
reform ever achieved in the country.
Turning his attention then to the
canal rings, where Republican and
Democratic corruption had been fes-
tering for quarter of century, where
the thieves were more obscure, and
the plunder only less ample, Tilden
was no less effective. Without dis
tinction OF party, the prosecutions
went ON, until at every point they tri-
umphed and the guilty are now in the
penitentlary.
These were the preliminary events
whereby Tilden organized victory"
in the st. Louis convention. The
barrels of money" which he had
saved and recovered to the taxpayers
of New York.
Twenty other men would represent
equally we'll with Tilden the senti-
ment that the United States should
be governed, not by section merely,
even though that be our section, but
by the entire country. Twenty Others
would represent equally well with Til
den the sentiment that religion must
be the handmaid of the State, aud not
its pope, and that a political party
which is ruled chiefly by its clergy,
cannot be safely entrusted with pow
ers of coercive legislation, since it will
certainly use them in enacting sump-
tuary and sectarian laws at war with
the natural rights of mankind.
No other candidate before either
convention, however, represented so
fully as Tilden the principle of politi+
cal reform. His nomination is the
legitimate outwcrking of the princi-
pie that "he that has been faithful
over a few things shall be made ruler
over many" It is the survival of the
fttest. And the indications now are
that unless the Republicans can scare
the country ;uto panic, or can pro-
woke such disturbances in the South
ern States, as shall appeal to North
ern fears and animosities, and render
it "expedient" for the Administration
to move Federal troops into the South,
TiIden aud Hendricks will win.