Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1876-08-02
WHOLE NO. 1772
The Two Men.

The men are the platforms this
year. Who Samuel j. Tiden is every
honest voter in the land knows well
enough. His very first speech, to the
Jackson Corps, at Albany. after re-
ceiving his nomination, let's out the
whole truth OF his character, senti'
ments and position. He spoke
straight out on the subject Of the par
alysis of business, the crushing weight
of taxation, the abuses, peculations,
frauds and corruption Of the public
Administration, the powerful and un-
scrupulous office-holding class that as
sumes to control elections, the fact
that the people exist for the Govern
ment instead OF the Government for
the people, and the vices and wrongs
of our Centennial period and he bold
ly asked Of his hearers what is the
remedy for these public evils, for this
private distress, for this disorder in
business which carries suffering into
every household, answering the ques
ton himself with the single word Re
form. He is the champion, the
mouthpiece, the expression Of what
the country now sorely needs-Re-
form. lie denounces the folly which
says that reform is to be had by tax
ing the continued. promises of the par
ty that has made reform so urgent.
But he believes in "a change of men
for the sake of reform in administra-
ton" All human experience shows
that it is to be secured in no other
wap. To trust guilty party's reform
promises would be as safe and wise as
to take its perpetual promises for re-
sumption. Mr.. Tilden, then, is pos
tive reformer, man who cannot be
managed by rings, a person who is
not afraid to punish wrong doers, who
infexibly carries out his principles
without regard to party. 1t was he
who, when candidate for Governor
Of New York, openly advised all citi-
zens to vote for honest Republicans
sooner than dishonest Democrats.
And who is Mr. Hays. his political
opponent L? The New York Times
tells us he is ''no chicken" but has had
experience in Congress which Gov.
Tilden never had, besides a longer
gubernatorial experience. The boast
implies that he has had larger oppor-
tunities also than Gov. Tilden. Has
he ever attempted to improve them as
Gov. ..Ti)den has his? We are an
swered to this question that Hayes is
a reformer from principle, but TildeD
from policy. Tweedledum and twee.
dledee A retormer is a reformer,
and there is an end of it. If Il man
has had his chance and still has done
nothing, his Dragging margin must be
reckoned as very narrow. Hayes
was in Congress one term. Corrup-
ton ragged and roared like sea all
about him Nobody ever heard that
he lifted up his voice to protest against
the practices which were suddenly en-
riching Congressman and Government
officials and impoverishing the tax
paying people. He succumbed to the
situation. He never struck out in
bold and vigorous resistance to the
current as Tilden did He made no
trouble for anybody; was obscurely
amiable obediently fell in with the
prevailing order of things acquiesced
in what he no doubt deemed the iney-
table stuck close to the comfortable
shelter OF his party and, in fine, in
his whole brief career gave no such
offence to the rogues and rascals who
controlled legislation and ran the
Government that they deemed him
unqualified for their purpose at Gin
cinnati, His very first utterance on
receiving his nomination was to his II
val, Blaine, which was certainly not
very encouragingt to retormers. One
of the two men, therefore, Tiden and
Hayes, which is the one to take up
and carry out this gigantic work Of
administrative reform ?-BoSton Post.
"A young man who started for the
Black Hills halted twenty miles this