Wilmington daily commercial., 1876-10-26
IF THERE rs REAL DANGER WE MUST
HAVE REAL PROTECTION.

IF THERE Is REAL DANGER WE MUST
HAVE REAL PROTECTION.
Nothing could be more significant of the
degree to which public opinion has been
aroused on the subject of Southern en-
croachments than the awakening of MIR.
Tilden concerning it, He displays real
alacrity in declaring that he will not be
party to any payment Of Southern claims.
dummy to sign his letter, but signs it him
self. He does not delay and procrastinate
beyond all reason, as heretofore, but pops
up as suddenly as jack in box. He does
not conceal his ideas in labyrinth of
words, but for once speaks quite directly,
and decisiyelv. All this is due, beyond
doubt, TO his awakened fears. He sees
that he must try to put himself on ground
from which he can with some assurance
ask the support of the loyal States.
But, after all, what does Mr.. Tilden do by
this2 He simply tries to put himself in as
good a position as Governor Hayes. He
gives us his word that he will do what
everybody knows Governor Hayes will do.
The latter is certain to set has foot square
down on every attempt to put the Southern
claims-Mr. Tilden, by tho way, grows SO
excited as to call them "rebel' claims
through the Treasury. We all know, be-
yond doubt, just what President Hayes
will do, in that particular, and Mr.. Tilden is
but begging to be regarded as one equally
safe.
Upon this, then, the question recurs
what Mr.. Tilden's antecedents are, and
what is the likelihood of his latter-day de-
clarations, made to get office, being as good
and as trustworthy as Governor Hayes's
life record. 1t must be admitted that Mr..
Tilden has not always stood squarely up to
his own programme. In the very matter of
hard money he dallied with Hendricks aud
the Indiana soft-money feeling, and the
organs of the initiation movement in the
West, for instance the Cincinnati Enquirer,
are now begging votes for him. Bill Allen,
indeed. is on the stump in his behalf. He
had declared, again and again, that there
should be "no steps backward" in the
work of resumption, yet his letter of ac-
ceptance, SO tardily prepared, and so doc
tored and patched and mended before it
was published, did take backward steps on
that very question, by being obscure, equiv
ocal, and compromising. 1t appears from
this recent example, therefore, that Mr..
Tilden's actions arc not always up to the
brave words of his programmes.
But even if the people dared believe that
Mr.. Tilden meant to do and would do ex.
actly as we'll as he promises, and could con-
clude that in spite of his evasions of public
duty in the past-Rome of them very
flagrant-he now intended to act fairly by
the national interests, they would be
obliged to reflect that, if elected President,
he would be but the creation of the solid
South, and must be, therefore, the solid
South's creature. Like Pierce, and like
Buchanan, he would be at the end of the
wire which would be pulled by the Hamp.
tons, Lamars, Ben Hills, and Ran fuckers
They would constitute his majority in Con.
gress; they would form the political support
on which, alone, his policy could rest. II
they undertook to plunder the Treasury
Mr.. Tilden could no more stop them than Mil
lard Fillmore could stop the Fugitive Slave
Law, Franklin Pierce the repeal of the Mis-
souri, Compromise, or Jas. Buchanan the or
ganization of the Rebellion. A puppet does
not control; he dances as the hidden forces
make him dance.
In coming out with this letter, Mr.. Tildel
therefore only does one thing. He certifie
to the great seriousness of the Southern
question, and to the deep concern ant
alarm which the threat of new Fir,
Eaters rule over the nation have excited
His own promises amount to nothing of va
lue, SeT if there is real danger, the countr
must have President with whom it cal
feel real security. If the solid Soutl
threatens us, We do not want a man VIII,
took Tue pat OF tho Rebellion during til
War wlio lodged Union meetings in 1861
declared the War failure, in 1864, and al
yued that the National armies, when sut
daing rebellion, were committing I" trei
pass" Such person gives us no asauranc
of security. If the national feeling avn
keps, it will demand n President who's
whole record and entire sympathies are o
tie side Of the National Union, and in o.
position to every sectional scheme, open
secret, of the Fire-Eating reyolutlonist
Rutherford B. Hayes is such man.
DEMOCRATIC AND NOT INDEPENDENT
1t is general remark. amongst the Repu
licans that EUery E0eaing is not an 'ind
dent" newspaper at all, but an adherent
tho Democratic party and it's candidate
They find the evidence of this fact in
own columns, and yeaterday's issue certaii
" afforded liberal instalment OF it. Ed
orally it denounced and ridiculed the gro'
Ing uneasiness of the people eoncernlr
the payment by a Democratic msjority
Congress, with Mr.. Tilden as President,
claia4 for damages incurred by the Sout
ern people during the war. This uneaf