The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-12-22
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Political Strategy "a Wasls-
n<tOn-TxIdeHss Policy.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18th, 1876.

JEST BEFORE BATTLE
The two parties in Congress are
"maBeuVreing for position" as mil
itary men call those movements
that precede great battles. There
will be no serious fight until after
the holidays. Both parties are
awaiting the reports OF the South
ern Investigating Committee, be-
fore opening hostilities in earliest
Until then, all sorts of emotions"
will be made and all sorts of reso-
lutions will be offered, but nothing
either decisive or important will be
accomplished in Congress. The
Democrats are trying, and will try,
to cheat the nation out of its recent
victory; but the Republicans have
had their eyes opened at LAST to the
designs of the rebel leaders, and
they know now that the irrepressible
conflict between the bandits Of the
South and American civilization
admits of no compromise that can
endure. So, they are firm. How
ever numerous and perplexing the
record of Congressional ''action" (as
it ia calIed) between this date and
Christmas may seem, the reader
will find . thread through the laby-
rinth by remembering that it means
only a fight for more time, and
that the secret policy of both par
ties is not action but non-action.
'sTRIcKs THAT ARE VAIN"
Thus far the Democrats have been
baffied in every effort to deceive the
Republicans. Congressman Hewitt,
Tilden's Prevaricator-in-chief, tried
10 capture the President in the in.
terests of the bandits of South Car
DINA. lie caught Tartar. Presi-
dent Grant has sometimes given his
confidence to unworthy men, and,
having given it., he has been very
slow to suspect them of treachery,
and quite tenacious of his friend
SaiPS uhIt SAO ONANOAS0 o60AASS
them was conclusive; but when he
has been clearly convinced that he
has once been deceived, he has new
err yielded a second time to the
same class of tricksters. After the
war Grant made a journey Soath,
and was thoroughly deceived by the
leaders of the rebellion. His report
showed two things: His owa I'M
suspectlng nature, and the crafty
and inscriptions character of the
Southern leaders. Men who will
commit murder for opinions sake
never hesitate at lies and perjury.
The annals of the South since the
war dem onstrate that not less than
ten thousand black aud white Re-
publicans have been wantonly muir
dered for political reasons, in Or
der that men, when we could have
hanged for treason, might first dom
mate their own States and one day
rule the nation that they sought to
destroy. President Grant listens
to every body, but he acts on his
own judgment. Hewitt's craft did
move him. Bat for the knowledge
that Grant would not tolerate re-
bsllion, South Carolina to-day
would be wet with loyal bleed.
Having failed to entrsp the Pres
ident, the next attempt of the Til
den Democracy was to bully the
Senate into a recognition of the ex-
istence of i0int rules that were no
lsnger in force. But there were too
many Democratic lawyers, who
would not destroy their reputation
as jurists for the sake of advancing
Speaker Randalps ambition, to rem
der it possible for this scheme to
succeed, and the Senate spurned his
ruling with only four dissenting
votes.
The failure Of these two schemes
has made the "Tilden wing" of the
Demo cracy desperate. On Monday
last the result of their Sunday med
itations was seen in an effort to la
duce q compromise, by which Til
den should be elected by the House
and Wheeler to the Senate! bat the
enraged Western DelAocrats rebell-
ed, and swore that rather than sac
rifice Hendricks they would prefer
that both Hayes and Wheeler should
be inaugurated. It is happy FAM
lily. AS we have elected our csndi-
dates, and mean to inaugurate them,
these quarrels are quite amusing.
Republicans have no intention of
being cheated of their victory, nor
of giving the fruits Of it away to
the enemies Of the nation. The la
test scheme, to "put such men as
Lamar in the Republican Cabinet, /"
means that President Hayes shall
say before all the world that it is JUS
tifiable and right to resort to the as
sassination and terrorism Of South
ern Republicans in order to carry Q
Southern State for the shotgun
Denocracy. But this ID q good ex-
ample of Southern political morali-
ty. 1t has only one practical fault
it went work.
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE.
Senator Morton, every year, and
for five years past, has introduced
a proposed amendment to the Con-
stitution for the purpose of abolish
ing the Electoral College and avert
ing the evils that had occurred un-
der it, and that were likely to occur.
He pointed out the probability of
precisely the crisis that is agitating
the nation now. He could not, to-
day, by an exposition of the actual
condition of affairs, suggested sim
gle additional danger that he did
not clearly predict in his report last