The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-11-02
AN IMPARTIAL VIEW.
Charles Francis Adams, Jro on the
Two Presidential Candidates.
Goycrnor Tildcn the Foremost Re.
former of the Time.
Hayes the Creature of Cameron, 0hand-
Ter and the Gang,

Ter and the Gang,
From an Article by Charles Francis Adams ,r., II
the North American Review.
Just before the first meeting intended
to having Il hearing on the presidential
nominations Tor the campaign, now going
on were held Mr.. W. NJ, Eyarts one
day remarked to Carl Schurz that the re.
publican party in its then condition re.
minded him of nothing 80 much as an
army whose term of enlistment had eX.
pired. Mr.. Eyarts is justly famed for
the witty and incisiyc way in which he
expresses what other people think, but
he has not often had the good fortune to
hit off happier smile than this. 1t in
cluded in ten words Il phamphlettul Of
political insight, and accounted at onCc
for that large amount OF individual ac.
ton, which is such an essential feature
in the present canvass. The field is full
Of Stragglcrs.
SO far as the mOmentous political issues
Of twenty years ago are concerned, little
remains over which to struggle During
the present Canyass.issucs, side issues
and afler-issucs will, indeed, be manu-
factured out Of il; sometimes by very
honest and very dull men who, having
once learned to talk on u certain subject
have no faculty Of speech on any other
and sometimes by very cunning and I'M
scrupulous men, who will work on the
old passions and the old hatredS as long
as they can possibly hope to get them
selves into office, or to keep themselves
there by so doing. In all this, however,
there is something very uninyiting and
even rcpulsiye to men who look upon
politics as anything more than an Occu-
patton, and upon office holding as any
thing more than u means Of support.
The continued dwelling upon the last
phases Of stale excitement is neither a
philosophical nor an cnn0biug pursuit.
1t is small matter for wonder, therefore,
that the number of those who act indc,
pcndently Of all party affiliations is con
| tmualIy increasing. The wonder rather
is that the majority still cling to these
ruts.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES OF THE CAM
PAIGN.
In considering hcqucstions of the day
it is well in the first place to try to get Il
perfectly clear perception of the issues
involved in the campaign. That he may
do this it i, absolutely necessary !Or an
intelligent being to clo.c his ears TO the
discussion generally carried ON. In that,
words supply to an altogether inordinatc
degree the place Of ideas OF the three
elements, therefore, in which every cam
paign discussion may be dec)mposed--
rubbish, lonmalitics and cssence-it is
here proposed to devote very few words
except to the last Under the head Of
campaign rubbish may, in the present
case, safely be cIassed all the rambling
discussions of the war records of the
several candidates, and their opinions
prior to the rebellion or the Mexican
war; also the charges and counter-char-
gcs made as their transactions IN mules,
theirsteaIingralroads, ,plunderingwido
and orphans, "dodging' taxes, issuing
"shinpIaster' currency, the number of
watches they owa, and the date at which
they may have purchased pianos, Per-
Sonaily ali the Calui4a'eS are 'cSPocthpie II':.
gentlemen. Ihey nave P't'Seu tlieir
lives before tlic conmuhltleS III WIl'c,l
they i've, ana been hohored ana trusted,
As to the views they may nave enter
tained twenty years ago, IT IS to ne re,
membered the war OF lhe ieoeiIIoh clo'ga
IN the year I'oo' ile ,n lS'IeS yea "V SUM '
between the years l"iS ana IHGo are lo|
Just as muciI Set.Iru peyoiu Uhe PeI".'-
venture OF reversal as lho'e lilvOI'e4 r., III
the war OF lHl2 or the reVTlu'loh; me-, ne
records OF Toy. hayes ana gov lll''tl'
anterior to IHol nave, therefore, ScI!t'
mcnt part, JUST ABOUT aS hl"'h pc"'''iS
ON the living issues OF lhla campaign is
their opinions on the ilartio!o coilVGh-
ton or the Dar"lliah tIie"ry oi c'o'",
tion. No one can deny mat the mass OF
trash and rubbish OF thiS ueScrlPtioi'Ic
constituting, as IL does, hlne-tentII' Oh
the campaign iltcraturG-.,naS II: IN
iluence; UhhapPiIy, muu-hiliSlhg Is 10
Il very large class OF mahHihu one oi tIlc
most enJoyaDIe FEATURES Oh every c'thNa'''
and, as there are Sald 10 be "ermah
counties IN ferhSyIV"na' Wllete Eotts c,,
m' "!e ''E E,',t.'! az ',' not innon.iioroLIc
nnrtion nf tbr community now does, and
tnr the next five wears will, measure
o,or,. oD candidate roi nv hi, acts of the
da, but hv what he said and thought in
SiE iSin or ia or did NOT do during the re-
bollion
Tbnrc are three great phases into
which al political movement resolves
it.cIf--the revolutionary, the construc-
i've and the administrative, and these
I,roo also onrcessarily'succecdc each other
in thc order in which they have been
named Within the last sixteen years it