The New York herald., 1876-02-24
The Democratic National Convention

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the two conventions to enable the
democrats TO survey the ground, gauge pub
lie sentiment and take advantage of the mis-
takes of their opponents, if they make mis-
takes. But the selection of a place for
holding the Democratic Convention is not
justified by such obvious reasons. 1t is
difficult to see what advantage will accrue to
the democratic party from holding its
National Convention in St Louis. Missouri
is not q doubtful State; it will give its.
electoral votes to the democratic candidate
in any event, and is equally secure
for Hendricks, Pendleton, Thurman,
Bayard or Tilden. 1t was wise stroke
of policy for the republicans to appoint their
National Convention at Cincinnati because
the October election in Ohio will go
far toward deciding the Presidential
contest. If tho democratic party
were not weakened by an internal
feud it would have met the republicans on
their chosen battle ground and have accepted
their challenge to make Ohio the pivot of the
campaign. The Democratic National Con-
vention would doubtless have gone to Gin
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! local pressure of the Ohio infationists.
| The currency question is the rock on
which the democratic ship is in danger of
of. being wrecked, and the National
| Committee has felt constrained to
forego the otherwise great advantages
of holding the Convention in Cincinnati
by extreme dread of an imitation platform
and candidate to match it. The demo-
cratic infationists in Congress are strong
enough to have prevented any action hostile
to their views, and the perpetual adjourn
ments of the democratic caucus for six
or seven weeks show how impossi-
| bic it is to reach compromise which would
| enable the Eastern hard-money democrats to
save appearances. The Western imitation
lists prefer that no agreement should
| be reached, because the party might feel
bound by it, and clearly defined
| policy by the democrats in Congress
would obstruct the efforts ofthe infationists
to control the National Convention. They
prefer that the currency should remain an
| open question, thinking they have better
| chances to get it decided in their favor i'll the
| National Convention than in Congress. If
| Cincinnati had been selected as the place
of the Convention local influences might
have turned the doubtful scale in favor of the
inhationists, and have led to fatal schism
in the democratic party. 1t remains to be
seen whether the local influences in Missouri
will not be equally fatal. The demo-
cratic party in Missouri are inhationists,
though not quite so bold and aggressive as
their brethren in Ohio. Certain it is that no
hard money pressure will be brought to bear
on the Democratic National Convention in
st. Louis. 1t is ON advantage for the infa-
| tionists to have the Convention held
anywhere in the West, and, although
| st. Louis is less favorable to them
than Cincinnati, they have good reasons
for preferring it to Chicago, where the most
powerful part of the local press advocates
hard money Although it may not be a
| triumph it is at least an advantage for the
democratic infationists to have the National
Convention of their party held in st. Louis,
where the local democratic influences will
not favor the hard-money views of the East
ern States.
The designation of st. Louis is generally
regarded as favorable to the chances of Gov
ernor Hendricks. If it favors any candidate
it favors him, because it rules out the claims
of Governor Tilden and other Eastern
rivals and exempts Mr.. Hendricks from the
| sharp competition of Ohio candidates.
Ohio is the 6ete noire of Mr.. Hendricks.
In the National Convention of 1868
he was defeated by the opposition of the
Ohio delegates. When they found that they
could not secure the nomination of Mr.. Pen
dleton they resolved to defeat Mr.. Hendricks
at all hazards and forced the disastrous
nomination of Governor Seymour. The demo-
Gratis. of Ohio may not have the same fierce op-
position to Mr. Hendricks which they had
eight years ago, but it is safe TO assume that
he has escaped his chief danger by the selec-
tion of st. Louis instead of Gin
cinnati as tho place of the Demo-
cratic National Convention. 1t is at
least certain that hostile Ohio influence will
not defeat him at St Louis. AS compromise
candidate between the hard-money de-
mocracy of the East and the soft-money de-
mocracy of the West, Mr.. Hendricks
chances do not suffer by the selection of st.
Louis as the place of the Democratic National
Convention. Such situation is, of course,
fatal TO Governor Tilden, who has no
strength in the West, but it does not close
the contest between Mr.. Hendricks and
other Western candidates. 1t decides moth
ing between Thurman and Hendricks oil
between Pendleton and Hendricks, although
it extinguishes all the chances of Governor
Tilden.
The great element of uncertainty respect
ing the action of the Democratic National
Convention grows out of the two-thirds
rule which has so long been the common