The Morning herald., 1876-01-28
FLAMES BLUNDER.

ELAINES BLUNDER.
That political thought which the recent
debates in Congress, on the Amnesty Bill,
had formed, has turned. First impress
s:ons are said to be generally bad ones, and
such remark is as applicable to politics,
as to any que.tion Of society Of society
phases. Such seems to be really the case
in regard to the recent scene-tearing i'm
nersona,ions of Mr.. Blaine in the House.
Henry Armill Brown in the last number
| of the Penn Monthly speaks Of Blaine and
his effort as follows, and it is valuable in
formation az it comes from a non partizan
pen and paper:
Perhaps he felt that he must out Morton
Morton az lie had out Granted Grant; and
as he took the wind out Of the latter's sails
on the school question, he must rob the
former of the bloody shirt. No one in Mr..
Blains's place acts upon impulse, and but
few. even after reflection, wisely. There
| is something in the White House fever
that stirs the blood and dims the eye, that
ties the tongues or wags it snwisely, that
makes the man either doubtful or limid or
full Of false and dangerous courage.
That Jeff Davis was to blame for many
things is true, and none hold him more
SHARPLY to account than do the Southerners
lor they attribute to him many of their
troubles. 1t may be true that he was in a
masure responsible for the awful atrocities
of Andsrsonville. 1t that case we should
have tried and punished him, as We did
the miserable wretch who paid for his
crime upon the gallows. But we have
never arraigned him for that crime, and
now, ten years after the war, it seems
neither magaanimous nor wise to single
out single man relegated to obscurity
and make martyr out Of him, in spite OF
fate and of himself. Davis is stronger in
the South to-day than he was on Monday
last, and through no act of his. And ii
does seem unpatriotic to open the Centen-
NAL year with discussions which must ne
cessarrily cause infinite psin and revive the
memory of old feuds.
Mr.. Blaine, Of course, had purpose in
what he did. And the rare luck which
follows at his bidding never left him in
this struggle. His opponents were moi
wise enough to throw sn him the onus o.
commencing the struggle, and by calm
and temperate behavior disprove his word.
and show his charges to be falae. For t
moment the Democratic leaders Nigh
have annihiated Mr.. Blaine. But, doubt
2 less, he knew them we'll. and had counted
all the risks. When Mr.. Hill, Of Georgia
got up Blaine's point was made. 1t ha
D been made at the expense Of good telling
it is true; it has destroyed the hope OF
which we had bnilt great things. II ha
broken down pretty fabric aad spoilt {
e pleasant harmony ithas planted doubt il
p many Northern mind and rage in man.
Southern heart 1t has driven the Dem
oeratic party one step backward in the di
e rection Of its past well-deserved defeats
and revivedin in some Republican hearts thu
t old war fervor. Newspapers which spok
e of Republicans and Democrats last week
). talk now of Union men and rebels, an
where quiet reigned upon the Potomac
!, on Monday last may be Leard tonigh
y the voices of angry men. 1t was
,s no donbt Mr.. Blaines well-laid rlal
j, to bring about just this state of things.
- was a deliberate move in 4 complicate
g and dangerous game. But it has not hat
" nor could it have under any circumstance
n tha personal or party effect for which il
c author did it; for it was the deed Of a pol
o tician in the narrow sense. The political
n is short-sighted, because selfshness is a
J. ways so, and the politician is Its incarn'
Il. ton. The statesman is far sighted, for
If looks beyond himself. The one acts ft
" himself, the other for the State; this for t
day, that for tomorrow and all the tim
H. The statesman would have seen that
g. our day the true history of the war CO
X. never be written-that all we can do is
-. gather the material that Congress is l
"' place in which to make history it '
We could; that discussions:like this would on
ly strengthen prejudice, revive party feelil
~ and embitter sectional hate, fixing Il
sverv stains we had hoped to wash ava
He would have set himself to accomplish
r. task which time and circumstance we
it making easy for him, and would ha
,r. sought to bind rather than to sever. 7
or politician could not see that what the pc
" pie want is peace aud uni
''e and that no transient I'll
al wonld change a national purpose fixed
'se good. To him it seemed easy to arou
lv again the old war spirit which, like t
=. spirit of liberty in Madame Rolan'
;" words, has so many crimes committed
70 it's name and that if it were aroused a
ns, awakened. the victory Of his party wou