Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1876-11-15
NeuLeli Phillips: on the Political
Situation.
From the Boston Herald.

Situation.
IFrcm the Boston Herald
81 advise 20 one who is Interested in the
Presidential election" SAID Wendell Phillips
last night, to an audience Of about loo 10
Parker Memorial Hall. '"to feel certain who is
to ae the next Presiicn, OF the United States
unit, we reach the 4th day of March. do not
lhuk that there s any certainty whatever who
will succeed Graut 10 that seat until the lst
day of Marca. NJ matter what the papers
may sly this moUttt or mex month decision
Will not he reached certainly before the middle
OF February with auythlas Of character man
can rust. !nrre are various reasons for this,
aud IL i DOT necessary for NE to consider them.
u tuluk il Mr. rii,lcn should really be Pres
id.ut o.! the y ,ited States next year the
sources that he ought To thank Tor his eleva.
l;ou to that post are the Boston aud New lulk
rub'ie journals. They have elected hIm they
ar. the aids that have made it possible Tor the
democratic parry, iu an hour so perlous as IS
,hs, to reverse the aatural order Ut thugs and
yalu a victory at time Wheu the war itself
gives a,nple experience aud example for say
lug that the party that carried US through
tic var had the right to the helm Ill we
were we'll GU. of It. Republican jourOa ism 10
tie Northern States has been crcdu!ous to the
extls,nes extent iu believing every piece Of
gossip that could be started sgairs its owu
lrad,r r.. There l. no city here where anything
dalnaglng t. the parry would uot circulate
with electric wnss Ia this way they touled
their own sails, i struyed then leadership, and
broke the cohesive elements OF the party
The speaker hen reviewed the opposition o.
- b., nf he Spp "a
ali how 10 jouroal 10 Boslou, republican "
otherwise, gave him Que line OF recognition,
Que cordial word Of marks. Nay, the ma jorlty
OF th. juuroals III EaSterl Massachusetts de-
rlded E.u. as IA boy and told hln 10 come home;
that he mi,represeutcd Massachusetts. About
the lst OF September, the speaker said, when
the republican, journals found the danger which
has now burst upon them, lu all It's magnitude
staring them u the iace, casting about for
inGaus Of defence, hey stole the thurder OF
the Massachusetts Senator. Mr.. Phillips ar
gu"d that it would not have bcen possible to
rally the North for Hayes but TOR this vital Is
sue; the party had worn Itself out 10 Interest to
IT,, but this question touched the chords 10 the
hearts Of the people Of the North. Abiding to
the various poii ical mistakes the republican
party tolerated, he said Que was the uolverssl
rieh: of botiug when any man had au attack
OF Indigestion. But for the single issue that
he'd the parry together 1t would have been 10
thl, contest little better than u mob underak.
Ing % meet regular troupS--ou the one maud,
the dlsUrgonzed, disiutegrsted demoraIlzed ell
emeut of the republican training school; on
the other, the determined, we'll drilled, we'll
ted aud well otfic red troops that signify The
democratic party. The republican party just
touches success aud uothiug more. The lead
cr, deserve none; they never laid down meth
cd Or corner stone that had in 1t any power
10 carry the eeuntry. Among these leaders he
excepted B'au, Butler Boutwell, and Morton.
Incy, he claimed, were alWayslD the trout rank
OF the party.
They saw the dangers meuacingit. They knew
what was needed to bolster 1t up, but they
could not ACCOM- plish everything. TO my mind,
contiuucd Mr. Phillips the point of departure
10 the republican rauks is very evident. The
sam, issue g going on to-day that went on ID
1880 aud 1854 in the Whig ranks. Ii is Il
same method by which Providence always re-
places ore party with another. Describing the
tail Of the wing party and the causes that led
t. il, he proceeded to draw parallel between
II aud the republican parry. 1t has put sIaV-
cry uud +, he said; ii has disiDtegrated the
South; II has given you the uatou as 1t stands
to day TO great cxta0t, and 10 large measure
It's work is done. Representing the uDtamaole
SPIRIT OF I'll" South, despite ITS thrashlug ana
the ImpnssibiI!ty Of compelling it to change It's
ideas, he compared its growth to our own, and
showed our Ut cessarlly similar material charac
trr,>tlcs. AS Il uatluu we are urn anu unylela
lus. We pride ourselves upon our strength OF
viii aud tcuaci,y of convection The South
las, 10 a measure, dereoped IN this respect
the samc ideas ttat We have Do you sup
pose, he asked, the Saxon bocd OF the South
had It's uotia;,s beaten out OF II by Gettysburg
or Aopoma,;ux? Suppose Lee had pressed
Grant back TO tn lakes, and instead OF Apo
maltVx tGc fiuaI defeat had been at Cleveland,
aud our boy. 10 blue hal been parolled 10 Co.
lumbu>, aud the Confederate flag d lated over
Washington, would we have taken down Bunk
er tllll Monument? Would Massachusetts
have Acknowledged slavery and graded clVill-
2suon? NJ! True is the spirit OF our en-
blcm-
Inl. flag shall msrk where or 1t II ats
An islAhd CT the free.
Just as they arc We should have been. South
Carolua is just as determined, just as az
srrSslve, as we could have been.
The South has 10 BUSINESS the people nave
bccu bred Up TO uo,biag but idleness. They
have but one trade, QUE profession, and that IS
politics. lu this they are expert, Keen, auroie'
as we know lrom cur dealings with them
Fran politics the Southeruer hopes 70 fecarve
his >tmtuue. lie will agitate this question. We
are ag!tating il. Few OF you Will ever i've TO
See II >rtil,d. 1t may not be as prominent
hereafter is II is DOW, nut It will remaln as tue
Cavalier aud Rouud Head iS> u did III England,
a "e different parties did iu France; II Will re.
man, Win more or less strength, TO trouole
every other issue till after the present geaera-
ton Is iu Its grave. Ii is the FIRST element thai
pr,>cuts i,sa!t to the republican parry standing
whore the whig party did 10 1850. There have
been no calculations for MIR. r.Iden's success
except as berianng at a solid South; that II