Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-07-15
TILDEN AS THE REFORM CANDI-
DATE.
[chicago Times, independently


Judge Cation, in his ratification
speech at Ottawa, struck the keynote
of this campaign in his remark that
the Republican party had openly re-
jected its only reform candidate, Bris-
tow, while the Democratic party had
as obviously taken the opposite course.
Having its choice between reform and
mediocrity, the Republican party at
Cincinnati voluntarily chose mediocri-
ty. 1t nominated Hayes and Wheeler,
as the early sheriffs in England return
ed John Doe and Richard Roe as nom-
inal bail upon all their writs, since it
did not matter who was returned so
long as the return was regular in form.
Were it not that Illinois had enjoyed
the presidency for twenty years, the
nominee might as we'll have been Gov.
Beveridge as Gov. Hayes. There are
five hundred ex-governors, two thou
sand x-congressmen. and upward of
three thousand brigadiers, as we'll fit
ted for the presidency in everything
except the possession Of a beautiful
and fascinating wife. as Gov. Ruther-
ford B. Hayes, or Hayes b. Ruther-
ford, whichever his name may be, of
Ohio. There is barely enough of this
ticket to address letter to, but not
enough to ratify. 1t would require a
revival of idiocy to bring the public
mind to its contemplation. 1t COR
responds to the Mathematician 3 de-
fnition of a point, something which
has neither dimensions nor density,
but position only. As nature abhors
a vacuum, SO does the popular mind
detest the utter vacuity and inexpress-
iveuess of the shibboleith Hayes and
! Wheeler" No songs can be sung
about them. No speeches can be made
in behalf of them. Not even an
anecdote anywhere exists Of either OF
them. They are too vapid and inane.
Fremont was the Rocky Mountain
Pathfinder Lincoln was Honest
Old Abe, the Rail-splitter :" Andrew
johnson was the Heroic Southern
Unlonist," and Grant was '"The Man
on Horseback" and "The Great Re-
bellion Crusher," but who the devil is
Hayes or Wheeler, says the average
profane Republican. 'Let me see,
what did Hayes do ?" inquiries the be-
wildered Republican orator, who is
called upon to ''ratify" Hayes. He
was obscure in the army, obscure at
the bar, obscure in Congress, obscure
as a governor, and in the convention
he was ''the dark horse" whose OBJ.
security won him the nomination. One
asserts that he voted for the salary.
grab, and then denies it. One, that ht
is Methodist; another, that he is 8
Presbyterian and then perhaps thai
he is an ascidian; and another that be
is a protoplasm. One description
serves as well as another-in the dark
No outlines are essential when the
subject of a picture is a niger in {
dark cellar looking for black cat. As
a soldier, what were his deeds of hero
ism? What battles, sieges, fortunes
has he past? As lawyer, with what
causas ceLe6res has he been identlhedl
AS statesman, to what single thought
has he given utterance, or to what
measure has he impaired so much as
the momentum of leaf driven By the
wind. It is as if the Republican con.
yeptiou had nominated, For the pre-
sidency, Memo For the vice pres.
idency, NihiJF'
Haves is a cipher. His value de
pends ON what you put in front Of him
Just now he is prefaced by a Repub
lican nomination for. the presidency
Therefore, 'rah for cipher"
In this state of things, the so-calleC
enthusiasm" of Republican news
papers (for the party has not yetspoken
has degenerated into what Carlyle call
"entoosymoosy." The tears OF tn
hired mourners at funeral are spon
taneous and sincere compared with th'
drowsy joke, 'rah for Hayes"
The candidacy of Tilden and Hen
dricks, on the other hand, has been re
ceived throughout the lard by the NOR
rejecting class with the feeling that
] is the most popular that could hav
: been made. The manner in which
is ratified indicates that it better re