Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-09-28

politics since the beginning OF this century
He has had the hardest position for begin
ming reform, perhaps. which there Is IN TN
Union. he has made the only. positive ant
successful steps toward it, at the risk OF hi
own political fortunes, which l know OF II
the country. Thu newspaper exposures o.
the Tweed Ring would have made no more
impression on that body than the patterlns
of rain on the hide Of rhinoceros, n thu
members of the Ring would to-day have
been Haunting their stolen wealth in the
face of the public, if Mr.. Tilden had not re-
duced their guilt to an arithmetical demon
stration, available in a court OF law. The
Canal Ring fight is known to every body.
l have in mind, however, not only these
.srefOrm' efforts, but also admlnlstrativ
reform. I will take a single case which
fioated in a paragraph through the newspa
pers, o~ccasiOning, so far as l ever saw, very
little attention, but which had an immense
effect on my mind, and which l have often
urged in private conversation.
1t was stated that the politicians OF the
southern tier of counties of New York were
bitterly hostile to Gov. Tilden. The reasons
were given, two in number: 1. Mr.. lid
had refused to remove the Republican Su-
p~erintendent of the Asylum at Elmira in or
der to appoint a Democrat. 2. Mr.. T1lden
had removed, for cause, the Corporation
Counsel Of Elmira, who was a Democrat,
although the Common Council Of that city
was Republican, and could elect a Republic
can successor. These were good grounds
for the opposition Of the politicians but
they were an imperative demand on me, il
I was an ''independent,' and meant what
1 had been talking about for years, to give
him my full, hearty and efficient support If
it ever came in my way.
That Mr.. Tilden is politician enough to
be available is only an advantage, since we
can not get
AN ANGEL WITH A FLAMING SWORD,
and l think that we Independents have cast
worse reproach upon ourselves than our
most sarcastic critics, since we have failed
to seize upon a chance which offered itself
to our demand, and have chosen to trust in
agrOundless faith and a hope for which we
can not give a reason. In this latter light /
must be allowed, without ~Offense, to regard
the support of Gov. Hayes.
| received a letter a while ago from a
friend of Gov. Hayes, who declared that
Gov. Hayes was a very modest man, whose
modesty prevented him from accepting the
United States Senatorship. l quote 1t as an
instance OF what seems to me wrong reas-
oning on these matters. II Gov. Hayes is
such a man as is now claimed, it seems to
me he is just the man we have sadly needed
in the Senate for the last few years, and, if
he refused to go, he turned his back on the
call of public duty. / do not deny his right
to refuse, although in general l hold it
sound doctrine that a man of good health
and Independent fortune ought to serve the
State when duly and honorably selected; but
If Mr.. Hayes was ever to be a candidate for
the Presidency, he ought to have pursued a
public career in the subordinate places
which opened TO him; he ought to have al
us to see him in those places, and he
OUGHT TO HAVE MADE A RECORD
on which we could form a judgment to-day,
and not be thrown on the say-so of his
friends. If he is to be elected, / shall GER
tainly not prejudice him, nor allow any
prejudice to rise in my mind; but when /
look back on former cases in whichthe cam
paign enthusiasm has surrounded an I'M
tried man with a halo which has subse-
quently faded into something worse thar
obscurity, my imagination refuses to act.
Another point in this canvass which very
deeply interests me is the
CONDITION AND FUTURE OF THU SOUTH.
campaign seems to be turning more and
more to that issue after all, and it seems to
be found hat distrust of rebels and the old
war spirit are still so strong as to be the best
available campaign capital. Ii that is to be
so, then L must take sides against any
further administration Of the affairs of the
South by the North acting through the Gen.
eral Government. l have had occasion
within a year to review the whole history Of
reconstruction. The effect upon nv mind
has been shame and blame to myself for the
share which l, as a Republican, have had
II ucIpIHS W Dullu up the WORST legislation
Df the nineteenth century. | have been
to realize by what successive stages
We have built up here a system of restrictive
md c%Oercive legislation which very few
Republicans know in even its
)roadest features, and | can only recognize
n disorder, riot, mlsrule. irresponsible
official tyranny, industrial loss, the results
which have followed everywhere in history
cOercive legislation enacted by one
against another. The Republic
an candidate for the Vice-Presidencv de-
'oted his letter OF acceptance almost eXclu-
lvety to the Southern question. He be-
leNes that the Southern States are not civ
llZed up to the tanda of the Northern
'tates, and he wants to bring them up.
gree with him that they are on a lower
but L submit that it is not his BUSH
.ess nor ours to clvilize them by any po-
Itlcai measures.
L therefore desire now, as regards this
ohtlcal question, that the South be left to
'ork out its own social problems under no
rDltrary political coercion, but simply ur-
er the constraint of social and economic
)rces.
Finally, in regard to another matter which !
nave very much at heart, but which is !
afdly an active issue in the campaipn. |
'hatever hope there is for free trade lies in j
he election of Tiiden. ,
Ii, then, a decision is forced upon me I
IMPLY Judge, on all the information l pos
-, 'H"o Ni' Afsucu HAS llUT6 knOWleupe.
nifty, skill, ant1w will do what Twant so See
me in politics, than Mr.. Hayes. Never
'eless, L am not called upon to bind or I
edge myself in any way, and I hold myself s
ee to take any course which NAV, upon
rtner FORMATION or reflection, seem best. {
owever the election may result, L shall he I
llded in my relations to the next Admin =
Lration entirely by the performances i'm re- g
I'd to the matters l nave here discussed. F
W. G. SUMNER.
NEW HAVEN, Sept. II, 1876.