The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-07-22
DEMOCRATIC REFORM TICKET.
THE CANDIDATE OF REAL RE-
FORM.
why we Support Tilden and Prefer the
Democratic Platform,
FROM he Nation-a Republican paper.

From The NdtioR-a Republican paper.
As regards Mr.. Tiden himself, when
the questions before the country are the
reform Of the administration, Of the cur
rency, and of the system Of taxation, and |
the restoration of the supremacy of the law
oyer all officers Of the government, there |
would. if he were not the nominee of the |
Democratic party, and had not been one
of its leaders since 1860, be in our minds |
little difficulty in deciding that he is the |
man for the presidency. Of his ability to |
fight the prevailing forms Of corruption, |
OF his courage aud determination in doing |
it, even when the offenders arc men of
his own political faith, he has given an
excellent example in the governorship of
New York. That he is fully master of
the currency question, and is consum-
mate man Of business, and lawyer of no
ordinary talent, and especially that sort of
talent which shows itself best in dealing
with the knotty and intricate problems of
affairs, are things well known to all who
are at ali familiar with his character or
career.
The belief which has widely prevailed
that he would, in any political place of
great power or profit, be surrounded by
the worst element Of the Democratic party,
seems to have been sufficiently refuted
by the fact that this element is nowhere
so strong as in his own state and that
there, nevertheless, he has not hesitated
to engage in bitter warfare with it, and to
incur its unrelenting hostility. Its adher-
ence will probably never be so valuable
to him again as it would have been at St.
Louis, and there, nevertheless, it was ar
rayed against him. In short, conceding
that a man may work for the presidential
nomination for himself, nothing can well
be more honorable than the means by
which Mr.. Tilden has secured it. He has
been, in the position which lie now fills,
the resolute pursuer of the rings by which
the knaves of both parties have made for
tunes out of the canals; he has been the
firm supporter of hard money in the teeth
of the inhationist views Of u large proper
ton of the Democratic party; and he has
sought neither favor nor accommodating
from the New \ ork faction which has
brought so much discredlt on the party
Finally, he has brought the party to speak
out boldly, even if obscurely, in its plat
form in favor of specie payments and civil
service reform, and to nominate its ablest
and least Objectionable candidate. These
are not services TO himself or his party
simply; they are services to the whole
country, Whether Mr. Tilden be elected
or not, we are indebted to him for having
raised politics to a higher level, and for
having wiped out. as far as it can be wiped
out by mere utterance, the national re-
proach that party containing nearly halt
the voters was ayowedly given over to OBJ.
struction and mischief, aud occupied itself
solely with lameDting the irretrieyable auC
proposing the inpracticable.
As regards the platform, we feel bouuC
to say that it seems to us greatly superior
to that drawn up at Cincinnati. In fact
to Us, who believe that the great curses o
the politics of the day are cant and insin
cerity, aud lis great needs honesty ant
directness in speech and action, it is diff
cult to avoid placing the Democratic con
vention, judged by its speech and action
on a higher moral plane altogether thar
the Republican We say this while recoG
niziug fully the higher average o! charag
ter of the latter, and while Acknowledged!
that the platform, being prepared by
small knot Of men and adopted without, O
with but little discussion, cannot be surel.
taken to express even the average opinion
of any convention. But it must be al
mitted that the small knot which prepare
the platform at St. Louis had apparent
more sharply defined convictions abol
public questions, and deeper appreciate
of the needs Of the hour than the sma
knot which prepared the platform at Gin
cinnati.
We, for our part, consider the Demt
cratic declaration in favor of civil-serviC
reform, while as full as that Of the Repu'
l., l., l
which is out Of Office, and which has no
like the Republican party, made one sue
declaration already, and then, with ii
means Of carrying it into execution in i
hands, not only falsifed it. but throug
its leading men ridiculcd it. As regard
the demand in the St. Louis platform f
the repeal of the Resumption act, "
think it cannot be too severely cOndemne
even when coupled with a promise to r
turn to specie payment by some other pre-
cess; but this demand, Objectionable as
is, has nevertheless an honest ring about
compared with the deliberate evasion /
the Cincinnati convention of any mentio
Of the act at ALI when it was known to
the object OF much attack, and was put
the statute book by the Republican par
itself So, also, we all say frankly that,
these days OF deceit and regeneration. v
think an outspoken anti Monaghan plan
such as the Democrats have produced,
u better evidence Of a generally sour
moral condition than the evasiye utteran
by which the Republican party, with i
devotion to equal rights, has sought
produce the impression, while promisir
nothing that it thought Monaghan imm
grafton injurious to the state, and wou
do something TO stOD IT.
And, unless platforms are to be acceptt
as uumeanilg bits of verbiage, to whic
we trust the people will never agree, v
must contrast, to the heavy disadvantaI
of the Republicans, their Endorsement
the present scandalous administration
Gen. Grant with the Indictment of it pr
scented by the Democrats Whatever
the character or antecedents Of the Dem
Gratis, and however unlikely they may
TO do better themselves, what they say
Gen. Grants administration is true. or q
language which honest men ought to US
while what the Republicans say of it
false, and lays anybody who says il, ho'
ever pure or respectable, open &c just al
grave suspicion. In short, it is not unfs
TO hold that any party which openly a
&c, I.. L., 80 Vra - Sc