New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-06-24
Especial Correspondence Of the Republican
NORTHERN POLITICs.
''Watchman, Toll Us Of the Niah,v
BOSTON. Jnne ~ 1875

.'Watchman, Toll Us Of the Nisht.y
BosroN. June IL, 1876.
the nomination of Governor Hava. a,
Ohio, as the presidential standard bearer o,
the national Republican party in the prea;
Dental contest of 1876 develops the Pro.
testant issue as the one on which the elec.
ton will necessarily turn at the West-l
ssy the "West" especially, for the West !,
the battle aeld where the present political
fight is to be fought out. We may deplore
this fact, but the fact remains, Just as the
fact remains that New England is a land
where Protestant church stands on eve.v
bill, where common school is in eyerv
valley. and where newspaper press EXISTS
in each village. As the New England folk
say, Thus may We stand for all time.v So
do they desire also that the West NAV stand
with them and as they do, and. depend on
il. the West will so stand.
The readers of the REPUBLICAN viii, 70.
member the statements made in this cores
pondsnce during the contest in Ohio last fall
in regard to the influence which then chang.
ed the result from Republican defeat to
Republican victory. The correctness of this
view was confirmed By Wendell Phillips
during an interview held with the "silyer
tongued orator" not long since. Mr.. Phil
lips informed me at that interview that
Governor Hayes himself attributed his cleo
ton last fall to the Protestant issue. It
appears that the Republicans were beaten
in Ohio by twenty Thousand msjority ON
the financial question six weeks before the
election" "The labor needed to turn the
tide said Mr.. Phillips. "shows the power
Of the greenback issue, because nothing
but the Protestant issue could have pro.
duced the change" The Importance of
this admission of PHILIPPE An not be over.
estimated in forecasring the result of tho
approaching election, because Mr.. Phillips
hmself is in personal sympathy with the
Catholic party in many important issues.
He is slso "greenbsck" man. Bu. he ad.
mitted to your correspondent that the vital
Republican issues involved in the status
constrain his (Phillips1 vote notwithatand-
ing his strong greenback views. Now,
when We remember that the Republican
party is in it last analysis the political
expression of the Protestant faith Of Amer
lea, and that the anti-slAvery sentiment
of the North forms part of this same
Protestant faith, we can fully understand
the tremendous power which was brought
ITO bear in favor of Hayes last fall in Ohio,
and the significant augmentation of that
power as it has now eliminated IN his
nomination at Cincinnati as the chosen
presidential leader for 1876 of tho great
anti-slavery Protestant Republican party
of the New World. In the press of news
snd other matter upon your columns, you
may not have found place for two letters
written recently to the REPUBLICAN,, in
which analyzed the makeup Of the Repub-
Iean party, ON the one hand, and the Con-
tsdera.e- Democracy on the other. In that
analysis it was shown that if the Confeder-
ste elements and the Catholic elements
we're extracted from the so-called Demo
cratic party, nothing would remain. 1t
was also shown, per contra, that if the
Protestant elements and the anti-slavery
elements were extracted from the Repub
lican part ;, nothing would remain. Hence
We may rely with safety on the sure as
sumption that the Confederate Catholic
Democratic coalition will now encounter,
in every town and county and district of
every Northern State the Protestant anti.
slavery alliance which the nomination of
Hayes has inaugur rated, and of which his
nomination is the Outgrowtb. The Gig
nifcance and power OF this ALI
snce can not be over estimated. 1t
renders utterly futile any attempt on
the part of the opposition to raise the
greenback issue in the West as controll'
ing issue in this contest. Now, as in the
Ohio election of last fall, the ''greater will
absorb the lesser" The Protestant issue
in alliance with the anti-slavery sentiment
will now, or it did then, absorb all other
hsues.
The policy which the Republican party
will pursue under these circumstances is
clear 1t will consist in thro wing the whole
weight of the Republican forces on this one
weak point of their enemy's line OF battle.
The Republican party, as it stands TO- day,
is in admirable condition for doing this.
1t is well organized. Hayes nomination is
accepted by every shade of opinion in the
party We are in possession. Blaine has,
u the great "whipper-in" of the party,
aroused it to the fighting point. and he will
continue in the fight. 1t only remains Tor
the Republicans to assume the Offensive
and attack without reserve the Confederate
Catholic Democratic coalition, as such, TO
tho annihilation of that c0all-
ton. The American people are Protest-
ant to the core, and while they love
civil and religious liberty, and would not
deuy to the Catholic or even the monarch
ist the right of private opinion knder tne
dar, nevertheless the people feel chat
America is, after all, Protestant, and tnat
the foundation of the free institutions OF
the nation is laid in the distinctively Protest
INT character of those institutions.
To show how the West feels on the issues
Of the approaching conflict. / reproduce the
speech made by Ex-Governor Howard, OF
Michigan, on the first day of the organiza-
hon Of the late Republican convention. As
Governor Hayes owes his nomination chiefly
% the Michigan delegation to that conven'
ion, and to Governor Howard as its leader
md spokesman, the speech OF the North
vest anti-slavery leader referred to pos