New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-02-08
MIR. FIELD as AN ANNOTATIoM.

MR. FIELD AS an ANNOTATION.
The presence of Mr.. David Dudley Field in
Congress answers it must be confessed, one
good purpose at least. lie annotates IN very
curious and not altogether Improbable way
the page of history which belongs to the present
Democratic Congress. He may not be able 10
do ANYTHING for his client, MIR. linden he mas
been thus far, we think, rather dlsappoint-
ment to the party leaders, and has lhJureu
more than aided their cause by the large per-
vasivepess of his manner, his overcoming
not to saw ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, his overcome
;unnressiyeness and the amazing frlsklness
with which he has bounced about from
Congress to committee, committee 10
court. and from one committee to another.
He certainly has not helped HIS
client or his party, or improved MS own
reputation. Still, he has served and serves
purpose. The annexation which ne makes on
fine mage of current history is this:-that the
Democratic party, returning to partial pohticai
ascendency after having been sixteen years III
a minority, found itself so reduced III lnteiil-
gence and capacity and intellectual force,
that after one session of such blundering ana
laundering as was never known before, 1t had
TO call in an attorney from the outside ana
nut lis whole case in his hands.
Not only did Mr.. Field himself at once as
sumo the position Of leading counsel ana take
upon his own shoulders the responsibility for
the whole case, but all the rest stood back ana
LET him 90 to the front without question. III
there WAS an easy self-cOmplaCency IN the be-
bavior OF Mr. Field there was just as m'lch
q confession of incompetence and failure on
The part of the Democrats of prominence who
were supposed to be leaders. If the saltations
of the new member from one committec-room
to another, and back and forth between cham
Der and court and committee, were amusing,
the modcsty aud humility of his party assO-
ciates were edifying in the extreme; II
his fuency as chief bulldOzer in the exam
nation of witnesses commanded our interest
and attention, tho respectful silence OF MS
colleagues on the committee no less deserved
approciative notice. If he knew his place anu
his business, 10 less did they know theirs. so
we say the appearance of Mr.. Field IN the
second session of Congress whose hist was
record of nothing but dismal failures and dis
astrous blundcrs; his assumption OF the seat
and the duties of leading counsel, and the con-
cession of that position 90 him by the would
be leaders of the first session; his activity
in the management and their virtual with
drawal therefrom all go to show, first, that
the party is poor in leaders and bankrupt III
governing capacity second, that MI. Iiidcn
knows it and has employed an attorney; third,
that the leaders admit the fact. and submit to
have the management of the case taken from
them; and fourth, that Mr.. Field has great
confidence in himself These are his annota-
tons, and they are not without value
The employment of an attorney by Pfesi-
dential candidate, though quite unusual, can
hardly DO wondered at under the circumstances.
Probably 10 other candidate would have
adopted such course of procedure, but 1t
must be remembered that Mr.. Tilden has been
rather q phenomenal candidate. He engineered
his own nomination with great skill, and con-
Quoted his own canvass, if not always in a be-
coming, at any rate in very energetic and
industrious manner, so much 30 as to merit
the description given by competent au-
thority as seeking with uncommon
anxiety" And if Mr. Tilden had little con-
fdence in the ability of his party managers
to conduct a campaign, he had less In the
capacity Of its representatives in Congress to
manage his case in disputed election. There
was good reason for this. as every one knows
who il at all familiar with the record of the
last session of this Congress. Mr.. Tiden was
too wise to intrust his cause to the men who
had made such melancholy failure in legis-
lati0n, and come so near making utter ship
wreck of the fortunes of the party. 1t was
not at all strange that with his peculiar no
tons of political proprcty, he should send
an attorney to Congress to take charge
of his case Nor was it strange
that he selected for the position u
lawyer who had already had large
experience in connection with the business OF
another Democratic statesman. and had become
familiar with Democratic methods and prac-
tees. That the aspilants TO Leadership already
in Congress should so willingly consent to he
supplanted aud so mOdestly stand back for the
new member is not so easily accounted for.
1t certainly looks as though they were them
selves conscious of their previous failures and
their inability to manage an affair OF such i'm
portance. Such modesty seems incredible, but
it is the only explanation we can suggest. 1t
remains to he seen whether Mr.. Tilden has
not after all repeated his own mistake in en-
ploying an attorney whose zeal has 80 much
the appearance of "uncOmInOn anxiety"