New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-03-15
THE LAST OF THE "1IDAL WAVE."

The tidal wave of 1874, which gave the Demo-
Gratis a majority in the lower House of Con-
grcss for the first time i'll twenty years and
inspritcd them with the hope of carrying the
country in the Presidential election, has alto
gether spent its force. Its ebb began very
early after the majority in the House entered
upon the enjoyment Of their new hOnOrs and
the discharge of their maccustomed duties
and responsibilities. That majority, brought
into existence not by any merits of the party
it represented, but solely by the laundering
ana weakness of its adverSarics, began almost
Immediately to lose the popular confidence it
held by so slight and precarOus tenure,
and to forfeit the small, consideration III
which it was held by the public which
a fair degree of wisdom and reasonable
exhibition of craftsmanship might have much
decpcned into faith and made permanent and
enduring The new men lost their heads with
thc first taste of power. The old spirit of the
old party revived with the first sign of reStor-
alton to the cmOlumcnts of Office and the pre-
negatives of power. Haste and impaliencc got
the better of cunning and tact and III the
caccrness for Office and hunger for spOils the
selfish designs and sinister purposes OF the
sham reformcrs were disclosed almost before
they had time to throw aside the banners and
diSglIfscs under which the victory was won to
rush in unincumbcred to a division of its fruits.
The tidal wave touched its highest point with
the counting of the votes that gave the Dem
ocrats the control of the last House of Repre-
sentatives. 1t has never thrown much MS
drop of spray above that notch, but has ever
since been slowly and surely receding.
TIE TRIBUNE very early pointed out the
likelihood of just such collapse OF Democratic
hopes and prospects. The innate perverseness
of the party had been so often shown i'll Its
utter incapacty to learn from events or profit
by experience, and its few competent leaders
had so little influence and were so little
trusted while the more active and less able
had shown such genius for misleading, mis-
managing, and undOlng, that ordinary sagaclty
could easily forecast the effect OF temporary
successes and from the beginning predict the
end of what was exultingly proclaimed " the
great reaction" Their majority in the House
WAS so large as to give them what the old
odage calls "rope enough" and they used it,
in the ploverbIal fashion of such people, for
their own hanging. 1t is TO themselves that
rbcv owe the break of the wave and turn of
majority in the last Congress has tunbled down
10 tbyce, and those not certain. The people
tried to trust them. but they wouldn't be
trusted. So their bright little dream is over.
The nomination of Tllden, who, in his admin
Istra,ior as Governor, had astonishcd 10 one
more than his own party by the genuneness
of his reforms and the ability and zeal with
which he prosecuted them, really glim-
mcr of something like intelligent direction,
though probably not one Democrat in "A hun
dred calls it now anything but blundcr. 1t
WAS in fact a very shrewd piece of manage
mcnt. 1t kept up in some degree the pretense
Of reform and saved thousands of votes for the
marty. But between him and his managers
and committees and bureaus of one kind and
anoshcr the lurking evil genius of the party
came out, the thin disguiSes and ingenious
shifts failed of their object, and the whole
scheme for restoring Democratic ascendency
came 10 naught. The. could have carried the
country in 1874. There was popular revul-
sion from the Administration at that time, i'll
which they would have been taken upon trust,
in the belief that any change would be an I'M
provement They did carry one branch of
Congress, and soon showed that belief TO be "A
deusiOn.
And now the tidal wave has broken on the
beach 1t brought grand opportunity to a
desperate party to recover power, and it was
wasted. We shall have no more Of it, There