The New York herald., 1877-01-15
Tho Electoral Vote - o.sgon.

1t is SO common thing for cunning to
overreach itself and get ''hoist by its own
petard," that most men Of sound judgment
and all men of robust honesty prefer to at
tain their ends without descending to arti-
fice ways that are dark" do not suit the
genius Of republican institutions, and they
are apt to lead to 'tricks that are vain"
The methods of the heather Chinee will
not quite do in American politics, whether
practised on the Pacific coast or elsewhere.
The Cronin farce seems likely to have q
dash of tragedy, if there can be anything
tragic in the defeat ofpolitical expectations.
At best it was not a manGuvre for political
party to be proud of. It was an attempt to
take advantage of trivial technicality to
defeat the clearly expressed will of the peo-
pie of State The Presidential electors
are only automatons, a medium for express
ing the choice of the people for Presidential
candidates. In the late election citizens
neither thought nor cared what names were
on the electoral tickets they meant to vote
for Tilden or for Hayes. 1t is repugnant to
justice and fair play to strain doubtful legal
points with view to defeat the
manifest intention of the voters of q
State. A magnanimous party should
scorn such tricky advantage. A
candidate of high personal honor should
be incapable of encouraging or abetting
such trick, much more of instigating it
and giving direct aid to its perpetrators. If
this has been done-if the conclusion to
which recent evidence points is correct-it
is m irretrievable blurfder. This evidence
may, perhaps, be explained away, but it has
an ugly look until it is refuted.
In no event could the Oregon trick have
try would not have permitted Cronin's vote
for Tilden to be counted. A piece of sharp
practice, designed to subvert the. clear
will OF the people and the substantial
equities of politics, could never stand
against the public indignation when so
great prize as the Presidency was
staked upon it. The title of two of the
Hayes electors was undisputed. Those
two, being a majority, had right to organ
ize the Electoral College and fill vacancy.
They did organize and did fill the vacancy
caused by the ineligibility of Watts. The
three votes of that completed college ought
to be- and will be, counted tor Hayes
The new light thrown on the Cronin farce
by the testimony of Mr.. Jordan before the
Senate Committee on Privileges and Elec-
tions is too humiliating for belief Mr.
Jordan is cashier of the Third National
Bank in this city, of which Mr.. Tilden is a
director and stockholder to the amount
of sixty-eight thousand dollars. Mr.
Jordan testified that w. L. Pelton,
Governor Tildens nephew and con-
fidential agent, procured the noted eight
thousand dollar check, drawn in favor of
parties in Oregon, on the day preceding the
Cronin antics. Pelton has no money, and
his relations with Mr.. Tilden we're too init
mate for the latter to have been ignorant Of
that mysterious transaction. Thus the mat
ter stands exposed to inferences which are
too easily drawn. 1t is to be hoped that, in
spite of appearances, the innocence and
ignorance Of Mr.. Tilden may be satisfac-
torily established. The mysterious check
was never sent, and we trust it may be
shown that Pelton acted without instruc-
tionS and that rs soon as Mr.. Tilden dis
covered what had been done he interposed
prompt and absolute veto.