Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1877-09-06
The Raby Act.

vote OF South Carolina, louisiana, and Flori-
da, bill providing for an Electoral Commits
sion was adopted by Congress, voted for by
nearly all the Democrats in that BODY and op-
posed by many prominent Repub ans, in.
cluding Senator Morton. 1t was adopted, be.
came law, and was generally acauiesced in
by the country. The decision of the commits.
sion was in faver of Hayes and Wheeler. The
commission was composed of strong men and
honorable men, but the final vote stood eight
Republicans TO seven Democrats. The Re-
pubiicans believed that the Democrats should
have voted with them, and the Democrats
pretended to believe that the Republicans
should have voted with them. However, a
perfectly legal decision was reached, and the
result was acquesced in by the country, and
especially by the Democrats of the Southern
States thai were in dispute
Now come the leaders of the Democratic
party, who being short of an issue, bring the
Presidential question to the front, and de-
nounce the result of their own action as fraud
This is weak, dishonorable, and contemplate,
anc will be so regarded by the country. In
one clanse of their platform the chief acts of
Hayes as President are indorsed, and in an
other the election of Hayes, confirmed by
their own plan, is denounced as fraud. This.
too, in the face of and with full knowledge of
the TACT that the most gigantic frauds upon
the ballot box, North and South, were COM
mitted in the interest of Samuel ]. Tilden.
and paid for with 1ilden's money. There is
lndisputable evidence of this, right here in
Cincinnati, where many of those who were
hired to perpetrate frauds were tried, con-
Victed, and are in the penitentiary. Many
more are at large who ought to be in prison.
A man can stand in Trinity Church steeple
and look into three States that were carried
for Tilden by fraud. In many of the South
ern States intimidation and murder prevented
a free election, and resulted in favor of Tilden.
The election in those States was a revolution.
With free and honest election HAYES and
Wheeler would haze had large majority of
the Electoral vote, and there weuId have been
no question as to their election. b., waving
their claim in this regard, the whole question
was referred to the Electoral Commission and
settled-fairly and honestly adjusted, and to
object to that settlement now is merely to
plead the baby act.
In Maine the Democrats nominated
candidate for Governor, and inserted the baby
howl in their platform. The candidate repu-
dated this and. accepted the nomination.
Now demand is made by unscrupulous
members of his party that he shall be with
drawn from the ticket, but the Democrats
who are with the Governor are far more nu-
merous than those who are opposed to him,
aud he sticks.
The Ohio democrats who think they can
make capital against the Republican party by
pleading the baby act will be disappointed.
Fair minded and intelligent Democrats will
repudiate the conduct of the leaders, as was
done by the Democratic candidate for Gov
ernor in Maine. d 1t will, therefore, do them
no good, 1t will do them, harm. s.,.s :
Furthermore, Hayes conduct as President
has given such general satisfaction; has given
peaeetol the country, which Tilden's election
could not have done, that in their platform
they were forced, to indorse his policy, and
were thus left without popular issue. In
Ohio they resolve in favor of paper money
convertible into coin, aud against resumption,
and on the stump they argue against resump-
ton and for more greenbacks Mr.. Pendle-
ton, who opposed greenbacks as unconstitu-
tional during the war, when they were issued
as war measure, now, in peace, wants more
of those unconstitutional greenbacks. When
gold went up like a kite, that was quoted
against the Republican party; now that gold
has gone down like STICK, that is quoted
against the Republican party. The fact is the
Democratic party is left without an issue, and
the leaders go about scratching sore heads,
pleading the baby act, and trying to turn up
something that will enable them to get into
power. They drop their lines loaded with all
kinds of bait, hoping to catch all kinds of fish,
but they have nothing out of which to con-
struct squrae, manly platform upon which
to rally their party. There is nothing in the
Democratic party itself to commend it to the
people, and it is destitute of both prestige and
principles. When a once great party is re-
duced to the necessity, or thinks 1t is, of
pleading the baby act; of depreciating the
value of the paper dollar, thus cheating every
man who has labor or products to sell, it
ought to lie down and die, in order that 1t
may be buried out of sight.-[Cin. Gag.