New-York tribune., 1877-10-13
TIE CAUSES OF DEFEAT.


THE CAUSES OF DEFEAT
GENERAL GARFnLD's VIEW, BLUNDER BY JUDGE
wEST-:HE LABOR vo1E-THE CIVIL SERVICE
oEDER-MR. hay s's INDEP. NDENcE
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUSE.l
WAsHIN GToN, Oct 12.-General Garfield. who
arrived here this morning gives a very clear state
ment of the causes which brought about the Repub-
lican defeat IN Ohio. Judge Vests unfortunate
speech at Cleveland in opening the canvass, lost
votes to the party, he thinks, especially in the
strong Republican counties where men knew that
they could stay away from the polls without
endangerng the of their local tickets. Some
of the most intelligent and influential Republicans
deliberately rebuked Mr.. West by Withholding their
votes from him. They believed that the Com
muuistic purpose displayed in the strikes and
riots of last Summer have revealed deadly
peril TO the peace of the country and the
security of its institutions and they were not will
ing to ndorse "A who even in a single word or
phrase should give encouragement to a movement
dangerous and pernicous. This class felt rather
apathet,c before the nominations were made A; and
after Mr.. Vests speech they became utterly in-
different to the result of the State canvass.
Judge Vest made a splendid canvass, but could
not entirely recover from the effects of his first
speech.
General Garfield estimates that the Workngmcn's
movement drew eighty per cent of its strength from
the Republican party. 1t broke out in spots like
blIsters here and there and its disastrous effect on
the Republican vote was plainly seen wherever 1t
developed us,f. Lucas County, an old Republican
stronghold, was actually carried by it, and 1t threw
Hamilton County into the hands of the Democracy.
Ii coaosced with the Greenback faction and gath
cred in all the Republicans who have been Infected
by the soft money lunacy and the Labor CITATION
..f & ia, ,lf,at, iDfa and
~ many leading Republicans think. one in ltseIf
sufficient TO account for the whole atfIr, the
Presidents order to office holders. IL greatly dam
aged the party orIan zation. Tuere are nearly
, 900 post-nasters in Ohio, and almost every one of
them had either been a member Of the local com
mlttee IN ms town or had been accustomed as It's
factotum, 10 distribute documents, call meet
n.s, confer with the active politicians
auI in a general way to keep oversight Of the
canvass. AL OF the post-ruas crs annoyed and
a,fcd at the Order, aud some Oi them were angry
It mad them subj of unpleasant talk IN their
communities They were spoken OF as having
lost some Of the rights of American citizens, and as
being under the orders OF a tstar Where post
master himself kept quiet there was pretty sure to
bo some active. talking man to make noise about
the order. and TO create feeling among the
po,tmastcr's friends Tuus the party not only lost
the valuable campaign services of a large boly of
intelligent mcn who had been to TIE party like the
company officers To an army, but the conviction That
the order was not just aud usLt kept many voters
from tnc polls This especially the ease IN tine
rural districts where the abuses arising from the
interference of Fe leral ofce-holders IN caucuses
AMI conventions have never been experienced.
II stility to the Presidents S)utIern policy un-
doubtedly caused tho loss Of thousands Of votes,
General Garfield thinks but he says there many
60 q af.l.r non from
the polls by their lce.ng on this question:
who would have said nothing about it had
the party carried the State. Leading opponents
of the policy Ike b mi lnln WI L., y)tel AM ursel
others 10 vote, anl tha mel OF tlclr way OF thlk-
ing who stayed at homo on election day had usually
other causes for their apathy. There was general
feeling that President Hiye' was not connecting
the reconciliation pDry wtl the * 'pIDo tn party,
As he ought To do Ills tour IN the South did the party
some good and sons harm. His speeches were read
as with microscope, and many Republicans thought
they SAW in them Inlcatlon that the President
wanted it unler.tool tuat he Is going ahead in the
path of plcfcation on his account
hoping that his party at his buck, but rather IN
different as to whether it Jagged behind or not.
Men Of this class felt that the Pres dent should have
held ont the olive branch the South the repre-
sentative Of the great Repaid lean party of tine
North which IL as generous 10 IL just, and should
all the while nave spoken of himself a. the chosen
AGENT of his party elected upon platform pledged
to reconciliation.
General Garfield says that the Democratic party
gllued no acce5sOns IN the OHIO canvass. II was
injured less by the general apathy than the Repub
licau party and less by the side party movements,
and no special causes OF dscontent were in ITS ranks
and il was thereto able to poll pretty full vote.
A. TO the result sgnifying the approaching $50
luton OF the Republican organization, Gen. Gar
field laughs at such notion In hls political cx-
perence he has seen Democratic majority IN Ohio
one year of 300, and Republican majority the
very next year of 100000. Nobody who under
stands Ohi9 politics will pretend that the result
his Fall puts the State in the Democratic
line Next year when Congressmen aud Governor
are elected it may swing back again 10 the Re
uubcan side with even more momentum than
il has now gone in the opposite direction
I'm giving these causes Of the defeat IN
OHIO. the General has undertaken to group
the reasons ~ gwen bv different cI,s.s of Repubh-
cans in the State, without attempting to say which
cause has had most weight and without expressing
opinion as tol the merits of the arguments used
bv the critics of the Presidents policy To justify
their conduct IN the canvass.
SEVENTY COUNTIES HEARD FROM.
[BY TELEGRAPH TO The TRIBUSE.l