Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1877-05-05
Why the Democrats Failed.


Henry Watterson. in n speech de.
livered March 22d, said: The whole
story of our defeat may not he told
1t is still the private property ~ the
caucus and committee room. shall
repeat only what in known to the
public, that from tho first I believed
a well organized conspiracy existed
to cheat the people out of their elect
ed President. went to Louisiana,
the real battle ground Of this con.
spiracy and found there the verihea.
ton of my fears. My dispatches
from New Orleans may be referred
to, and will be found Ia cover nearly
all that has happened there since
/ went to New York urging counter.
organization, popular organization In
the interests Of free government an,l
the masses Of the people. upon those
of our friends who had authority 10
act.
There are two ways of securing
our rights in this world: one IN by
law, and the other is by force. The
court of last resort was in this In.
stance practically closed upon as.
and conceiving Mr.. Tilden to le The
rightfully chosen Chief Magistrate.
I proposed to prepare TO seat him In
Office; to provide the physical mean.
of doing so; to take all nsedful risks.
and to leave tho result 10 look after
itself. There are times when im.
prudence is safety. l would have
had MIR. Tilden emulate the iirmne.=
of Hampton. would have hail him
assemble tho people about him. and
say to them simply this: II am nj
old man, sixty years and upward.
have wife nor child. and I care little
for the Office Of President of the
United States, but / have been elect.
ed Observation-Disclosures elect
ed-and as l love my country and
owe duty to my countrymeu. I mean
to see that their will In done" Mr.
Tilden did not take this view. lie
had confidence in the powers and
forms of law. He believed his case
was irresistible. II seemed la him
thing apart from reason or probability
that any tribunal would ar could
count the votes Of Florida aud Lou
isiana against him. A peaceful. pa
triotic man, conservative. law -absd-
ing, the suggestion Of an srganisssl
popular opinion upon On ancom-
promising line brought before his
eyes nothing but tho spectacle ~
public and private ruin. II peace
had been put in one scale and the
Presidency in another hs would not
have hesitated to choose against
himself. His mind may have wavered
at times, but his influence was stead.
lily against agitation. say Il In no
reproach, l say II entertaining di@.
trust of my own opinion. that II was
impossible to proceed without Mr..
Tilden at the front. II was for him
to lead, for the rest to follow.
Thus the ground slipped away from
us inch by inch. When We were
bought face to fact with the Electoral
Commission bill, we found ourselves
occupying a narrow slip Of territory
lying about midway between the
devil and the deep sea; In the Ter
front, confusion, chaos. coupled Ia
inevitable. perhaps disg~ccful. de-
feat; Just before IN scheme which
no sound judgment couid approve
as an original proposition. ] sup.
pose it is known to all Of you that
I fought it sarne stly in committee
that, unable to defeat IL. ] yielded q
most reluctant consent 10 u; that
finally, l voted for IL with the full
consciousness OF the danger u fore
closed. II was distinctly q choice