The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-30
Ghe 99ailg Arens.
ROCK ISLAND, .rIIrrorg
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Hendricks. Besides those on the floor 0
the two houses, there are not few demo
Gratis outside of congress who have fxet
an eager eye on the vice presidency, ant
make their influence felt in Washington
through agents on the ground. Wad,
Hampton is choice specimen of this ne
cullar brand Of politicians. His name
frequently crops out as the minor factor II
combination ticket that we are conf
dentia!ly told will be wonderfully potent.
| Some OF these gentlemen may deny thai
they are hostile to a full investigation Of
the frauds. They may mildly assert tbei,
readiness to follow the facts TO their logica
consequences. But when an earnes,
Democrat is in their presence, the atmos
phere they shed freezes him to the bone,
The major part OF them take the ground OF
the Pennsylvania resolution, and would
rest content with exposing the minor
thieves who stole the goods, but resist all
efforts to disturb the title to the property
OF inc great rascals, who, with open ewes,
received the plumber. and are now riotine
upon it.
The aspirants to the Democratic nomin-
alton tor the Presidency and Vice.Presi
In 1880 are formidable obstacles in the
path OF the Potter committee. They must
be got out of the way. The effective
method for clearing the track is to show
'he democratic masses where these gentle.
to theml
Others who call themselves Democrats
take bolder ground in favor of the usurper
10 the White House than these slaves of
ambition. refer to the men who made
the bargains at New Orleans at Tallahas-
sc. at Columbia, and at Washington.
whereby the conspiracy for cheating iden
out OF the Presidency summated. The
mead OF these apostates to principle is
Alexander 81. Stephens. He is the fit
leader OF such Democrats as Gordon and
gibson Ia Congress, and Hampton and
NICHOLS beyond its walls. All of this
class wish to sit, like a nightmare, upon
the Investigation. Some of them. who
voted for the Potter resolution. openly
declare that they Cast their votes with
extreme reluctance, and only as a tempo-
rary makeshift, 1t is not quite clear
whether these slippery and unstable Dem
ocrats belong to Hayes, or Hayes belongs
TO them: There seems to be no nation
atty in their politics. They measure the
nature OF everything by an exclusively
southern standard. Mr.. Stephens, their
mouthpisce, recently said that the south
had got just as much cut of Hayes as :hev
would have got out Tilden, and therefore
his people were content with HAYES. and
opposed, to disputing his title or disturbing
his equaulmity. 1t does not occur to him
70 III
tnat we 1--we under constitutional govern
ment, or that man who was legally
elected TO the presidency has any better
title to the office than a man who was not.
provided the'usurper distributes a liberal
share OF his stolen patronage among the
Stephens stripe of southern timeservers.
These trading democrats are a drag upon
the skirts OF the investigation, and will
hamstrlng it in the end unless party
discipline compels them to relinquish their
hold.
1t somehow so happens that the Presi-
DENTAL favorite of the larger share of the
democrats who throw hindrances of one
sort and another in the way of investiga
uon is Thomas A. Hendricks. He was
detrauded of the Vice Presidency. If. to
secure personal ends. be now ignores the
great wrong done to representative govern
nent, and condones this foul crime, his
party will not be in haste to place him two
years hence where be may stand
chance of being defrauded of the presi-
dency
1t the democratic masses, and the
honest men of all parties, wish the Potter
Committee to probe to the bottom the
great wrong of our fimes thew rnust m Mo
their influence felt in the halls of the sem
ate aud house of representatives.
A GENUINE DEMOCRAT.