The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-12-12
senator Blaine's speech.

! lect IS too stale Tor anything new 10 De SAID
upon ii, and fourth, because his fellow
Senators regarded his speech as bid Tor
| the Presidency, and few of them are dis
posed to favor his aspirations. 1t goes
without saying that Mr.. Blaine on this oc-
casion was not equal to himself That he is
not often dull is proved by the
thronging audience which hocked to
| the Senate Chamber to listen to
| him in the expectation of q brilliant, or at
least powerful and fervid, speech; that he
is capable of speaking impromptu is proved
| by the fact that he always shines in hand
to-hand grapple with an antagonist when he
has no time for preparation. We suppose
no man could be very original except per-
| haps in ingenious strokes OF invective) on
| q subject which has been so much discussed;
and there is no presence in which politi-
| clan can display his ambition with so little
advantage as in that Of his jealous rivals.
This able Senator has an important lesson
yet to learn-namely, the value of reticence,
quality in which General Grant is as strong
as Mr.. Blaine is defective. "Awise and mas
terly inactivity" is phrase OF whose mean
ing this impetuous statesman seems to have
no conception. The moment a new issue
springs up or an old one is revived Mr..
Blaine tries to mount and monopoliZe it,
without waiting, like wary and prudent
man, for time and events to show whether
it has any strength. Had he been Of
cooler and more calculating temperament he
would quietly have inspired some less con-
spicuous Senator to offer his resolution, and
without showing his own hand have caused
that Senator TO get the resolution in
dorsed by the principal republican mem
bers before offering it. But when he
introduced it himself on the first
day of the session, without comforting with
the older republican Senators, he assumed
position of leadership which was offensive
to the pride of Messrs. Conkling and Ed
munds. Of course they could not oppose
resolution to which even Mr.. Thurman
and Mr.. Lamar were constrained to give a
polite assent, making opposition to its
passage with an amendment; but the repub-
lican Senators exhibited a contemptuous in
difference to the speech by occupying them
selves with other matters during its deliv-
cry. Mr. Blaine as a new Senator has dis
played want Of tact and judgment in as
Stunning position Of leadership which the
they do not feel at liberty to rebuke it.
When new Senator thus assumes to take
the pas of the older members of the Senate
and protrudes party issue without con-
sulting them he ought to be very strong in
his arguments. But Mr.. Blaine has dealt
in the most transparent and easily refuted
sophistry The substance of all his reason
ing is that the republican representation in
Congress from the Southern States is not in
proportion to the colored population. He
supports this position by elaborate statis-
tics, thrice repeated with three diff
| ferent groups of States; but his
attempt to substitute reasoning for
the usual bloody shirt defamation,
though commendable in intention, is an
utter failure in logic. His contention is
that inasmuch as the Southern republicans
have not q representation in Congress pro-
portioned to the comparative white and
negro population the Southern whites have
more political power than the same number
of Northern white citizens, whereas every
citizen should have precisely the same rep
resentation in Congress. This specious
absurdity can easily be refuted. Let us
apply Mr. Blaines method of reasoning to
Pennsylvania, his native State. In 1876
the republican vote in Pennsylvania
was 384, 122, and the democratic vote
366, 15S. In that year Pennsylvania elected
eighteen republican and only nine
democratic representatives to Congress.
BY strict duplication of Mr.. Blaine's politi-
cal arithmetic it will be found that it re-
quired only II, $40 republican citizens of
Pennsylvania to elect one member of Con-
gress, but 49, GS4 democratic citizens to
elect one member. That is, according to
Mr.. Blaines reasoning, political equality
is subverted in Pennsylvania, because one
republican citizen had as much representa-
ton in Congress as two democrats. This
line of reasoning is preposterous. It over
looks or ignores the fact that in all cleo
tions the votes Of the beaten minority
are Of no more account than if they
had never been cast. It is q fragrant
prove to be inefficient, the voters
are deprived of their rights. In the last
Presidential election Mr.. Tilden had ma
jority of the popular vote; but will Mr..
Blaine carry out his reasoning to its log-
cal result and maintain that a majority Of
the citizens u the United States were dis
franchised because minority elected Mr..
Hayes? 1t no more follows that the South
ern negroes are DISTINGUISHED because they
are outvoted than that minorities, whose
votes 60 for nothing are DISTINGUISHED in
the Northern States. Mr.. Blaine's sophistry
is so transparent that we are surprised that
a man of his astuteness should have ven-
tured to put it forth.