The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-12-12
THE ROYAL PROGRESS.

Any one who has observed at all the man
ner in which the presidential candidates are
developed, and popular opinion prepared be-
forehand to accept them can see already
that Grant Is the man upon whom tho mana
gers and newspapers of the Republicanparty
base their hopes of success in 1880. There is
not man in the party who would dare to an
tagonine him. Blaine would fight Conkling,
and vice versa and both would fight Hayes
But neither Of them would pit himeelf single
handed, against Grant, for the simple reason
that ne knows he would certainly be defeated
and leave his rivals, who would certainly
support Grant, the whip-hand in the party
and in Grants administration in case of his
reelection.
Tho plan is to make Grants road to the
Presidency a sort Of triump hal progress. He
has been the guest Of kings and the pet Of
royalty. His receptions and dinners and fetes
have been published, and to give his journey
ings all the more ecidf, vessels Of the navy are
to be placed at his disposal He has been
nominated for the Bulgarian throne, which,
OF course, he is too devout a republican to &C
cept Now we are told that be Is going to
Asia, whence he will return to America only
n
He will be nominated, and his campaign will
be one succession of brilliant ovations, al
which royalty itself will assist, la case Lorne
and Louise can be engaged for the occasion.
This will be a spectacular drama for the
citizens of great republic to gaze upon and
90 wild over But we fear the satire is too
beld the travesty too fragrant. The people
will see through it all and turn with disgust
and Indignation from the man who has dared
to so insult their intelligence and outrage
their traditions. His royal airs will only
serve to recall to the popular mind, in the
most offensive form, all that has been said Of
his love Of power and his INSCRIPTIONS abuse
of it, Of his CPsarism and military methods,
and we shall be greatly mistaken II the peo
pie do not take the opportunity to rebuke his
pretensions and teach him that the Presi-
dency is not held by divine right.
Then they will begin to realize the true
nature of the issue that is made between the
autocracy of money and the government Of
the people. Our faith in republican institu-
tions is yet SO strong as not to admit OF any
doubt as TO what the result will be when this
issue is fairly made and the lines tightly
drawn. The barbaric glitter of Grants mill
tary successes. and the reception he has met
with in Europe, have not 50 blinded the
American people to the many disgraceful acts
OF his civil administration, to his unscrupu-
lous ambition, his nepotism and money get
ting, nor SO battered them either that they
will be willing to leopard their liberties to do
him honor. His support in the North will be
his old personal following Of parasites and
adyapturers the money power. and such OF the
rank and file Of the Republican party as the
bloody shirt can keep together. In the South
he counts on the solid negro vote. In this he
will be mistaken. The majority Of the negroes
In the South are, to-day. Democrats. and
Democrats they will remain, and whoever
has contracted, or may contract to turn them
ov.,; e., musse, will not be able to fulfill his
contract any more than Mad. Wells and Tom
Anderson were able to fill theirs at the last
election. Yet we OF the South may as well
make up our minds to meet the effort that
Will be made to renew the race feeling in the
South in the next campaign That is the pur-
pose of the Republican party, and Grant Is
the embodiment of 1t.