New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-07-16
POLITICAL INHAR.BONY.


and a cOrrespondingly prevalent lack of har-
mony in political circles everywhere. Every
body wants to agree, but nobody actually
does. 1t may be IN the weather. There
has not been a time since the foundation of
the Government when the political market was
so full of new and original issues and views and
theories, or when so many hucksters and mid
dlemen were singing to the general public
Come buy, come buy OF me-" But the
trouble is everybody has set ~ in business
for himself and wants everybody else to come
over TO his party and carry out his views and
elect his candidates. They are all anxious
for union and harmony, but each demands
that the rest come over TO him, and rants
and raves at them as mischief makers
and disorganizers because they refuse 1t
is a most remarkable spectacle. Here are
all these people budding into the Cave OF
Adullam that they call the National party"
ali who ere in distress, in debt, or dlseOn-
tented each with q theory OF bis own about
finance and trade, society government and
everything beside, each bent above all things
on having his own hobby made the leading
issue. and all bowling like lrmatics that the
great thing to do Is to harmonic all minor
differences-when the differences are all major
and radieal-and unite in overturnng the
existing order of things. 1t is by all
odds the strangest medley Of people, with the
most remarkable assortment of notions and
onipions that ever surged against ballOt-box.
No such disease as this ever before attacked
body polite. They agree in nothing but
their discomfort, and the conviction that
everything Is going to the bow-wows.
such men as Mr.. Wendell Phillips, of course,
are exempted from this sweeping generalza-
ton. That accurate and painstaking student
of political philosophy brings to the party
schedule Of beliefs and opinions Of such in
finite scope and variety that it could not be
otherwise than that he should have a cOnsid-
erable following. There has not been party
organized for many years-that is to say
marty with hobby of any sOrt-woman
suffrage, prohibition, initiation or anything
of that kind-that he has not been q mem
Der Of So there accompany him into the new
organization-ifi it should ever reach the stage
of organization-al the believers III all the
hobbies he has advocated for the past
twenty wears. The name National is in
definite and general enough to include them
all. There are other leaders, no doubt, whose
following who lead something which might be
called procession into the Cave of Adullam.
But once in there, what to put first on their
articles of faith, what to give chief importance
to, and what surrender or postpone, will
be the question likely to set the party
by the ears. The thing they all agree
in is that the country is in q bad way fnan-
cially, politically, socially. The thing they
can never agree Oh is the prescription for
what they deem to be social and political
disorders. Half hundred quacks may raise
such a din around a man in reasonably good
health as to make him think for the moment
that he is actually sick. The wise
thing for him to do is to rise up
and 90 away while they are squabbling
over the question which particular herb
doctor shall have the first whack at him with
| an infallible remedy. The " National" party
means to be harmonious. Even Mr.. "The"
| Allen apologized to Eugene Beebe for break
ing his nose in moment of inadvertence, and
| expressed the hope that nothing more would
| occur to mar the harmony. But the difficulty
will be in their agreeing on an objective point.
They want to upset something, but can't agree
whether to begin on currency, labor, temper
ance, woman's rights, or what not. There's
great desire for harmony and O great lack
of it.
And even our Democratic friends are not at
one upon all questions A meeting of anti
Tammany Democrats, a few evenings since,
upbraided the Tammany organization with at
tempting to disturb the harmony Of the party
by treating Mr.. Tilden unlnndly. And the
Tammany organization, on the other hand,
habitually reproach the rival gang with Great
| ing disaffection and discussions They
agree upon nothing except that 1t would
be desirable to have Democrats in Office.
That, too, is pretty much the only
point on which the party ip Congress