The New York herald., 1878-08-24

tiOnaDlc NOMINATION. IOr Mayor ana tHc GA
pediency of promptly announcing his can
didate.
Mr.. KELLY the Tammany General Com
mittee. we mean-professes to be demo-
cratic; but ii a Mayor is to be provided by
him-them-alone some definitions in the
dictionary will have to be revised.
The Potter Com ittee and MI. Til
den.
The events of the present week furnish a
quiet but conclusive demonstration of the
slight hold Of Mr.. Tilden upon the affec-
ton and enthusiasm Of the democratic
party. The Potter Committee, appointed
to expose frauds in the last Presidential
election, was in session in Mr.. Tilden's
own State when the Democratic State Com
mittee met in Saratoga If the tendency and
effect of the investigation had been favor
able to Mr. Tilden's further aspirations
it would have been expected that such
tendency would have been reflected at
Saratoga. gathering Of representative
democrats in Mr.. Tilden's own State at n
time when Congressional committee was
sitting in the Sta,e to demonstrate the
frauds by which he was cheated out of his
election should naturally have elected
some response But instead of this Mr..
Tilden was ignored, and worse than
ignored, at Saratoga. Two-ffths OF
the members of the Democratic State
Committee are classed as Tilden
men but so faint and pale was their
allegiance that instead of recognizing
the work of the Potter Committee and try
ing to make it conspicuous they united with
the majority in ignoring Mr.. Tilden, and
made overtures Tor reconciliation and peace
with the controlling Kelly faction of the
party. 1t seemed to be felt that Mr.. Tilden
is played out, and although Congressional
committee was in session within the borders
of the State to prove that he was cheated
out of the Presidency the democrats assem-
bled at Saratoga gave him the cold shoulder.
What does this prove? 1t proves in q
conclusive, practical way, that there is no
personal enthusiasm for Mr.. Tilden in his
own State. 1t proves that the democratic
ance. 1t proves, most conclusively, that
Mr.. Tiden is destitute Of those magnetic
qualities which have SO often made an
American statesman an idol of his own
party. and especially of his own
State. Had Henry Clay been cheated
Tilden was, nobody can imagine the
wings of Kentucky exhibiting such apa-
thy as the democrats Of New York dis
play toward Mr.. Tilden. Had Andrew
Jackson encountered q similar experience
there would have been raised in the demo-
cratic party a unanimous cry that the per-
sonal as we'll as the political injustice
should be redressed. But in reference to
Mr.. Tilden there is exhibited only sense
Of injustice to the party, but not to
the candidate. In Mr.. Tilden's case
the candidate is nothing and the
party is all. This is shown in q
manner calculated to mortify his personal
supporters by the testimony of Major
Burke, which was in progress when the DEM
ocratic State Committee met at Saratoga.
Major Burke testifes in substance that not
only the people Of Louisiana, whom he
represented during the count, but the
Southern Representatives in Congress-, were
willing to sacrifice Tilden if they could
recover self-government in the South.
There could not be q more decisive
proof that the personality of Mr.. Tilden
made no impression on the people Of the
Sou thern States. He was regarded as
mere figurehead of the canvass, that could
be safely and justifably deserted at any
stage when he might prove an encumbrance.
A statesman who can be SO lightly dropped
in an emergency is evidently not man
whom great political party would wish to
tie to and fight for. Hence the indifference,
akin to contempt, with which he is regarded
by the democratic party at large and Of his
own State.
1t is extremely improbable that Mr.. Til
den will be the democratic candidate in
1880. He has no chance at all, even for
making contest, unless he is pressed by
the democratic delegation from his own
State; but his New York supporters are
preparing to drop him, as is proved by
their overtures to Mr.. Kelly at Saratoga.
But even if he could control the New York
delegation he would wage hopeless con-
test, when his party in the West and
South has repudiated his ideas on the
money question, which is likely to
be the dominant issue in the Democratic
National Convention. His unpopularity
with the democratic leaders throughout the
country and his lack of personal magnet
ism seal his political fate. politician
who proclaims ''still hunt" as his iavorite
tactics makes an implied confession that
his personal popularity counts for nothing;
because publicity and not silence is the
method OF utilizing personal popularity