The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1878-11-14
CITE Daily Arsns,
socK rsLAND, .1Lrxrors
(Concluded from second mace !

Concluded from second page.
they set up the pretence that in certain
portions OF the country negroes had been
lntimidated SO that they had not voted
and on this ground they claimed that the
election of Mr.. Tilden ought not to be held
valid. Il was an absurd, an utterly IRE
posterous claim. To admit it would be
to justify every defeated party in resisting
the judgment of the ballot box. It would
be to destroy the government and obliter-
ate the republic, That in such case as
this such plea should be interposed
by decent men, is but an evidence of polir-
ical deprayity and of partisan faulty.
However. it is the only excuse that has
ever been offered for tie republican con-
spiracy of fraud, and as such we speak of
it here. Through the cooperation of the
democratic party in congress, led by the
senator from Ohio and the senator from
Delaware, the conspiracy was seccessful,
and fraudulent president was put in Mr..
Tilden's seat.
| While as q question of the highest man
ly qualities we have not been entirely sat-
lsfed with 1.-THE conduct of Mr.. Tilden in
this critical emergency; and while we
should have preferred more decided lea
dership.on his. part, we have never re-echoed
the blame that has been cast upon him on
this account. Under all the circumstan-
ces, such blame seems to US without con-
elusive reasons. Considering the fact
that the republican party had been 10 pos
session of the government for sixteen
years. and that during this time the demo
cracy had been cowed and broken by the
Ichastisement of defeat after defeat; and
considering the enormous difficulty, the
Iimpossibility, almost, Of ever turning out a
party that holds the patronage and the
power of the federal administration; con-
Isidering also that Mr.. Tilden had been
trained, as a consulting lawyer and poll
teal philosopher, to be man of extreme
prudence and caution, and that be had
never been accustomed to the shocks and
the conflicts even of parliamentary con.
troversy, we can not reproch him. much az
we may regret that he did not display in
that juncture the splendid determination
land aggressivness of Henry Clay or An.
drew Jackson.
II The democratic party remained detraud
ed and plundered, but it still preserved
the glory of gallant fight, AID there wa
no tarnish on the escutcheon of its chosen
Representatives The contest had simply
passed from one arena to another, but il
was yet full of hope and OF promise for tn,
future. The final victory was delayed
but it seemed none the less certain. HaC
the party remained true to its principles
had it anew and sternly asserted its devc
ton TO the constitution, aud its preference,
:: of that venerable charter over the new
frangled, Illegal, and cowardly device o
ha oil al nIukf ak hou
Igoverned the country, and brought back al
era OF peace, OF economy, of integrity, ant
of genuine republican dignity. But thi
was not to be. Many of It's chieftaus in con
gress and 10 the states, inspired by no higl
, principles, pursuing petty ends, inhu
enced by cowardice laboring for conto mpt;
bic objects of personal ambition or per
sonal greed, sbametully FASTENED 10 aban
don the vantage ground the party Gccu
pied, and u convert themselves into parti
Zaus of the sanctity of successful fraud
And thus the democratic party has ueeI
fually broken and degraded, If not de
stroyed: so that from this party, as il nov
exists before US, the observer cannot draw
strength tor single patriotic hope.
Thus it now makes little practical differ
ence whether 10 the election in 1880 Mr.
1ilden should or should not be candidate
No statesman would be DESTROYS, excep
under some grave public necessity, to bea
standard on which, even before the battle
black and deadly disaster is seen to perch
and yet there would be certain sentimen
tai consolation in once again supporting
man whose name must forever be memor-
able IN history in connection with tht
Fraud of 1S76-7-memorable, not indeet
with infamy such as will ever blacken tn
name of Hayes, but as the Representative
of the party and the people who were de
prived of their rights in that fatal transac
tim. But even this consolation must b
denied us.
While we should be ashamed to doab
MIR. Tilden's personal integrity, we are ye
} constrained to say that it is proved and ad
mitted through the publication of the CT
pher kilograms, that during the presiden
tlal campaign he suffered clique of polit
ically Immoral people to surround him, t
act ior him, and t. compromise him. w
knew at the time that some of these pei
; sons were profoundly foolish, and we de
nounced them Cor their Stiffness: but it uov
n appears that this was not their worst en-
) dowment. At any rate. they have prove
themselves able to fatally iDjure what the
o could never have built up. Their imbeci
ity and their immortality could never Great
anything, but with the extraordinary con
fdence reposed in them, their power 70
mischief was great indeed, They hav
Isufhcied to damage the character of life
time, and they have wrought a deplorabl
mischief to the course of public affairs
Mr.. Tilden will not again be the presider
tial candidate of any party.