The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-11-28
PRESIDENTIAL PROSPECTS.
MONTGOMERY BLAIR INSISTS THAT
TELDEN Es THE ONLY AVAILABLE
DEMOCRATHC CANDIDATE.
severe Attack on The Northern ana
Southern Democratic Aeaders-Why
They Did Not Want Efiden r. eslheht'

WASHINGTON, November q, 1873
To the Editor OF the Baltimore Telegram:
Dear Sir-In compliance with your request,
[ proceed to state briefly my views OF the p0-
litical situation. My engagements 90 not ao-
NIT of my going into details or exlenugo ttr-
gument to sustain the general views pro-
pose to submit. =. , -.
orr present status is easily summed up.
The late elections show that the North and
South are again substantially consolidated;
that we have lost fifty electoral vo1es SINCE
1876: that on the present basis the Radicals
wouId have forty five majority in the college;
and that If the present attitude OF parties
continues, we shall certainly lose every
Northern State in 1880, giving the Radicals q
majority Of sixty nine III the electoral college.
This result Is plainly due to our having con-
doned the fraud which annulled our triumph
in 1876, and thereby abandoned the reform is-
sue and other Important principles upon
which that triumph was achieved.
The Radical party has maintained Itself in
power and escaped the defeat which its plum
dering and laundering policy would sooner
have brought upon it, solely by being allowed
to make the sectional issue. But III 1876, by
presenting candidate whose financial ana
war record they could not assail, and who had
sgnalized himself as practical reformer, we
SO far succeeded in making the election turn
upon the reform issue and Democratic prlnc1-
pies as to carry four OF the Northern States,
and make the contest close, il we did not &C
tually carry all the other great Central States
This was done by the people against the VIZ
ulent opposition of all our leaders in Congress,
where there were not half dozen members
who favored the nomination necessary to I'M
press this character upon the contest. IN
fortunately, these virulent opponents OF the
policy which dictated tho nomination ana Sc
cured the election Of Tiiden had to count the
vote; and they availod themselves OF this
power to set aside the electin on
The pretexts upon which this was done
have now been exposed and shown TO be false.
+
Potter committee, that before the Electoral
Commission was thought OF, negotiations had
been opened with Hayes by certain OF the
Southern chiefs looking to the consuInua-
tion, by them and their associates, OF the
frauds initiated by Wells, Anderson, McLln
and their associates, that The Electoral COM
mission was but device to carry out fore
gone conclusion, and that it WAS not from ap-
Drehension OF war that the constitutional
power OF the House to count the electoral
vote was abandoned by the Democrats, ana
. that power conceded to 81 commission con
trolIed by their opponents; 1or even altet Ihe
commission had done it, the House was not
allowed to ratify it until the Radlcal Leaders
In Congress had agreed that MI, Hayes
should carry out his bargain. lhls tfansac~
tion Is explained partly by the TACT that Ill
nose Southern as well as Northern Jobbery,
while Hayes was committed to it, not only by
having been supported by the great railroad
and money interGsts; but by lts open auvo-
settc, as the Wing policy Of internal lmproVt-
mepts, and as the means Of reviVlng the Wing
party in the South. ~
But while the chief managers OF thls
intrigue were venal, the merctnarles were
cOmDaratively few in number. Their success
was mainly due to the jealousy and antago-
nigm Of the present leaders OF the Democratic
organization to the old leaders OF the North
ern Democracy OF the Van Buren and Silas
Wright stamp, of whom Tilden was the chief.
His accession to the Presidency was distaete-
full to the present Southern aud Northel d
leaders alike, from the apprehension that 1t
involved g. revolution in the leadership VI the
party, and amounted to q restoration TO us
cnntrol of that school of the Northern De
mocracy for the overthrow OF Whlch Inc Seees-
sion movement was begun: 1t was oniy De'
cause the defeat OF the Hunter school 1OI
twelve years had demonstrated that tflt
nomination OF a man OF the other schoo
was necessary to, carry New York
that Tilden had been nominated 1ol
Governor. in 1874: Prl3r To- TO- nlb 4he hpin,, Nav
York Tribune that Gen. Dix, the Radical
candidate, who had been elected by a majority
Of so 600 votes, would have N Walk oyor II
bv 50 900 votes taught the Democratic masse
North and South that the restoration OF tn
marty to power was conditional upon thelr al
hesi0n to that school of Democracy of whc
Slas Wright had been the e1poheet, "nc,
having been against the extension OF slavery
and having stood by the Union IN he wal
Ind ,r;,,on Tho necpssnrv earnpst against sui.
nIu - " gonthurn domination il, the coul
ds0Vi F +ho Jv I,ortv and cI1ntrv in the future
Tho St,o Damnorptic ~ T masses accppted the cond
tinn uno Do,ninateI TiIdrn, and he was elected b
t,oli, 1Ia Iw y arnatrr minority Of the me
bo IS peo3,tph fotheye 10y fnnded the government tha
voc ovnr cast for any other man. Never
n1 Wa5 es4i the ieadars to preserve their power
~ tho'1s,o 19artw denoeed him The people, in til
Sato In9 pI peIac}ion c{ have responded by dtposin
nhont v9 one-hnlf OF those concerned in Thu
auG ora il1elv, think, to dispose OF the otht
iii hnlf vt the next. The election plainIy sign
ae' aaa that m the neople understand that Tide
,raa denosed bv the Southern chiefs, and tn;
emr uo Northern lenders submitted to their wi
90 thst Of tha South. which would hereaf,t
ci,+nta Ta' nomination. as in nnte-belium day
The revolt against this by the people OF tt
MOI tn might have been fortseen. 1t was II
jl'ion naitJ nNIi W. fhn en,ne cass ui Democrats
t,sI the Nortb p which has heretofore consolidate
the le NJ Wth ~ noinet nc and culmnatnd in 9
slao Hol.ai n,,d ,as'.n'' ',t,,r Vs. @'iA'
i orneoIv n uniuet To the intcIjpence an