The Portland daily press., 1878-09-24
Flower and Frait-The Massachu.sttx
Dem agogue-ButIer aud weed-Ths
Advantage of Pooled Issues.

The people will very soon have no excuse for
not taking in the full scope and purpose of the
new doctrine of politics of which Greenbackism
8 the flower aod Butlerism the fruit. The Mas
sachusetts demagogue seems to have reached
1.-THE conclusion that disguise is no longer nec-
essary; he always was transparent enough for
that matter; but now he stands forth as the
ringleader of the mob, and the champion of
rufianism and violence. His tongue and pen
of course are voluble with the old stock phrases
about reform" Honesty" good government
and the like; these cant words have been worn
to shreds by iteration among the Cheap jacks
OF the hustings; there hasn't been Democratic
Convention held during the past twenty years
but that has had good deal to say in favor of
purity of administration, and denunciation OF
the "corruptions" of the party in power; this
last ls favorite theme. L remember well
about great gathering of the untsrriisd that
was held in Tammany Hall on the 4th July
1870. Tweed presided. The leading men of
the party from distant States were present.
And oh! with what blasting indignation
Tweed descanted upon the extravagancs and
corruption of the administration of Grant. He
implored his fellow citizens to wrest the scep-
ter OF power from the prodigal party then
welding it, and to confide the guardianship of
their treasury to UPRIGHT and trustworthy
Democrats! The performance did SAVIOR of
broad burlesque, bet the old rogue was merely
echoing meaningless parrot CRY that had
grown to be familiar theme in all such assem-
blages and amounted to nothing whatever ex-
cept to help fill out the programme They all do
it Just the same to this day and hour The chief
objection to be urged against the practice Is
that some day or other there may actually be Q
wasteful and vecal administration, and then If
the Conventions declaim against it nobody will
give the slightest heed to their accusations. It Is
on this account mainly that the coarseness,
mendacity and vulgarity which characterize
our political literature are so much to be de-
plored. Experience has shown that opprobri-
Gus epithets hurled at eminent men by news
paper writer's and stump speakers do very little
damage to their reputation. There has bsen
nothing certainly in our day and generation
that could parallel the hideous brutality with
which Gen. Grant was assailed for years. The
conspiracy to destroy him By reckless defama-
tion pending and during his candidacy for q
second term was participated in by several par
ties who had heretofore been influential and
were thought to be respectable But their COM
Dlicity in that crime damaged them irretriev-
ably. When the tide Of popular indignation
at their base attempt to wrong the nations
greatest benefactor swept over them they were
buried 80 deep that scarcely one of them sue
ceeded in clambering to the surface again.
The whole tribe not only lost position and caste,
but they were compelled to realize ksenly that
fharx aah,a 6 . H., InI
tempt of the people.
Ofcourse that was just the way they ought
10 have been served. They failed signally, it is
true, in the object thsy aimed at, but they
wrought one mischief that has thus far proved
| irreparable. They vulgariz,d our popular
| channels Of thought. They introduced FASH
ion of speaking and writing of public men and
| public affairs in an undignifed lippant, and
| boorish way which is producing a very demor-
| alizing effect on the present generation. There
have been a great many slang phrases intro
| duced into the forum of political discussion,
| including the worst of the lot, "the machine
term which is habltually used by writers Of
acknowledged pretensions to elegance, as .
| synonym for organization. But worse than all
they have greatly stimulated the evil of per-
( sonal politics and given encouragement to self
seekers to nurture their own ambitions even at
the risk OF imperillng the union of the party.
1t must be admitted that the fate of the little
cabal that initiated the revolt from the Rspubli-
can party in 1872 is not such as would be likely
to lead to the imitation of q bad example. But
virtue is always more secure when 1t can be
kept free from the contaminations of vicious
| associations. Fidelity may be maintained In
| spite of every temptation to swerve from 10,
but it is always better not to test it too
| ly, The deserters from the Republican ranks
| have all the time Insisted that they were actu-
ated by perfectly pure motives-haye even had
was merit instead of a misdeed; they have
repeatedly declared with an emphasis which is
partial substitute for sincerity, that boiling In
their case was merely the exercise of q manly
Independence; and although such asseverations
are rather too fimsy of texture to deceive any
body, still they do have the effect Of famliarizing
people with the idea that to recant ones creed
or forsake ones cause even csprciously Is not
| such an objectionable crime after all. To pop
/ ularze sentiment of that kind is dangerous
| to public morals. The good faith Of men TO-
ward each other in respect to all matters wheth.
er official or personal is simply indispensable to
the general well being.
But what spectacle Is presented to the
country to-day in tho staid old commonwealth
of Massachusetts. A man who has for .eigh-
teen years pretended to be a Republican, who
is, indeed, at this moment holding an official
trust which he obtained by virtue OF Rep publi-
can nomination, betrsys the constituents by
whose votes his seat was secured and endeavors
to force himself upon the convention of the
opposite party by melting rabble to outrage
all the obligations Of decency in obedience to
his bidding.
1t matters not that Buffers exodus from the
Republican organizatio is great relief to III
that everybody is glad he is gone; the turpi'
tude of the performance is none the lighter OF