The New York herald., 1878-10-23
I. tn. Dem oer.sse Party Breaking Up

| Il the Dem ocratfc Party Breaking Ups
The fraud" cry is not heard in the dem
ocratic camp as much as it was o little while
ago, and as there is, for the moment, what
| Sydney Smith called burst of silence"
among our democratic friends, we take the
occasion to offer them a few words Of ad-
vice. Lockers on, it is said, see most of the
game and it must be very foolish and pur-
blind locker on at the game Of politics
which the democrats are playing who does
not see that they are making mess of it.
The democratic party hopes to carry the
country in $780, In order to do that it needs
to get more votes than the republicans; and
to achieve that object it must convince the
voters between now and 1880 that on the
whole the democrats will serve the best in
terests of the country better than their op-
ponents. That is the only way for them to
elect the next President, as can easily
be shown. The democratic party may
safely count upon certain large
number of voters who will follow
its fortunes and support its ticket and
policy, no matter what these are. But
in this respect it is not SO well of, cer-
tainly no better, than the republican party.
That has also solid, we'll disciplined
organization, and can in like manner safely
depend upon large number OF voters who
will support It's ticket and platform what
ever these may be. Considering that the
federal patronage remains in the hands of
the republicans; that they know extremely
we'll how to use it, and that their party dis
cipline is on the whole more effective than
that of their opponents, it will probably
not be denied that if only the strict and
blind party followers on each side were to
vote in 1880 the republicans would win the
election.
But there is large, very numerous
body of voters in this country, which has
greatly increased within the last few years,
consisting of men who do not blindly or
obediently follow party dictation on either
side. They consider tho best interests of
the country, and they vote one way or the
other as seems to them best. They are the
independent voters" who are the terror
of politicians; and, while they do not nomi-
nate candidate, they will elect the next
President. Now, it is an undeniable fact
that in 1876 the greater part of this indie.
pendent vote went to the democratic side,
and more would have gone there had it not
been for its distrust Of the democratic can
didate, who was attacked in various ways
which might not have been effective had he
defended himself, but whose over-cautious
silence hurt him and his party with null
titude of voters who were discontented with
the republican party, but yet adhered to it
because they did not like Mr.. Tilden's ''rec-
ord" and surroundings. We ask any demo-
crat who is capable of looking even little
distance beyond the end of his nose to
think whether his party could count to-day
on so large o support from the independent
voters as it received in 1876? 1t certainly
could not, and for this there are several
reasons. In the first place the administra-
ton of President Hayes, though for awhile
it was attacked by his own party, has un-
doubtedly conciliated the good opinions of
large number of independent men who did
not vote for him in 1876; and the feud
within his party has at the same time been
healed, or, at least, patched over. The re-
publican party is stronger at this moment
than it was two or three years ago The fact
that it has lost few Congressman this fall
does not invalidate this statement The
democratic gerrymander in Ohio for in
stance, was intended to secure at least two
or three moro democratic districts than they
got the other day, and the plain truth is
that but for this deliberate and careful par
tisan redistric;ing OF the State the demo-
Gratis would have carried fewer districts this
year than they did two years ago.
But while the republicans have drawn
back to them n part of the independent
vote they lost in 1876 the democratic party
has undoubtedly and persistently alienated
the sympathy and confidence of this class
| by anxiously running after the tramps Do
the democratic leaders really believe that
the tramp vote is going to elect the next
President? They ore greatly mistaken. The
country wants, above all other things,
peace, ORDER rest and stability. It will
carry into power in 1880 that party which
promises these things But the democrats
appear to care for nothing of this kind. In
the North they figure as the disorganizers
of the currency in the South they add to
this new interference with the political
rights of citizens. Can they not see that
this attitude Of theirs is fatal to their suc-
cess two years hence?-that it repels all the
great mass of thoughtful and influential in
dependent voters who would like to see q
change in administration who think the
republican party has been in power too
long, but who will not help to change
which would, as they fast coming to be-
lieve, be certainly for the worse?
Take, for instance, these South Carolina
political disturbances. The democrats
ought to understand that while the federal
interference served as on excuse in form er