New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-11-15
bDYTSRD 10 "DOUBLEn AGAIN.

bDVISED TO "DOCBLE' AGAIN.
The Democratic leaders in the next Con-
gress need make no mistakes from lack OF
shrcwd advisers. The only difficulty in the
way is that the counsel they give is for the
most part impracticable. The latest piece of
advice we have seen is that they seize upon
the South Carolina election farce. which seems
upon the face of it so damaging to the party, and,
by taking high moral stand with regard to
il, turn it TO their own advantage In the end.
1t is so evident that the Charleston District was
carried at the late election by the most bare
faced frauds, that it is not likely that any
decently fair investigation. even by COM
mittee of Democratic Congress. could fail to
show state of facts emitting the Republican
contestant to his seat. IL the action
of the present Congress In con-
tested elections can be taken as Il
criterion, the Democratic majority will in this
and other cases use every means to conceal
the facts and distOrt the testimony and, by
either wiful perversions of justice or tricks of
| pOstponcment and delay, defeat the fairly ex-
pressed will of the people at the ballot-bOx.
In this state of affairs Massachusetts
newspaper one of those large-eyed mil
lenniaists that are forever trying to bring
In the reign OF truth and justice
| by inducing the Devil to set the Christian
church n good example-advises the Dem
| ocrats in the next Congress to disregard par
tisan precedeDts, act squarely and honestly,
report against their own man, and give the
seat to the Republican who has an honest
! claim TO it. Excellent counsel, to be sure
SO is any counsel 10 act honestly and
do right; bnt one wonders at Grst-and
no doubt the Democratic leaders would
roll up their eyes at it were it unexplained
why 1t should be wasted on men who have
never shown the least disposition to dsre-
gard partisan preeedents in order to do JUS
| tice to an opponent. The explanation. how
ever, is that at IL a matter of policy purely.
Such an exhibition of fair play" says
| this shrewd adviser, "wOud cost them Dem
"ocratic member of the House, but it might
easily gain them a doubtful and hesitatng
State Mt the North in 1880" And it is
! added, to increase the inducement, "Statos at
L" the North will go further toward electng q
Democratic President two years hence than
Congressman in the South"
This seems very small bait 10 expend on so
large q fish, but two things are measuraby true
about it first, that it would be just like the
fish to bite at and perhaps get caught by
il and second, that there is not the
slightest likelihood of tho Democratic leaders
batting their hook so shrewlly. The North
ern public is charitable beyond measure. Ii
| CUISINES easily. II is not too much to say tina.
it is given a little to stopping over" 1t
was signal illustration OF this weakness that
because n few prominent individuals in the
rebel States expressed kindly sentiments toward
the old Union after the close of the war;
the North FASTENED to restore all the South
to the rights that had been forfeited, and to
give the Secession Democracy the position OF
control in Congress, which they flung away
when they undertook to destroy the Gov
eminent. 1t is not impossible that the
spectacle of the Democratic party in
Congress doing justice once at the
loss of member would so touch the
Northern heart that enough States would be
turned over to them at once to encourage
them in well-doing By giving them the Presl-
dency. But there is no danger of the specta-
cle's being presented. Here is one only of sew
eral cases where the party Will suffer the loss of
a member by justice being done. The South
Carolina Democrat. who holds his seat by fraud,
proposes TO continue holding it. There is but
one case on record where this Democratic party
undertook the enterprise here suggested of
doubling on itself and winning public conf
dence by exposing and Furnishing its OWN
frauds Mr.. Samuel j. Tilden led that enter
prise, ii he did not invent the scheme. 1t is
not too much TO say that the party never
was in sympathy with it, but the public
gushed over it, and the party, seeing
it was a winning card, much against its
will nominated and elected him Gov
ernor, and then nominated and did not
elect him President. 1t was a very uDsatisfac-
tory neutrality-suspicious. unsatisfactory
since the party and the public have found
by recent exposures that the old
gentleman was so careless about cover
ing his tracks, when he resumed his
old course after his brief experiment
in doubling and going back on his
friends. The general judgment of Democratic
leaders since the failure of the Reform dodge
is that it does not pay to expose or undertake
to punish frauds perpetrated by their own
| friends for party success. The advice
/ from Massachusetts to q Democratic Con-