Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1878-11-29
JUDGE BLAIR.

OF so mucb jocoseucss the country over.
Predictions OF the gentleman above men
toned have a local interest In this county 10
consequence of it being his place Of habita
ton and his tact for the discussion of matters
important 10 the country is also generally edi-
! flying. IT is from these facts that some of the
points are extracted from an elaborate letter he
has written 10 the press reviewing the status
Of the Democracy.
sour present status is easily summed mp.
The late elections show that the North and
South are again substant TALLY consolidated :;
that we have lost fifty electoral votes since
| 1885, that on the present basis the Rad Gals
would have forty-fve majority in the college !;
and that, il the present attitude Of parfies
continues, we shall certainly lose every North
ern State 10 1880, giving the Radicals a
majority OF sixty-nine 10 the electoral college.
This result is plainly due 10 our having con-
doned the fraud which annulled our triumph
in 1876, and thereby abandoned the reform
issue 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
deriDg and laundering policy would sooner
have brought upon it, solely by being allowed
Il
presenting candidate whose financial and war
record they could not assail, and who had sig
nalized himself as a practical reformer, we so
far succeeded in making the election turn upon
the reform issue and Democratic principles, as
10 carry four Of the Northern States, and make
the contest close IL we did not actually carry
all the other great central states. This was
done by the people against the virulent oppo-
ton OF all our leaders in Congress, where there
were not half dozen members who favored
the nomination necessary TO impress this char
ac.er upon the contest. Unfortunately, these
virulent opponents of the policy which die
tated the nomination and secured the election
Of Tilden had to count the vote; and they
availed themselves of this power to set aside
| the election.
THE pretexts upon which this was done
have now been exposed and shown 10 be false.
II now appears, by the evidence taken by the
Potter committee, that before the electoral
commission was thought Of, negotiations
hac been opened with Hayes by certain Of the
Southern chiefs, looking 10 the consumma-
ton, by them aud their associates, of the
frauds initiated by Wells, Anderson, McLin,
and their associates; that the electoral COM
mission was but device TO carry out a fore
gone conclusion; and that it was rot from
apprehension of war that the constitutional
power of the House TO count the electoral vote
was abandoned by their opponents; for even
AFTER the commission bad done it the House
was not allowed to ratify it until the Radi-
cal leaders in Congress had agreed that Mr..
Hayes should carry out bis bargain. This
transaction is explained partly by the fact that
Tilden was compelled, by principles, to OPP
pose Southern as well as Northern jobbery,
whilst Hayes was committed TO it, not only BY
having been supported by the great railroad
| nd int hnth h., ;t,
| by his home organ, the Cincinnati Gazette, as
the Wing policy of internal improvements,
and as the means of reyiving the Wing party
| in the South.
but whilst the chief managers of this in
trigue were venal, the mercenaries were COM
paratively few in number. Their success was
mainly due 10 the jealousy and antagonism of
the present leaders of the Democratic organi-
cation TO the old leaders of the Northern De-
mocracy of the Van Buren, and Silas Wright
stamp, of whom Tiden was the chief. His
accession to the Presidency was distasteful to
the present Southern and Northern leaders
alike, from the apprehension that it involved
revolution in the leadership of the party.
and amounted to a restoration to its control
of that school Of the Northern Democracy for
the overthrow of which the secession move
ment was begun. 1t was only because
the defeat of the Hunker school for twelve
years had demonstrated that The nomination
of a man of the other school was necessary TO
carry New York, that Tlden had been noni-
mated for governor in 1874. Prior to his nomi-
nation it was assumed by the New York 7ri-
bune that Gen. Dix, the Radical candidate.
who had been elected by ajority Of so, 900
votes, would have "a walk-over' at the ensu-
ing election. His defeat by Tilden BY Sc, 900
votes taught the Democratic masses North and
South that the restoration OF the party to
power was conditioned upon their adhesion TO
that school OF Democracy Of which Silas
| Wright had been the exponent; which hav-
ing stood by the Union in the war, had given
the necessary earnest against submission to
Southern domination in the counsels of the
party and country 10 the future. The Demo-
cratic masses accepted the condition, nominat-
ed Tiden and he was elected by the people by
greater majority of the men whose
fathers founded the government, than was
ever cast for any other man. Nevertheless the
leaders to preserve their power in the party
deposed him. The people in the late election
have responded by deposlng about one half OF
those concerned in this, and are likely. |
think, to dispose Of the other half at the next
The election plainly signifies that the people
understand that Tilden was deposed by the
Southern chiefs, and that our Northern leaders
submitted to their will as that of the South,
which would hereafter dictate nominations as
10 ante beilum days.
"The grounds upon which they attempt to
Justify their abandonment Of Tilden, and the
great principle of popular power with which
bis name is now identified, are simply ridicu.
lous. Tie grapdmen OF them is that he did
not publicly protest against the electoral COM
mission, and that his friends notified him, OF
his nephew, tina. the retu rniug boards In
South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana, were
for sale, and suggested buying them. In
view OF the facts with which the public ia
now familiar, no rational man could suppose
that Tilden could by public protest have ar.
rested the proceedings taken 10 Congress to
depose him. Mr.. Hewitt testi6es that Messrs.
Bayard and Thurman the recognized leader:
Of the party there, had resolved on theil
course before he was authorized TO inform Mr.
Tilden OF what was proposed to be done ;
and then, not In order that he might be con.
suited upon any material feature Of the scheme
He pronounced the scheme, to Mr.. Hewitt, q
surrender, but could not get days delay tc
enable to him TO have il discussed and il:
character exposed TO the public.
"As TO the cipher dispatches, Mr.. Tilder
denies ever having had any knowledge Of
them; and the circumstances show couclu.
sively that he did not assent TO the PROPOSE
ton alleged to he contained in them. Ac.
cordng to the Tri6une's translation OF these
dispatches, bargain had been struck, and all
that was wanting to secure the Presidency 10
Illden was that the money should have been
paid. That was q condition which he could
have easily complied with, il he had assented
10 the proposition. II follows necessarily tina,
he did not entertain it,