The Portland daily press., 1878-08-22
Jeremy DiddIer In Politics.

The Democrats of the First District are in
| deed in woful plight. They are grasping
wildly at every straw which promises to help
keep them above the black waters of defeat.
There is no trade or combination too dis.
tasteful or dsreputable for their uses if it
only seems likely to secure votes for their
candidates. Their leaders laugh at the
Greenbackers in private as stupid, gullble
fellows whose delusions are to be encouraged
because they may be made serviceable to the
Democrats. Indeed one aspiring young
Democratic politician of this city was so in
discreet as to state openly In an office before
several persons that the only use of The
Greenbackers was to be bought up, and th at
'we" (the Democrats) propose to get the
most of them" There can be no doubt that
the Democratic Greenbackers will almost
unanimously vote for Anderson, leaving
Gove's support to come entirely from the
ex-Republican Greenbackers. In fact a
considerable number of Democratic strik-
ers have allied themselves with the new
party for the sole purpose of drawing their
associates into support Of Anderson. They
are at their work now, arguing speciously
that Anderson is good Greenbacker, and
that they can get the double advantage of
voting for Greenbacker and Democrat by
voting for him. These fellows were, some of
them certainly, largely instrumental in effect
ing Gove's nomination, and now they delib-
erately propose to sacrifice him and to leave
Republican Greenbackers alone to vote for
Cove, thus drawing just so many votes from
the Republican ticket. Why, one of the
prominent members of the Greenback Dis
trict Convention, the chairman of one of their
most important committees, slyly remarked
on the very day after the convention, that
"Gove is good enough man to draw votes
from Reed" Was anything in politics ever
more heartless and cold-blooded? These in
triguers purpose TO slaughter Cove, who is
respectable though mistaken man, and to
use the Republican Greenbackers as cats
paws to draw the Democratic chestnuts
ON the fire. 1t is certainly not a nice
| thing to do, but then, Democrats are not
very particular.
| In spite, however, OF all this doubling and
turning, this deepness and slyness, these Sc
| cret meetings at the Falmouth, these night
sessions in back offices, these cabals and con-
| spracies, these combinations and betrayals
and all these cunning tricks and manners,
their affairs are not prosperous. Somehow
this sort of chlcanery does not generally
thrive. There are found in the Democratic
ranks more or less straightforward men who
| are disgusted with this sort of thing and will
| not be led by the nose. They don't like to
see their party playing fast and loose on i'm
portant questions and don't like to be parties
to petty intrigues and devices. So all this
maneuyering comes to naught and the DEM
ocrats have fallen into the broken and disor-
ganized condition which they hoped to bring
| upon the Republicans. The Greenback pet
| ard which these crafty engineers so elaboratey
| placed under us promises to hoist them.
They are broken up, demoralized, discour-
aged. They have no firm ground to stand on.
The Republicans, on the contrary, are united
confident and hopeful. They resort to no
tricks and devices, depending upon the JUS
| tice of their cause and the soundness Of their
principles. They are on firm ground, know
what they want and propose to have it.
I'll f. l.