The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-11-21
THE LATE ELECTIONS.


The apparent Republican success in
the Northern States at the November
elections has made very different impress
sions upon the leaders of the Democratic
party throughout the country, and the
future policy of the party is entirely un-
settled. Many hold that the defeat in
New York, New jersey and Connecticut
has lost Us these States, and that we
should give up the hope of carrying them
in order to make the contest for victory
entirely upon Western soil. Those who
advocate this line of action do not regard
the financial issues as settled, and pro-
pose to enter the contest with platform
and nominees agreeable to Western and
Southern opinion, without reference to
the North and East. Such conclusion
seems to us entirely erroneous for several
reasons. In the first place, our country
cannot afford to be politically divided by
geographical lines, SO that all the States
in the South and West shall be Demo-
cratic, while those in the North and
East shall be Republican. The party
which should thus declare its intention
10 array one geographical section against
another would be more than apt to meet
defeat at the polls, for the country has
already had bitter experience from the
result of the Republican party's policy
in 1860, which arrayed the other sections
of the Union against the South, thereby
occasioning the civil war, which has well
nigh destroyed the whole fablic of our
government. The Republican party has
continually sought to keep up this sec
tional complexion in our national poll
tics, and has, as direct consequence,
been overwhelmingly condemned by the
people of the United States in every cleo
tion since 1874, and to-day hold the ad-
ministration Of the government by un-
~parralled fraud and official villainy.
The elections for the House of Represen-
tatives have Cor the last three times re-
suited in Democratic majorities, and the
Presidential election OF 1876 gave the
immense majority OF near half a million
for the Democrats. In the face, there
fore, of this decided and repeated con-
demnation of the Republican party in
the whole country, it seems to us that
any policy on the part of the Democrats,
which would tend to sectionalize the
issues of the coming Presidential contest,
would be releasing a decided advantage
which we have over the Republicans,
and would be great mistake. Of
course, we think it is not only desirable
to get every State to go Democratic that
we possibly can, but it is right and ad-
vantageous for as many States to be
united in political faith as possible, pro-
vided that the organization is not entered
into for the purpose Of opposing one Sec
ton against another. This appearance
of sectional division in politics should
not be given in the policy of any political
p.4ty. The platform and nominees
should not be selected with reference to
any section, but should endeayor to meet
the views and command the sufrages OF
every section of the whole Union. Only
by such a wise, conservative and general
policy can the Democracy hope to main
tain its vantage ground in the govern
ment, and finally to triumph over the
party which was formed in sectional hate,
has lived on strife and discord, and to-
day holds its sway by fraud and usurpa-
ton.
In addition to this we think any great
dependency on the part of the Demo-
Gratis over the New York, New jersey
and Connecticut elections is uncalled for
at this time, for although the Republi-
cans have carried the Congressional del
egations in each, their vote does not in
dicate political revolution. State OFF,
GERS were not selected in any of them
except Connecticut, and the result was to
large extent controlled by side issues
and local considerations, which will have
very little bearing in a national election.
These States have each gone Democratic
in the Presidential elections since the
war, except in the Grant-Greely cam
paign, which was not contest between
Democracy and Republicanism, but be-
tween two factions of Radicalism, with
the Democracy playing second fiddle for
the weaker faction. The politics OF these
States has been oftener Democratic than
Republican, and when the important
crisis comes we believe they will all three
be Democratic again. In Connecticut
tie Republicans will get their State OH
GERS, because the Legislature is Republi-
can, but on vote between the two par
ties alone the Democrats would have
won. It is, in our opinion, unsafe to give
up the contest for the electoral votes of
these States with o view of capturing
Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois, which
have all gone Republican in every Pres
idential election since the war. 1t is
true their majorities have been greatly
reduced, and Chic in the State election
preceding the last went Democratic.
They are, therefore, we'll worth fighting
for, but we should not stake all upon
carving them when there are other i'm
portant States presenting equally favora-
bic prospects.
The late elections have, to our mind,
settled the Greenback craze, and demon
H. nar,ncrotip marty has