Daily Republican., 1879-12-02
THEY KNOW BAYARD.
A rev Reasons why Bayard's Boom
will NET AkOm.

FROM tno St. faulb tIulbn.D fior ocr TIess.
Mr.. Bayard Is said TO be discouraged
by the pervsrse behavior Of his boom.
de came back from Europe just In the
nick Of time. The destroyer had been
at work among his rivals, east and
west. Thurman had just been slain in
Ohio and Tilden in New York. The
Democracy, stunned and blinded by ac-
cumulated catastrophes was cropping
about among the wounded of lost bat
tle-felds for somebody with life enough
in him to lead it to new defeats.
The party was even reduced to such
desperate straits that 1t explored the
graves left by many former disasters
and proposed 10 dig the bones Of Hora-
tio Seymour from the quiet nook where
they have rested since 1868, to wire
and galvanizs them into the ghastly
semblancs of leader in the contest of
1880. Just at this juncture, calns Bay
ard. He had shrewdly kept out Of bat
tie and escaped disaster had shelter
cd himself in Europe and kept himself
as much alive as his usual habit Is.
What more natural than that the De-
mocracy should hail him as the eagerly
sought leader. But it didn't. 1t is
true some sort of reception was pre-
pared for him in New York ; but as
he came sailing into the harbor, his
delicate nostrils detected an Odor OF
Tammany about it, and he declined to
commit his boom to the doubtful care
of John Kelly. 1t was Hobs0n's
choice, and. as he wouldn'! have a
Tammany reception he got none. As
the next best thing, he went home to
Delaware and got himself Interviewed
in correct and stately platitudes of ex-
cellent English and admirable senti-
ment, which we're telegraphed over the
country without regard to expense.
All the same, his boom wouldn't boom.
This is the more disappointing, as
Mr.. Bayard permits himself to be dis
turbed by no shadow Of doubt that he
is the purest and ahlest statesman in
the Democratic party. And, with a
certain qualification, to be noted later,
he Is correct in his conviction. All
things considered, Mr.. Bsyard Ia proba-
bly, the best Of the Democratic states
men. Why, then, dosn't his acknowl-
edged virtue help his adolescent boom ?
II Ia no satisfactory answer to say that
he is too good for his party. II he were
so excessively virtuous as to repel the
evil element of his party, the good
element would cling to him and, what
Is more important to his success, he
would attract the fastidious floating
vote that is what makes presidents
these days. But Mr.. Bayard does not
attract the virtuous and repel the evil
elements in his party, but the reverse.
He is welcomed by Tammany, while
the virtu0us Democrats and fastidious
independent voters are indifferent to
him.
The reason for this and the failure of
Mr.. Bayard to inspire enthusiasm as a
Presidential candidate, rests in the pc
culiar quality Of his virtue the char
acteristic texture of his personality
His goodness is Of the goody good kind;
of PUPPY, negative, inofsnsive tex
ture, that does not influence others Or
communicate itself to his following.
Mr.. Bayard is not weak man, but he
is a weak>leader or rather he is no
leader at all. He has strong personal
convictions, and he can resist invasion
of his personal rights but he cannot
impress his conviction upon others, or
lay down line of policy and bring his
party associates to follow 1t. He can
refuse to follow his party and sulk
alone by himself in corner bat he
cannot lead. During all his history he
has been doing one or two things, fol-
lowing obediently in the line Of policy
marked out by less conscientious but
more vigorous partisans, or standing
aside silent, powerless and alone, while
his party moved on without him. No
man had ever better command of his
own convictions or less influence with
his martyrs than Mr.. Bayard.
Whenever he has acted with his par
ty, he has surrendered his personality
and has been partisan Of the parti-
sans. Whenever he has separated
from his party in obedience to his per.
sonal convictions, he has carried no.
body with him. He separated from
his party on the financial issue, it is
true, but the party Of honest money
gained only his single vote. lie has
acted with his party hundred times,
without moderating the intemperative-
ness of its partisanship a particle. He
has served on partisan investigating
committees, and the influence of his
less able but more emphatic associates
has tinctured his reports with the
blindsst injustice. He has acted in
Democratic caucus, when the impet-
uous zpal of his associates has swept
him from his conservative footing and
carried him into most radical excesses.
In the extra session last spring, he
surrendered to the madmen who forced
the conflict with the executive as weak
ly az he resisted the fiat money men
boldly the winter before. Mr.. Bayard
always surrenders to the extremists on
political questions.
This is the reason why the bad men.
the unscrupulous partisans Of the Dem
ocracy, do not fear that the political
virtue Of Mr.. Bayard would hang like a
milestone about the neck of their
schemes of partisanship and plunder.
They understand that it is a parade
ground virtue, q campaign catcaword,
that would never be permitted to inter-
fere with party success. They under
stand that Mr.. Bayard as President
would be like Mr.. Bayard as Senator,
personally pure ana incorruptible by
money; but the servant of his party
and the tool of more impetuous leaders;
strong enough at most only to keep
himself from entering upon rash and