New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-11-07
DID TIE DECEASED LhAVE ANYTHINGi

overwhelming sOrIOW. HcdNcn loioiu 'h"0 W.
should causelessly, or out OF mere curiosity,
intrude upon this great grief of the Demo
cratic party. or that we should venture
on this solemn occasion upon thoughtleSs
c0nundrum or frivolous inquiry. over the
abundant manifestations OF woe which we see
among the leaders of that great but unfortu-
nate party we would fain draw the ven
of decent and decorOus regard. 1t is
their funeral. Theirs as exclusively and
specially as though il were protected
10y copyright and covered all over with
letters patent. 1t is no business of ours,
nor do we have any desire to stand of and
codly criticise the character of the pro-
cessOn, the behavior of the undertaken
or the department of the mourners. The
corpse is theirs-it is for us to sit silent
% the heavyheeled sexton waves his
screw-driver and calls upon the friends and
relatives to "pass up the north aisle and
"down the south aisle, and take their last
" view of the remains" y; for us only reverently to
uncover as the hearse goes by. And If
we can remember little OF no good of the
departed. we may at least say that there
has seldom been funeral of so absolute
character or one which upon the whole gave
such general satisfaction.
Nor have we any desire TO hurry up the
settlement of tho estate. Ample time should
be allowed TO dull the edge of affection and
accustom the bereaved TO their new con-
dition. But we do venture just at this time
not because we are at all impatient,
but because the general public seems
anxious for early information on the
subiect-to inquire whether the party
winch has just gone ont feet foremost has
left any effects. anything whatever to be
administered upon; anything to warrant
the heirs in keeping mp the sign or
continuing the business at the old stand.
There have been times when the deceased
claimed to have on hand large and we'll
selected assortment of political principles.
Most of them. however, were exclusively for
Southern consumption. and the with
drawal of that trade during the war
left the party pretty nearly bankrupt.
For the past twenty years 1t has been eking
out precariOus subsistence by speculative
ventures of one kind and another, from
some of which it enjoyed bnef ac-
cession of good fortune sufficient to turn
its head and set it on the widest
schemes and most hazardous enterprises but
from mono of them did it derive any perma-
pent profit. 1t speculated very largely on the
reverses of the war. and once or twice seemed
the gamer by 1t, but AppomattOx caught
the party "long" of calamities and no
market for them, and 1t went all to
pieces. Since the war 1t has snapped
No ANYTHING and everything that was
flung upon the market that offered the
slightest chance to trick the public and
make short turn. 1t speculated reck-
lessly upon Republican disaffection with
the Grant administration upon military
rule at the South upon carpet-b aggers, upon
corruption in Office, upon the hardship of paying
the National debt upon the difficulties in the
way of resumption upon hard times, inha
ton, greenbacklsm, grangerism. Tildenism
and, finally, on the conformation of fraud.
None of these have been profitable ventures,
though the party in the coffin worked them
all with great assduity, and at times seemed
TO be amassIng capital at a rate which would
place 1t above want for u term of years But
these accounts were pretty much all closed out at
a loss some time before the recent catastrophe
and in the late elections the chief bust
ness was to rescue rs much as pos
sible from the disastrous specuations on
Anii-Resumption in Ohio and Fraud in New
York. In this effort everything went by
the board. To the eye of the impartial
observer, there seemed to be nothing
left,-no estate to be settled. no assets to di-
vide, no inheritance for the heirs, no pretext
for continuing business no excuse for keeping
up the sign. And yet there may be
something IN the garrett amongst the
old lumber, something that has been
slowed away there ever since the times
of Jefferson. jackson and Calhoun, that can
be made to serve the uses of capital Temporal
rily. or until hard times and poor crops bring
around another chance to speculate on the
country's distress. If there is any such thing
among the rubbish let the administrators
bring it out at once. or else put up the shut
tiers and take down the sign.