Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-03-03
POLITICAL ~psEmon,rio1s.


1 IlvVAL OCO8kCU u0vO OCCA
nor important. The Teller COMMITTEES, the
onlv political committee established at this
-seaaion. has been of small account, and I'M
derithe o~uieting and business-like influence
If tho administration and with both parties
Decentralization TO avoid mistakes, Con-
srees has mainly busied itself with the ap-
tpropriation bills, and merely political mea-
sures,, euch - attempts on the currency,
have broken down in committee or in the
house. Nevertheless, as politicians from all
parts Of the country are assembled here, 90
the news aud views of every state are more
easily gathered and compared here than at
any other point, and out Of this comparison
come conclusions on which, whether they
are correct or not, a large number of i'm
portant men act.
Well, in the first place, the last three
months have undoubtedly made the repub-
licans more and the democrats less hopeful
of success next year than they were before
congress met. When congress assembled,
on the lst Of December, the shrewdest re-
Epuhlicans privately gave up the contest in
1880 They did not believe that their party
could elect the next president; hence, the
general concurrence in the Grant movement
At that time.
"If we can elect Grant that will drag us
out of the slough" said . prominent repub-
lican early in December. "If he is beaten
he ia out Of the way, and that is a gain to
the party, on which he hangs like an Old
Man of the Sea-"
The democrats at that time were of the
sane mind. They had no doubt that they
could beat Grant, whom they believed as
strong as any other republican candidate in
some contingencies, but the weakest of all
in others.
E& A CHANGE IN THE ASPECT.
+ All this 10 now changed. 1t Is not very
easy to tell precisely the reasons, but the
fact i, tina. the republicans are at this time
encouraged and hopeful, and the democrats
knew that defeat ia looking them in the
face. The main reasor, perhaps, lie that the
session has %perceptibly increased the dis
s%entions in the democratic party and it.
general decentralization as an organization,
while the republicans are, undoubtedly,
more united than when, the session opened.
The democratic party, as it is assembled
here, has too many officers and too few
privates. Ii Mr.. Banning. Of Ohio, could
enforce on his party such a measure as the
army reorganization hill-a measure retir-
ing on half pay OF no pay at all a large
share of the democratic commanders-this
would greatly help ii. 1t is az they say the
army is, greatly over-oficered. II has toe
many presidential candidates, to many
candidates for the epeskership, toe
many men who would like tc
be- chairmen of committees, or who are OF
would like to be eminent in some way, and
each Of whom were engaged in cutting the
throats, Of all the other, or, 10 speak more
accurately, in undermining his rivals.
THE NAME OF GRANT.
The democrats are torn 10 peices by ener
getic presidential candidates, while the re-
publicans rally about the name of Grant
with whom they are confident of beating
Sherman if the astute secretary Of the treas.
ury should loom up too strong in tie con
%vention, and whom they can drop ii it should
at any time be convenient to drop him for
come one else than Sherman. They owe
more than they are willing to confess in this
matter to their president. If Mr.. Hayes
like General Grant in 1876, had a banker
ing for another term, or if, like Jackson, he
we're bent on advancing the fortune. Of a
f~avorite, or, like Buchanan, on marring those
Of some one he detes.ed, his party would
to-day be in even a more demoralized con-
dilion than the democrats. But the presi-
dent does not want a second term and has
no candidate of his own he leaves presl.
Dental rivals entirely alone and the party
machinery moves, therefore, without any
friction from the White House. The repub.
lican candidates are not fighting each other
at least, not to- the party's injury. Nc
one Of them 10 in haste to commit himselI
or his party to any particular policy fol
1850, and the republicans have the further
advantage that they occupy the interior
lines-to use q military term-the states
they count on carrying are in the centre,
while the democrats are troubled with an
eastern and q western policy, each %irrecon-
cilable with the other-not to speak of a
southern policy of internal improvements
and subsidies, which is opposed both in the
east and west.
CANDIDATES AND POLICIES.
As politics stand ut this time the repub-
lican presidential candidates represent sub
staptislly one policy and whether men
are for Blaine or Conkling, or Blaine,
Evarts, or Washburne, or Garfield or Sher-
man, they differ only rs TO candidates and
not se to measures, which are left for Dex,
years events 10 finally decide. But With
the democrats it is very different. Their
candidates represent different policies.
Thurman, who beads the "Uhio move
meDt." represents the policy of paper mon
e! initiation, and be has Of late made him
self cleo the ally of The peculiarly Bou tbon-
ist element Of the south, which is fonnd
mainly 10 Kentucky, and which led the
dlibustering movement during the electOr-
VI struggle, and has Of late engineered tbr
movement, for, all hazards, repeating the
federal election laws. Hendricks, who
hopes 10 hold whatever of the soft money
West Thurman n get, is not much
more than Thurman and water.
Both are alike unacceptable TO eastern
4 =
THE SOLID SOUTH.
1t will be observed that in all these cal
culations Q solid democratic south 10 taken
for granted. But there are democratic po-
l'ticians here who begin to recognize the
fact that the south is, or ut least may be
next year, an extremely uncertain political