The Portland daily press., 1879-11-04
Our New York Letter.
The Close Of the New York Campaign
Promising Outlook for the Republicans
-Robinsons Campaign of Exaggeration
-Blaine's Speech at Cooper Institute.
NEW YORK. Nov. Sd. 1879.

| we shall be in the midst of the closing scene in
| tie political drama, which the people OF New
York have been witnessing for the past six
| weeks. 1t has been very lively campaign
| from the beginning, and the animation during
| the closing days has been more marked than
| is usual in what are called off years. Every
| body realizes that the present contest is pre-
iminary to the grand engagement of next
| year, and the lines will be very clearly drawn.
| A great effort has been make by the Demo-
| Gratis to subordinate national questions to con-
siderations of local policy. The supporters OF
| the Robinson ticket have been strenuously en-
deavoring to encourage desertion from the
| Republican ranks. They have planted decoys
wherever they thought they could gain an ad-
vantage by resorting to that equivocal method of
warfare. 1t is no fault of theirs if they have
failed to profit by the absurd clamor that was
made about Mr.. Cornell's nomination, the
tyranny Of the machine" and the dictation OF
the leaders of the party. There has been
large quantity of ink spilled in the effort to
persuade vacillating and tender-headed per-
| sons who call themselves Republicans because
| they may have occasionally voted the Repuo-
| lican ticket. to turn in and help the enemy
| this time. 1t looks now very much as II this
| style of electioneering would prove to be moth
! ING but "futle dalliance". My observation
of the political situation is of necessity super
| fetal. / am not one of the conductors or di-
rectors of the Republican machine. L be-
| long, am sorry to say, to that too numerous
| class of citizens who are willing to let other
people perform all the arduous labor OF can
vassing and attending to details. The only
thing can say to extenuate this neglect is
that never have been mean enough to de-
claim against the Drawer men who have un-
complainingly borne the heat and burden OF
the day, nor have ever refused to support
candidate because he had illustrated the SINGER
ity of his political convictions by giving his time
and means to uphold Them.
Judging merely by the surface indications l
am brought to the conclusion that New York
| will be fully and completely wrested from
| Democratic control at this election. l shall be
1 very much disappointed if Mr.. Cornell does
| not poll more votes than Robinson and Kelly
| combined, and carry through the whole Re-
| publican ticket. The Robinson men place
great deal of reliance on disaffection among
| Republicans. They have had better opp ortu-
| mites than have been vouchsafed to me OF
| learning how much aid they wonld be likely to
| derive from this source. They have main
| tanned friendly relations with the malcontents
| 1t is universally believed that they furnish
\ them with all the money they require to print
| and circulate their prctentious manifestos
| Nevertheless, if there are any considerable
| numbers of Republican renegades they have
| the grace to be ashamed of their purposes, for
| they keep ont of sight. They are voters lin
| the air" in the sense of being impalpable and
| unknown. There are always, Of course,
| certain number of political orphans who are
| wandering about whenever there is an election
| in prospect in search of somebody who will
| consent to adopt them. Now and then one OF
these waits succeeds in getting employment as
| a recruiting sergeant and hel hangs out ban
ners and transparencies to entice the passers by
! to enlist The fellows who start in this kind
| OF business are generally persons who have
| tried all other kinds Of ways of making liv-
| ing and failed every time. They almost inva-
| riably proclaim themselves reformers, and in
| sist upon it they have abandoned their party
solely because it was not high toned enough to
reach up to their exalted moral standard. 1t
| is bad year for charlatans Of this sort, and
they don't seem to be making any headway
| And vet it is upon their aid that the Demo-
| Gratis depend to save them from defeat this
| FALL haven't the slightest doubt that they
| will discover whom the ballots are counted that
they were wofully mistaken as to the strength
and serviceability Of their new allies There
| may be multitude Of them but l do
| not happen to fall in. with them. When l do
| occasionally come across one / find that he is
! by no means the fastidious sort of person who
| would ever raise objections to candidate on
account of any moral deficiencies, and his only
| cause of complaint is that the, machine" is not
| run to suit him. 1t is a monstrous affront to
| the intelligence and manhood of the Republi-
can party to suppose that it contains animals
enough of this peryerse and malignant type to
influence the result of Tuesdays election.
As specimen of the exaggeraticns in which
politicians indulge amid the excitements OF
campaign the telegraphic despatch sent by the
Robinsonians to their country friends during
their mass NEE ting of the 2Sth inst. at Gil
more'S Garden, announcing that there were
900 900 Democrats in Council is worth men-
tioning had the curiosity to attend that
meeting Just to see how large an audience the
anti-Tammanyites could get together. l was
there while Speaker Randall had the floor and
when it would be likely to be at the maximum
of fulness. There were certainly not half as
| many people within the edifce as it would
| hold, and if it contains room for 8000 as is as
serted on the authority of the lessee, there
couldn't have been as many as 1000 in the
building at any time that night. tits wretch
ed place to have meeting in. Few of the au-
dience can command a view of the platform or
f.l.. Il,,tf fI,ad
representing that there were twenty thousand
present is in keeping with the propensity to
indulge in bounce which has characterized the
Robinson iparty from the hour they opened
their literary bureau until now.
The Republicans have been keeping the hall
| of Cooper Institute vocal with the music OF
the Union all the week. Monday John Sher-
! man held the stage, and was followed by that
mercurial individual, Gen. Fitzpatrick, who
seems to have recovered from the attack OF in
digestion which made him, while it lasted, a
frightfully cantankerous traducer Of the party
| to which he owes all he is and all he has. He
| seems to have grown tired of the diet of husks
to which he was restricted while he remained
in the enemy's camp, and is glad to be well
coined back in very much such spirit Of mag
nanimity as was shone to his prototype in the
scriptural parable.
On Wednesday the colored men held meet
ing, and it was agreed on all sides thatit was
very successful affair. The speeches evinced
high order of talent. Mr. Williams, the Cincin-
natl advocate who has just been elected men,
ber of the Ohio Legislature, made an extremely
favorable impression upon his auditors. He
has been courteously received wherever he ap-
peared The man is hero He bears upon
his person many scars of wounds received up
on the battlefield. He was literally snatched
from the jaws of death, and is deserving of all
the honors which the lovers of the Union he
helped to save can bestow upon him. The black
man who volunteered to defend the American
flag is entitled to rare commendation, for his
race have suffered oppression under it that alb
solved every one of them from incurriDg any
| sacrifine to nrotecf il from assault.