Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-04-17
THURSDAY, APRIL II, 1879.
THE DEMOCRATIC OUTLOOK

To use a popular phrase, tn,
Democratic party is in a "peck o
trouble" They are in the deepestwa.
ter they have ever found themselves
in since the party was first organ
lied, and just at a time when they
are least fitted for swimming. They,
with all the energy produced by de-
spair, are struggling to extrieate
themselves; but a strong current
has set in from the shore, and their
strongest efforts will prove availing.
The word has gone forth, and they
are doomed. They know this, and
the knowledge that the Republicans
are as fully informed as themselves.
acts as a barb in their fostering
wound.
The extra session, for which they
were so unanimous, and which they
fondly imagined would be a hot shot
in the ranks of the enemy, has
turned out to be too large a
charge for their cannon and the
gun has burst producing only dis
aster in their own ranks. The SEN
sible men of that party in Congress
are also painfully aware of this fact.
Troubles met them at the very out
set. Their gathering bugle calls
brought together a small, very
small, majority and they elected
their Speaker. Then the debate on
the Army bill began. Garfield and
his company began to pour shot and
shell into their camps ana it became
necessary for them to unmask. The
old Confederate sentiments, which
since 1861, if uttered at all, were
only spoken in a whisper in the
House of Representatives, were
heard once more. The old rebel
yell came swelling from their lips
and borne on the breeze to every
part of the North, was fearfully
rebuked by the last elections.
Mr.. Barnum, chairman of the
Democratic Executive Committee,
a cool, collected old politician, says
that the debate lost them 100000
of votes.
King Caucus then issued his
edict that miscellaneous legislation
should be introduced. This of course
necessitated the appointment of the
committees, and the scramble for
choice places coming, jealousies
and discussions were the inevitable
result. The Greenbackers captured
the Banking and Currency Com
mittee and soft money bills were
prepared. On preliminary motions
the awful fact was discovered that
some specie Democrats would not
abide by the decisions of the SOW
ereign. Thus honest and soft
men were brought into con-
hict.
Gen Bragg, of Wisconsin, the
man who, by his fearless remarks
last session caused such a commO-
ton among the Confederates, was
placed at the head of War Claims.
He construed this to mean that he
must guard the approaches to the
Treasury against the hungry horde
of rebel claimants, and introduced a
bill to abolish the Commission, and
q night upon this question is next IN
order. The Confederates, naturally,
can not stomach this, and then the
opinions they can not conceal will
be another boom for the Republi-
cans.
Tilden is in the background,
quietly laying his plans and
constructing his approaches to
the objective point, the next
Democratic National Convention.
Already he has laid Thurman, and
Bayard upon the shelf and per-
suaded the majority Of his party
that he must be nominated or the
party is gone. This can beseen by
noticing a majority of the newspa-
pers, who have been fighting him,
gradually subsiding and making ar