Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-10-11

OBER IL, 1879.
not intend to vote for either republican candi-
date"
BUTLRR's REFORM SHAN.
Last year there was some pretence Of re-
form movement In the Butler campaign; this
year there may be the same pretence, but there
is certainly no foundation for it. One can
almost see Butler wink and put his tongue in
his cheek now when he talks Of state reform,
especially when one recollects the records the
Butler legislators made last winter on this
question. So far as Butler Is concerned, the
fight is simply for the spoils. The men who
manage his campaign and are at the head of hts
movement are the worst sort of political cattle
in the commonwealth. They have been hunger
ing for fodder at the public crib for years, and
they are for Butler Ut g simply because the present
give them what they want. In every village
and town and city in the state the leading But
Ter men represent the @ very worst " n tel elements OF
say ing that Buffers followers are a good deal
Ike Butler, and that ordinarily would be almost
truism; but people outside Of Massachusetts,
have somehow or other got the notion that the
Butler vote of last year was really the cry of
outraged virtue. In some respects 1t was; but
the virtuous people who made the outcry were
led by horde OF hungry politicians, and the
strength OF the movement only showed how the
foolish good often become the prey of the
shIewd and worldly wicked ones.
BUTLERS ONE HOPE.
There is just one hope for Butler and that Is
that the regular democratic vote will be much
larger this year than 1t was last and that he
may slip in between the contending forces
This is not much of reliance, however, for
the best thing to depend on after all, is the ma
Jority OF the votes. When candidate or
party begtus to talk about succeeding because
Of the divisions Of opponents, and not because
OF inherent strength, it Is very doubtful whether
success is to come at al; There is no doubt
had Judge Abbott polled the full democratic
vote AS 1t was, good many OF the Faneuil
Hall wing Of the party, omong them Judge Alb
bott himself, voted for the republican candi-
date, Govel nor Talbot. This no doubt elected
the latter, and should all the other conditions
remain the same, full democratic vote this
year for John Quincy Adams would elect Gen.
Butler. This is just where his difficulties begin;
as 1t looks now the other conditions are not to
be the same.
WHY THE TRUE-BLUE DEMOCRATS HATE BUTLER.
1t is undoubtedly true that Mr.. Adams will
poll larger vote than Judge Abbott did last
year. The rural democracy are beginning to
ind out that fine words do not butter parsnips
ard that all Buffers declarations about how he
used to be democrat when Judge Abbott was
a free -soller do not make him democrat now.
They have had their eyes opened once again,
and are beginning to hate Butler with the same
intensity which characterized their hatred of
him when he went agtn' Douglass" 1t was a
shrewd move on the part Of the democratic
state committee to put the picture of Douglass
on the tickets that admitted the delegates to
Faneuil Hall at last Tuesdays convention. It
Butler, and probably added good deal of
volume to the cheers with which the staunch
talk OF Reuben Noble and Judge Abbott was
closer Sticking to the Old aemoerstie dza
ton this year than there was last.
WHY THE DEMOCRATS WILL NOT VOTE FOR LONG.
The democratic votes that Talbot got Long
will not get. Long has been too closely identt-
fed with the republican machIne-too much
part Of the thing which the democrats of Massa-
ch1setts have been ems 50 many years lighting to
democratic votes. Besides, it is unquestionably
tue, that the democrats have been badly
treated by the curing the past
have had his plurality had it not been for the
democratic votes he received, aud Immediately
after the election the republican newspapers
were profuse In their thanks to the patriotic
democrats who. under the lead Of Judge Abbott,
had abandoned their party and voted with their
ancient enemies, to preserve the old common
wealth from the rapac1OuS enemy OF ALL Almost
every thing was promised the democracy for
their disinterested support, and the democracy
naturally expected a little share 1n the loaves
and fishes when they should distributed Being
safely In Office, however, the republicans began
to lose their gratitude for the timely assistance
which the democrats had rendered them in the
way into democratic pockets. More than that,
the republican newspapers, notably the Boston
Advertiser, began to figure out how the demo-
election, and finally settled down TO the con-
clusi0n that the republicans would have elected
their candidate with or without democratic
this year, and Mr.. Long will be obliged to get
along principally with republican votes.
WHY BUTLER WILL LOSE DEMOCRATIC VOTES.
On the other hand, as 1 have already said
Butler will not have so many democratic votes
as he had last year. AS good an indication of
hic ~
is what an Influential Irish Catholic priest told
me at the FaneUil hall convention. He Is
shTeWd conservative man with q large parish
II as
year he told me that his people we're bent on
voting for Butler; this year, he says, they have
changed, and good many OF them will return
to the regular democratic organization, and
will vote for Adams.
THIN THERE IS THE REVIVAL OF BUSINESS,
which is against Butler. All over the state men
are beginning to feel the impulse Of renewed
prosperity. After years Of lethargic sleep, the
mills are bustling with an ante panic activity.
S vely ,ew people are co out + OF @ @employment. @ All
last year clamortng for more money cannot now
understand how more money could do them any
GOOD. They have all the work they can do, and
for it they receive wages that will buy more of
comforts than any wages they ever earned be.
fore. The "g1lnd1ng poverty" Of the laborlng
man, man, about which Butler last year made the
tramps over whom he wept SO profusely
are on the road no longer, unless they prefer
the "go as you please to any other form a
labor. All the noises of the factories and the
reltght1Dg OF the furnaces are against Butler,
and he Will not poll nearly so many votes this
year as he did last. The increase in the demo-
cratic vote will not materially help him. The
chances are that the falling off of bis own
strength will be so great that forty thousand
votes for Adams would not elect him. The
chief result of all this will be to reunite the
democracy for next years presidential cam
pa1gD, and it will not be very surprising were
the democrats next year to very nearly divide
the vote in this state with the republicans.
Especially would this be the case were Grant to
be the candidate OF the republicans, and some
such man as Bayard the Candidate of the de-
mocracy. The chances are that Bayard would
carry the state; but no such oltune or good
sense Is to be expected from the democratic
party.
ANOTHER ELEMENT OF BUTLRRS WEAKNESS
this year Is that he refuses to be bled. One Of
his followers said yesterday, "the old man is
growing too avaricious; why he won't spend
more than thirty five or forty thousand dollars,
and how can he expect the boys to work for
him for any such money as that?" 1t is only
tco tue. Buffers boys will not work or even
vote for their leader without money. Most of
them pass lives darkened by poverty during
the prootpr Of and fnnnOrarilV