Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1879-12-28


We can imagine. in some future child's
history Of the United States. q chapter
like this There lived at that time in the
State of Ohio o man named Rutherford B.
Hayes. There was nothing remarkable in
his appearance or in his character, except
that his countenance was vacant and his
manner and conduct pharsssical. He was
much given to Sunday shoots and tea-par-
ties, and acquired thereby q reputation for
morality which stood him in good stead,
when be finally became q political pre-
tender. He had been very fortunate. as
negative men often are, in every adventure
Of life he had inherited a fortune upon
which he contrived to escape taxation be
had received . military education which
fitted him as the coat Of a giant would fit
q dwarf ; and he had been elected Governor
of the State, because he had been too weak
to offend anybody. and had given no n
reason to fear him in the future.
When the Convention Of the ruling party
Of that day met at Cincinnati to nominate
q cadidate for President, there was q great
battle Of the giants, mortally jealous of
each other. and bent upon mutual destruc-
ton rather than allow the great prize to b
carried away by any one Of them. The
celebrated James G. Blaine, whose tall mon
ument, built from the revenues arising from
his political ventures. is one Of the land
marks of the Maine coast. was entitled to the
nomination, because the majority OF the dele
gates really favored him. But there was
at that time reigning in Pennsylvania, q
family named Cameron, whose power then
no Republican citizen Of the State dared to
resist. bat no trace Of which now remains
in my portion Of that Commonwealth. A
scion Of this powerful house, not being
able to mold him to his ambitious purpos-
es, had determined to slaughter James G..
Blaine. He manipulated the votes which
would otherwise have been given to him,
and transferring, st the opportune moment.
all his strength to the negative man from
Ohio, whom nobody dreaded made him
the nominee, because he thought he could
use him.
When the election came on, it was found
that Samuel J. Tilden had been elected
President. But in three Southern States.
certain bad men. organized in bodies called
Returning Boards ; had possession of the
ballots which bad been cast, and were
charged with the duty of adding them up
and rrounu1natn tha rourlS Thooa xnnr
were paid to alter the returns, and to
proclaim the election Of the defeated can
didates, and soldiers were sent to protect
them while they we're doing this wicked
counted, at Washington. a large arm was
assembled there 70 overase the Congress
which might otherwise have undertaken to
defeat this bold conspiracy. And so fraud
first triumphed in American history, and
the weak and negative man. from Ohio, be- |
came, in name and form, President Of the
United States.
No soone had he got into power he for
got the men who had raised him to the bad
eminence be occupied, and began to plot
against the party which bad given him iss
sufrages. He turned . deaf ear to the
leaders. md discarded the very Cameron
himself. 1t was early observed that he had
fallen into the hands of q cunning man
from his own State, who imprisoned his
mind. and used all the power Of his Ad-
ministration for his OWN purposes, and Of
. German adventurer from beyond the
seas, who filed his head with all sorts of
fantastic notions. But in the process Of
time, when the fraudulent President dis
covered that he could not create a party Of
his own, and 8 common danger threatened
hin and the leaders Of his late party, they
made . pretense Of uniting again. The
coalition, however, Was hollow and de-
ceptive. The two elements heartily de-
tested each other and could never thor
oughly coalesce. The stalwarts. - they
were called, endeavored to use Hayes TO
drive the people from the polls by bayo-
nets. and to put certain agents Of their own
in control Of the elections, 80 As to nullify
the popular viii . second time. But there
seemed to Be bu. n distinct purpose in
the public mind, md that WAS to reverse
the great frauds Of 1876. and to punish by
perpetual exclusion from public life all
who had taken part in the perpetration Of
thai awful crime-and, in spite Of every
impediment to their freedom Of choice, the
people IN 1880 turned the last one Of
them neck and heels. They fell to rise no
more. md the great Republic peacefully
vindieated it, right TO existence.