New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-11-18
my TILL M NOT DOF


Until after the New York State election The
Democratic party all over the United states
regarded Mr.. Tilden rs a most excellent man.
Here and there TO be sure. personal nvalres
or personal dislIkcs found pretty bitter ex-
preston in the columns of newspapers devoted
to some spccil Democratic faction, but these
voices of detraction hardly disturbed the large
and harmonious chorus. Politicians differed
about the prOrrety of renOminating Nh I'll
den in 1850 but as rule the whole party
concurTcd in speaking of him az a pure and
high-minded statesman of whom the country
ought TO be proud. As for the affair OF the
clphels, that seemed to cause our Democratic
friends no particular distress. They were
ready TO swear TIL all was blue that Mr.. Til
den had no guilty knowledge of the complOts
of PcltOn and to love him all the better for
the dangers ne had passed.
On the morning OF the 9Th of November the
Democratic party woke up, rubbed its eyes,
and discovered that Mr.. Tilden was an in
famous and shameless old sinner. The cipher
conspiracy assumed new aspect. Although
the facts had been more than year before
the public, it had not occurred to the Demo
cratic party until this moment that, devoted
as il was 10 the sacred cause of reform, it
could not tolerate the leadership of any pei
son who was even suspected Of corrupt in
terference with the ark and shechinah of our
selF-gOvernment. Mr.. Iilden ought to have
known better than t. surround himself with
agents like Weed Pelton, Marble, WOolley
and Coyle whether he was privy to their Op-
CTations or not was a question for his own
conscience. Tie great and viTtuous Demo-
cratic party of the United States, which had
sworn over and over again that it would
never condone fraud, held up its hands in
horror and aversion, and shuddered rs ii said,
"No; take him away; we cannot bear the
sight OF him." The simultaneous shuddcring
of about four million Democratic voters before
breakfast on the morning of the 9Th of No
vember is said to have had almost the effect
OF an earthquake.
There is nothing like a little adversely to
stir the sluggish conscience. If Governor Rob-
inson had not been defeated on the 9TH of No
vemher, it is quite certain that the Democracy
would not have been under conviction of
sin on the 9th. and Mr.. Tilden would still be.
as he was last month, the favoTite leader of
the men who are now declaring that he is not
good enough for them. There has been no real
revolt of any considerable portion of the De-
mocracy against Mr. Tilden's political meth
Ods there as no real opposition to "Tilden-
Ism " in the party the discovery of the cipher
plot did not really shock Mr.. Tildens supporters;
they were ready to accept the Potter Report
as triumphant vindication." and to vote
again for the candidate Of 1876 with perfect
composure, provided he could get the unruly
sachcms of Tammany back into the traces.
l., ba oh m q not
the discredit arising from bis connection with
Weed and Pelton-the party does not mind
that bit; 1t is only the hostility of John
Kelly, and Kelly is strong merely because his
followers are disciplined and hungry. Hence
if Mr.. Tilden succeed in breaking the Tam
many orGanization-which is not very re-
mote posslbility-the whole Democratic party
will discover that he is a pure and illustrious
statesman as suddenly as 1t discovered, two
weeks ago, that he was q paralytic fraud.