The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1880-05-26
THE DICTATORSHIP.

reu, by having related to them suet
Maunchausenism as that, II Oran
is reelected for third term, NJ
will make himself President for life
or e dictator
j No man who ever held the oihcs
of President, not even Washington
has had the opportunity that Grant
has had to make himself q third
term President, or President for life.
i Every man remembers vividly the
troublesome position in 1876, when
we hourly watched the bulletins
from Oregon and the South. to see
who would get the one vote necessa-
lry to make the next President.
/ You will remember how we hung
snxiously upon the hope that the
] ELECTORAL commission tribunal
unknown to the law or the Constitu-
tion-migbt work out our success,
getting US three states in dispu;e,
and by doing that giving MIR. Hayes
lS5 ELECTORAL votes, enough. and not
more than enough, to secure the
Presidency. | say this contrivance
of the Electoral Commission was un-
known to the Constitution. 1t was
passed with considerable difficulty in
iCongress, and after that the bill had
to come before President o.. S Grant
for approval or disapproval. The
Commercial, IN reply to Mr.. Ampt,
on this subject, says Grant could
have done nothing toward keeDing
himself in the Presidency.
Suppose General Grant had said ;
Gentlemen, this is o contrivance un,
known to law it is no, constitution
al. will not sign the bill " And
suppose when Mr.. Tilden or Mr..
Hayes had come to claim the Office
OF President, General Grant had said ;
"There has been no fair election" F"
Where, ask those gentlemen vino
are so fond of talking about dicta-
tor, would have been the person to
dispute with Gen. Grant upon that
proposition Would the Republican
party? No. Would the Democratic
party? Nay. Would Hayes
Would Tilden ? Nay.
If Henry Watterson with his 200,
900 unwearied Kentuckians had at
tempted to occupy the halls of Con-
gress, how quickly would the silk
dealer, the dry goods iobber, the ma
tional banker, the man who has
bonds, and ell those who fear anar-
chy, petition General Grant to stay
at the White House and keep the
peace" With no provision made in
our Constitution for such an emer-
geRcy, Grant would have staid until
he chose to go out or until the sssas-
sims had laid him out.
And yet this has ell passed, and
tie qaiet soldier who was as able as
any man of the nineteenth century to
read the signs of the present and of
the future, said no word and did nc
act calculated to increase the confu-
sion, bus aided with all his great
powers the solution of the question
Lesser questions have 8 thousand
times plunged countries in war.
There is trite old saying, that
oftimes you can tell the bent of a
mans mind by observing his judg-
ments OF others Is there not q can
didate using power and patronage
to nominate himself as president, and
that with the sword and arms of the
United States in the hands of the
brother, and who himself is in pos
session of the purse Of the nation ?
BY that judgment which his and his
cohorts pass upon Gen. Grant, SO
should they be judged.
But some may say to me, if you
admit that there are others as cspa-
BILE as Grant; if you admit that
others ss we'll as Grant could be
elected by the Republicans, then
why insist on Grant as candidate? ?
Why call into antagonism the bitter
opposition which exists against him !?
One argument would be, / am oppos-
ed to Judge Kellysim; / am oppos-
ed to handful of minority dictat-
ing to great msjority what they
must do l might say / am opposed
to Withdrawing q candidate because
some men choose to malign, and
slander, and bitterly oppose. All of
THESE replies could be made; there
are none Of them of sufficient impor.
tancs to control our action in q mat
ter that is SO vital to the welfare of
our country as the selection of the
Republican candidate at this time.
While my heart and feelings would
lead me to take General Grant as
our candidate, yet my head tells me
1t would be unwise to drive from us
any Republican votes at such june
ture as this for the simple gratifca-
ton of feelings.
The reason why / prefer General
Grant to all Others is not because |
am hero worshiper / think Grant
has done his duty in the past well,
and think be has been well compen-
sated in the preferences and honors
that have been. given him by the
people of the Union | am for Grant
for these reasons: First, because
believe that he can more certainly be
elected than any other man, and
second, because, when elected, it will
be in bis power to bring about more
lasting good to his country than
would be in the power of any other
man, even If that other man had |
greater administrative ability than
General Grant
But that is simple assertion. Let
me state what | think are reasons
sufficient to satisfy you on both prop |
silions. In the first place we have |
pitted against Us in the coming con-
test the shrewdest, the ablest, the
mos; unscrupulous of candidates. Mr..
Tilden will in 1880, as in 1876, di- |
rect the canvass of the Democracy
with the same ability nov that char
acterized him then. His scheming
will not be less, and his barrel has
increased.
To Democratic success, even with |
Tilden, solid solid South is neces-
city. 1t is q matter too well known
to require argument that Tilden,
with even q modieum of his barrel,
can carry the south united against
any candidate the Republicans have
with the exception of General Grant.