, 1880-05-16
POPULAR OPINION.

and desire the success Of my purity and will vote
for Grant If nominated, though he is not ny
first choice.
I wish to say a word about the ''third-term
bolt last Monday. The last poor vestige Of dig
nifty attaching to the third-term campaign was
hopelesy wrecked In this city on Saturday last.
The trust of Gen. Grant IN his managers wus
cruelty betrayed. 4 great reputation was ruth
esly dragged in the nire of disroputable politics.
The President was wounded in tho house Of
his friends! The chief Federal Offices were
prostituted to the uses OF the Grant managers.
The chief county officers were similarly debased.
The Democratic city patronage wns vigorously
used to the same end Every polling place In
the city was surrounded by noisy Democrats
shouting openly for Grantl The polling places
Of the Eleventh and Twelfth Wards were seized
possession Of By the employees of the West
Division uity Hallway Company, consisting
alike Of residents and non-rcsidcnts, and
Democrats and Republicans, under orders
from personal friend Of the ex-
President to secure the return OF thlrd-term
deleg!tes at every hazard. a prominent citizen,
Palmer, connected with the family of the ex-
President by marriage, offered to vote, and in
sisted violently upon voting, the enttro forge Of
Notwithstanding the notorious and admitted
fact that many OF them were presidents.
Federal and county employees who had the conr-
age, agninst orders, to support the untf-third-
term delegate ticket, wero openly warned to de-
sst and threatened with summary removal in
the event OF refusal-and this ut the polls
Anti-Grant Republicans were Disseminated
agutnst by the Judges Mt neary every poll in
the city; nnd nothing but Il systematic and per-
sistent exercise Of the right OF challenge pre-
vented Republican opponents Of the third-tcrm
from being overwhelmed and outvotcd ut their
own prinArics by Democrats offering to vote for
bulldozlng was resorted to by the third term
managers from personal threats of removal
frutn oflice to offers Of Democratic roughs,
shoulder-hittcrs, and thugs to ''nght it out on
this line if it takes all summer But
Notwithstanding the dsgrAcefui characte of
the thrd-term canvass. it utterly failed Out of
ton, IT, were chosen for Blaine aud Washburnc.
majority OF 5t.-thfs on the face Of the returns.
But the thtrd-ter1n managers were not content
q coup d'etat. Tho Chairman Of the County
Central Committee being third termer, he
was directed to assert his right to nominate the
presiding officer, and on Il yva-yocc vote declare
him elected. This arbitrary course, intended to
force upon the Convention as its Chairman Il
person representIng the minority, was ut once
resented, and Justly. too. The majority of any
delibcrntivc body has the right to control its
organization. And out Of this determination of
hG to its e. fghts and ts et IN
After the Coryenr1on had completed Its orgnni-
zadon it ACTED on contested elections. but
part Of the delegation-elcyen out Of f1fteenee
the anti-G rant strength to 1873. Then the third
yeloped an unexpected weakness in their r,lnKs.
Jhe Delegates from the Tenth and Fifteenth
Wards, twelve in number, elected as 'sWasb-
burne men, but accorded to Grant solid in the
tables of Sunday morning, in nll the papers, re-
fused to retire, remained in tho Convention, and
cast their votes for Washburne, This made the
aggregate strength Of the antf-Grant column
li5,-or more than thrcc-fourths of the entire
convention US originally chosen. The bolt then
consisted of fOrty-tye men entitled to seats,
and eleven men unseated from tho Twelfth
NAru on the ground that they had been re-
have been thus specific iu order to show n the
ins!gnitcance Of the bolt. t2) its causelesncss.
and ~ to make prominent the fact that
DELEGATIONS from two wards, although
pie to justify their action. and refused to Join in
it. There WIS but single ground orthe bolt.
namely: the refusal OF two thirds majority
to yield the organization and control to the MI
norlty- consisting Of the other thirdI Such
bolt can be justified nowhere. 1t is the logical
sequence Of a series Of desperate cxpcdients to
save faiiing cause. The first Of these was the
United States Senate and his appearance here
to pull the wires. The Second was the Grant
mass-neetlng, in which Mr.. Washburne was
forced to take part by appending his name to a
city, The third was the snap-judgment call for
the Convention. The fourth was the frantic cry
to Democrats to MD in debauchfng Republican
torty-tiye men from 143 associates, and the set
ftng-up of An independent organization!
!; The whole performance is disgracefu1, and
blush to make record OF it. The series OF des-
perate acts which has characterized the third
term campaign in this county has ended In a
farce which is only relieved from utter Stiffness
by a spice OF 1naltgnancy-the desire to rule or
ruin. This mnkesit political crime. The State
Convention will treat tho boltcrs with the dis
1aln anu contempt due to wickcdncss and in-
qu1ty. STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN,.