Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-10-02
Bayard OF. ssoIters.
Memphis Appeal.

In his recent speech at Columbia,
South Carolina, Senator Bayard, of
Delaware. said "There can be trea-
soni to party rs well as treason to
country, when the objects of that
party are fer the good of the coun-
try. No nan can be true to his
country when he seeks to break up
the machinery which is the only
means of saving that country. 1t
is only from the individuals that
the mass is composed, and the party
that has several units can never
have a sound unity. Such men as
injure a party should never be al
lowed to control its counsels." This
is a stinging rebuke to the Tennes-
see boilers. The democratic party
is organized for the good of the
country. It proclaims an honest
determination to maintain the pub
lie credit, both National and State,
and Senator Bayard believes that
any treason to these views is as Gull
pable as disloyalty to country.
Every democrat is as much bound
to obey the behests Of his party as
to obey the decisions of the courts.
The object of a convention is to
compromise, to harmonic and to
reconcile conflicting views as to
questions of both policy and men.
IF every delegate to a convention
takes his seat with a view of bolt
ing in the event that he fails to Sc
cure the adoption of his measures
and the selection of his men, con-
ventions would become a mockery
and farce. Delegates should not
be, and are not required to stultify
themselves, to renounce vital fun
damental principles, for
''Eternal right, though all else fail,
Can never be made wrong"
But each man is expected to make
some concessions for the public good.
If he believes violence has been
done to principle and injustice to
men, he should attribute them to an
error of Judgment and seek to rem
edy the evils through his own party
and not by becoming a bolter, there
by contributing to the success of the
party not only hostile to everything
proposed by the boilers and to all
the great interests of the country.
Thomas f. Bayard opposed the
nomination of Horace Greeley, not
only for principle, but because he
had no faith in the man. But he
believed the object of the democratic
party was "for the good of the coun-
try" and after the fatal mistake of
GreeIey's nomination had, been
committed, he regarded "treason to
party as treason to country" and
supported the nomination of Gree
lev, whose election he preferred to
a continuation of the Grant dynasty. /
If, like Wilson and his gang of
boIters, he had bolted the Baltimore
democratic convention, which nom-
mated Greeley, and set up for him.
self, he would have been as much
detested and execrated as he is now
admired and praised by his party. |
Mr.. Bayard believed that truth was
omnipOtent and public justice GER
tain, and protesting against the
man and the sacrifice of principle
which inspired his nomination, he
went with his party to defeat, con-
tent to await the public verdict, and
he did not have long to wait, for the
result of the election demonstrated
the wisdom of his councils and
made him the idol of his party.
The Tennessee voters should profit
by Bayard's example. Bolting is
not the remedy by which to correct
errors that creep into party, into a
church or into an organization Of
any sort. This is demonstrated by
the evils which the Wilson boilers
are likely to entail upon the peo-
pie of Tennessee, for Wilson can
not be elected, but he can elect
Hawkins, who opposes submission
of any settlement TO the people, and |
who favors paying dollar for dollar
of all that the State owes. Nor
does the evil of this bolt stop here. !
There Is a possibility of Its electing
a republican legislature, which will /
elect a republican Initiated States
Senator In the place of James Z.
Bailey. And there Is still another
danger imminent. Elect a republic |
can governor. and republican leg
islature, which holds for two years,
and early In November, 1892, the
legislature will be convened in
extra session to redistrict the State
under the new census, and the dis
tricts will be SO 'jerrymanded" as
to give the republicans one-half the
delegation in Congress. Ifrepudia-
tion can be averted at all, and we
believe it can be--if a submission
of any settlement is to be submitted
to The people, and we believe it
ought TO be, as any settlement iglth
out submission Is not worth the