American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-02-21
The Third.Term Movement.

The Grant boom is in imminent peril
of losing its momentum before the
meeting of the National Republican
Convention. Intelligent Republican
opinion is setting strongly against the
Third Term, and it is more than likely
that Senator Cameron and the rest of
the Grant managers will find Il great
deal of trouble in carrying out their
well-laid plans. To begin with, the
German element in the Republican
party is in open rebellion against the
Third-Term idea: 1t is believed that
not one in ten of those German Ameri-
cans who have hitherto belonged to the
Republican party will vote for Grant
should he be nominated by their party.
The uncompromising hostility of Carl
Schurz to the reelection of Grant is
well understood and his opinions are
potential with n large class of German
citizens. The other day the Hon.
Sigismund Kaufman, a distinguished
German Republican, of New York city,
published letter in which he declared
that "a Third Term is at once Il
dangerous excess of reward and
a dangerous confession of weakness"
.'Such 4 confession continues Mr..
Kaufman, evil not be made with
out its inevitable sequence, and we
shall have Il king ill fact long before we
have one in name. If we must have a
strong man and a strong Government,
let us return to Bismarck and his iron
rule" This is the language of n man
who was the Republican candidate for
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of New York in
1870, and who supported Grant for
President in 1868 and 1872. The anti
IS
under the lead of George William Cur
tbs, also are organizing i'll opposition
to the Third Term. These constitute a
powerful factor in the politics of that
State. Conkling's candidate for Gov
ernor, Cornell, lost the vote of this ele-
ment at the late election, and its defec-
ton would have insured his defeat by
an immense majority had not the Dem
ocratic vote been divided between two
candidates, Robinson and Kelly. Some
of the ableSt Republican journals are
also speaking out in most emphatic
style against the Third Term. The
Cincinnati Commercial, the Springfield
(Mass.) Republican and the Philadel-
pha Ereniny Telegraph are notable
among these. The last named had an
editorial the other day on the subject
of Grantism which ought to be read by
every voter in the Union. We make
the following extract:
at is the truth of history that the Govern
mcnt was never so debauched by political cor
it is part of the truth of history that the coun-
try was never, except in time of war; in so dis
turbed condition; 1t is part of the same his
torcal truth that political scandals were new
or before or since so rife, and part of the same
historical truth that the faults and crimes of
our Government were never before or since so
rnn n
ticc, of political blunders, of political corrup-
tiOn, of sift-taking, bride taking. nepotism. of
usurIation, of constitutional methods set aside
and personal methods set up in their place.
The men who made that Administration the
shame of the country that it was are the men
who came in General Grants train on the 18th
nstant-the Babcocks, the Belknaps, the
Rot esons, the Camerons. They came as the
yuitures come when the scent of prey is in the
air. They come to shape the new Admnistra-
ton as they had shaped the old. Is it any
wonder that the great soldier, whom the peo-
pie honored for his soldiery Deeds and who
wanted to forget forever his civil record, was
received 50 coldly by them when they recog-
niZed his ambition to again I'LL the place he
had SO lily filled, and when they saw about him
again the same rapacious crowd of political
adventures? If the great ovation WIS intend
ed to test the popular feeling, it was great
success it did that, and, despite all the efforts
of its authors TO the contrary, it has shown
that the leaders of the Republican party could
do no more suicidal thing than to insist upon
the nomination of General Grant for the third
term. The voice of the people has been heard
upon that question. and its voice is potential"
An opposition SO earnest and vlgor-
Gus cannot fail 10 make profound inn
preston on the minds of delegates to
the Republican National Convention.
We grant that it is not likely that
either the Pennsylvania or the New
York delegation to Chicago will be in
fluenced to any appreciable extent by
such arguments as are employed in the
article above quoted. The creatures
who are made delegates to Republican
conventions by Conkling and Cameron
understand no logic except their mas
ters' will. Beside they are usually per-
sons who want nothing better than the
revival of that licentious rule which
gave the country during the Admins
tration of Grant a Saturnalian riot of
political corruption. But the repre-
sentatives of the party in other States,
especially in the West. will pause and
consider before they give their approval
to a candidate whose record will put
the Republican party on the defensive
from the very hour of his nomination.
1t may be that these too will be seized
with the fetichism which seems to have
made slaves of the Republicans of New
York and Pennsylvania. We can only
wait and see.-Harrtsburg (Pa.) Pa
triOt.
Republican Courts.