National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1880-04-08
THE MACnINE vs.. THE MACHINE.


Ever since the opening of the pending
canvass for the Presidential nomination Mt
Chicago the cry against General GRANT has
been that he is the machine candidate and
that the people do not desire his nomina-
ton. In the meantime, General GRANT
has had no organization distinct from that
of the Republican party at work in his
interest What has been done has been
through the legitimate organization and
established usages of the political party to
which he is attached and which will, in all
probability, nominate and elect him as
President. lie has been absent from the
country, except during brief period in
which he made his transit from the Pacific
to the Atlantic coast ell route for South
America. He has not established q soli-
tary bureau of correspondence in all the
country, nor has lie subsidized the public
press to work up public sentiment in his
favor His friends have regarded these
methods as peculiarly of Democratic origin
under the inventive genius of TILDEN, and
have not regarded them as legitimate, fair
or Just to his rivals. On that point his
friends and supporters have been firm and
decided. They depend upon q spontaneous
public sentiment for his nomination and
election, and they will come in that way
or not at all.
1t is not little surprising in the midst
of the cry of machine politics as arrayed
against General GRANT to find his rivals es-
tablishing machines all over the country to
force their respective causes through man
uiactured and manipulated public senti-
ment. But it is, nevertheless so. In this
respect Senator BLAINE has exhibited q
marvellous enterprise, TO say nothing Of the
questions of propriety, consistency and
good taste. He established his headquar-
ters at the National Capital, where he could
| have his central machine under his immo
diate eye and supervision. He then in
vaded Ohio, Secretary SHERMAN's State
withhis machine, and set its wheels in busy
motion to worl. that State from under its IA
vorite son and statesman, How success
! full this enterprise may prove, time
must determine, but present indica
tions are that Ohio will declare fo
JOHN SHERMAN, leaving Senator BLAINE
to gain some strength from the pieces
should the SHERMAN machine break down
| in the Chicago grind. How much the Sen
ator may gain from this invasion Of Secre
| tary SuERNIANs domain is not now dis
| cernible, but inierentially not much for hi
] II IL I,nt l.
cannot receive the nomination, will mos
assuredly regard the action Of the Blaineites
| MS imperlinent and outside of the line o
good-fellowship and fair dealing, WheI
they find Secretary SHERMAN unavailable
they will not be very likely to ally them
selves to the cause of a candidate who la
violated the ordinary usages and comitie
of good-fellowship in party relation TOWARD
their chief
After camping on Secretary SHERMAN
manor. Senator BLAINE moved on to Iii
nois, General GRANTS State, and estab
lshed his headquarters at the Grand Pacif
Hotel in Chicago, where most yigorou
campaign has been opened and so conducted
as to lead the public 20 believe that thi
machine is at work under the auspices q
the State Republican Committee, whic
has its headquarters at the same hotel, A
all events, the proceedings of the BLAIN
managers have been such as to chaleng
the attention Of the secretary Of the Repuh
lican State Central Committee, and to lea
to the issuing Of an official circular t
the Republicans of the State, warnn
them that the BLAINE movement i
Illinois is in no degree under III
auspices of tho Republican State Con
mittee. This step has been induce
by the fact that the character of til
literature which is being scattered throug
the State by the BLAINE machine is sue
that the State Committee declines to J.
held responsible for it. This bureau
largely if not entirely in tho hands an
under the management Of those who vote
with the Democratic party in 1872, an
who arc assailing General GRANT with tn
same character Of weapons now that wei
used by the Democrats in that canvas
against the Republican leader and all thi