Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-04-30
Senator Eimunds's Attitude.

\ special Washington despatch to the Bos-
ton Herald of Wednesday says The Her.
aid correspondent has taken some pains to
find out the attitude of Mr.. Edmunds on the
Presidential question, and also the feelings
of the politicians here who are friendly
to Mr. Edmunds The Senator does not, OF
course, consent to an interview, nor does he
permit any authorized statement of his views;
nevertheless what follows may be accepted
as correct statement of them. He is pro
fessedly sensible of the honor which the Re
publicans of Massachusetts have done him in
indorsing him through their State convention
and choosing delegates at large TO the Chi
cago Convention who are favorable 10 his
nomination for the Presidency. He does not
seek the Presidential office, hut he would not
decline the candidacy il he were nominated
by the National Convention. He regards his
nomination this year US wholly out of the
question, but thinks it probable that either
Gen. Grant or Mr. Blaine is to be the party's
candidate in the coming campaign. He IS
intensely desirous of Republican success in
the elections and would support either Ger.
Grant or Mr. Blaine when nominated. But,
if the choice is limited to Gen. Grant and
Mr. Blaine, then his choice is Gen. Grant,
and. if bis candidacy is likely TO be the
means of assisting Mr.. Blaine and defeating
Gen. Grant, no one need be surprised to see
him declare himself out of the field before
the convention meets. He recognizes the
fact that Mr.. Blaine has great strength, and
that, if the Grant men lose confidence in his
nomination, Mr.. Blaine may be nominated on
the first ballot. The Blaine move
ment in Pennsylvania is so strong that,
unless Grant has clear majority
of the delegates before The convention
meets, Don Cameron will be compelled,
for the sake of his own power in Pennsylva-
MIA, to move the nomination of Mr.. Blaine,
and il is we'll understood by Mr.. Edmunds
and his friends that this is Mr.. Cameron's in
tenton. Mr.. Cameron has already taken a
very dangerous risk by antagonizing party
sentiment in his State TO the extent that he
has DONE and he does not intend 10 be count
ed against the winning man in the conven-
tion, whoever he may te. He admits that
he has no control over the vote of his State
when Gen. Grant is out of the way, and
takes the ground, that in that case, he must
conform to the wishes of his Republican sup
porters and go for Mr.. Blaine 1t is admitted
by the friends of Gen. Grant that the Blaine
delegates are likely to stick TO their candi-
date after the first ballot, whereas should
there be a second ballot, Gen. Grant cannot
expect to gain any votes, but much OF the
Grant support is likely to 20 over at once TO
Mr. Plaip,. N yipw of the tlnnupr of Mr.
Blaine's nomination, Mr.. Edmunds does rJt
wish TO do anything that may render it Ger
tain Should the Blaine men secure the llll-
nois delegation, and should it, therefore, ap-
pear, on the eve of the convention, that II IS
necessary for all the opponents OF Mr. Elaine
to combine on Gen. Grant TO beat him, Mr.
Edmunds will undoubtedly urge that course
upon all his friends and supporters. He
holds PARTY success to be a duty. and, with
out going at length into the matter, it is suf-
fcient to say that Mr. Edmunds believes
that u Republican victory could be much
more easily achieved with Gen. Grant at the
head of the ticket than with Mr.. Blaine in
that position Should Gen. Grant lead MI.
Blaine in the number of delegates, and both
candidates still lack Il majority rendering
combination on some new man possible, Mr.
Edmunds who is not to he understood as in
sisting on the nomination of Gen. Grant,
would cordially enter into such an arrange
ment. whether the person to be selected were
to be Washburne, Sherman or himself. The
policy of the friends of Mr. Edmunds is TO
keep the strength OF Blaine and Grant us
nearly even MS possible until the convention
marts, when it is hoped that the Edmdnds
men and the Sherman men will hold the bal
ance of power, ard thus he able to accom-
plish the defeat of both Grant AMI Blaine.