The Portland daily press., 1880-08-26
PRICE 3 CENTS.

frankness Besides, the place is so thoroughly
national in its character-it gathers so many
people of influence from widely-separatcd Sec
tons of the country--that no one can bring his
local horizon with him and keep it long. lie
soon begins 10 take broad views of the canvass,
and gets pretty correct impressions of its gen.
eral tendency, watching the progress of the
contest in those portions of the field where the
fight is already begun with something of the
coolness of a spectator who looks upon a battle
from eminence above the smoke and out of
range of the proiectiles.
met last evening group of Pennsylvania
Democrats-men of considerable importance
in the politics of their State. After a little
good-natured chatting ON both sides, we came
down to frank talk about the situation. They
were confident of Hancock s success, but based
all their hopes on his supposed popularity here
in the East. They claimed New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut for him, but were
ready to give up all the other Northern Stat s.
The nomination of English, they thought, had
ruined the chances OF the party in indiana
81 never saw the man." said one of them, ''brt
l saw his photograph the other day. and l
read the Cincinnati Commercials account of
how he bought in poor mems homes on cut
throat mortgages. / had no doubt OF the truth
of the story; the face was confirmation enough.
1t fitted the performance precisely
What are the Republican expectations"
asked one of the Pennsylyanians. 1--WE shall
begin with about $4,000 majority in Vermont
1 replied. Granted" he said; ''we'n all adj
nit that" Then we shall carry Maine by
fair majority, ranging from 5000 to 5000"
GIVE no doubt of that; Maine is your State;
you used to have 2O,O00 majority there. We
are expecting nothing from the Fusion combi-
nation. Blaine will beat it." s,r
Every well; we agree thus far After Maine
votes we'shall go to the October States, Ohio
and Indiana, unless your people in Indiana
are afraid to make the fight there aud shift
the date for the election again by the trick Of
another Supreme Court decision which
would virtually be a surrender"
81 shouldn't be at all surprised if you should
carry Indiana said the spokesman of the
Pennsylvania party. English is fearful
load for us to carry. As to Ohio, it is Repub-
lican state always in Presidential contests"
by the time we have carried Vermont,
Maine, Ohio and Indiana the tide will set so
strongly in favor of Garfield that it cannot be
turned in November. Nothing succeeds like
success, you know"
'You can't carry New York and the two ad-
joining States, which vote as it votes. This
group of States are our stronghold. They
form the impregnable point in our position.
With Hancock's popularity we can hold them
against any efforts you can make"
replied that if Hancock were as popular
here in the East as they imagined he certainly
ought to have chance of carrying his ::own
State, which was close and had been carried
by the Democrats as recently as 1874 but they
all agreed that they had no hopes of Pennsyl-
vania. The city of Philadelphia would give
any majority the Republicans wanted to make
the State sure, they said; but they were conf
fident that the city of New York would do the
same thing for their side. think these Penn
sylvanians expressed the average opinion of
intelligent Eastern Democrats, when they
based their calculations of success on the big
Democratic vote in New York city and in the
neighborng States of Connecticut and New
Jersey. They were little disturbed, should
add, at the attitude OF John Kelly and his
Tammany faction, but quieted their apprehen-
sions with the belief that il there should again
be an open rupture in the New York Democ-
racy, both branches would support the same
electoral ticket and their warfare would tend
to bring out a full VOTE
The Republicans are well satisfied with the
general situation. The canvass has opened
favorably. They have developed two effective
lines of attack upon their opponents which
they are pushing vigorously. One is the busi-
ness argument against the change of admins
tration, which is equally effective with capi-
talists and working men. The success of the
Democrats would disturb the present prosper
GUS condition of business interests by reviving
all the paper-money heresies OF the Western
and Southern Democracy, encouraging fresh
assaults upon the public credit, putting the
National banking system at the mercy OF the
men who have been attacking it on the stump
and in Congress, and opening the way to the
destruction of the protective tariff and the re-
adjustment of the internal revenue system, so
as to shift the burden of taxation from whisky
and tobacco to the products of Northern inuds-
try. There is nothing imaginative about this
argument. The Democrats have furnished
the material for it by their platforms and their
votes and speeches in Congress. The changes
they intend to make in the financial policy of
the Government strike directly at wages, in
currency and the public credit. All they can
say in reply to this argument is that their be-
havior if they get in power will not be so bad
as they have given the country reason to ex-
pect.
ern question. This was very weak point in
the Democratic front when the canvass began,
with the record of the revolutionary perform
ances of the Extra Session Of 1879 still fresh in
the public mind; but it has since been thrown
wide, open to attack by the Alabama election
frauds and the outrageous census
returns in South Carolina, and by Wade
Hampton's indiscreet utterances. 1t is an
easy thing now for Republican orators to stir
up the old loyal sentiment OF the North. Ala
bama has given new exhibition of the meth
DDS the Southern Democracy resorts to for
the purpose ofigetting controlfof the Govern
ment; South Carolina has shown that it is as
ready to stuff the census returns as the ballot
box for the sake of grining political power;
and Hampton has made public declaration
that Democratic victory will be victory of
the principles for which Lee and Stopewall
Jackson fought.
How do the Democrats meet these two
strong arguments? They are not meeting
them at all. The business question they dodge
altogether, and the Southern question they en-
deavor to ridicule as fresh waving of the
''bloody Shirt They depend wholly upon
counter attack in two lines: revival of the
fraud cry of 1877, and personal abuse of
General Garfield. They have blundered badly
in starting their canvass. Their arguments
are effectual only with men who are Demo-
Gratis naturally by the structure of their brains,
and would vote the Democratic ticket no mat
Uor WHO tue CduuludteS were Ou tituer Slu6
The result of the contest this year is going to
be determined by the votes of the element not
strongly attached to either party-the inde-
pendent voters in the close States. This ele-
ment is composed of intelligent, cool-headed
men, who pride themselves on their lack of
partisan feeling. and from a stubborn individ-
uality of character refuse to submit to the drill
of either party. 1t is folly to talk to such peo-
pie about Hayes being a fraudulent President.
They know perfectly well what were the dis
puted points in the election of 1876, and the
settlement by the Electoral Commission was
regarded by them as sensible and patriotic.
For the Democrats TO go back four years to de-
nounce Commission which their own party
set up appears to them not only foolish but
offensive. The attacks on Garfield have no
influence upon them, unless il is to dispose
them to vote for him. They know Garfield
thoroughly, and have for years looked upon
him as one of the most independent, high
minded and statesmanlike of the Republican
leaders. When they hear him denounced as
vulgar rascal they feel their intelligence in
suited. They are disgusted at the low tone of
the Democratic canvass, and are every day
pushed farther toward the Republican lines by
the stuff they read in the Democratic news
papers.
The true policy of the Democrats was to
l. Al -.