The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-04-04
A DEMOCRAT I'VE CAV EJECT.

Major General in the Army, and some object |
TO this, saying, 1--WE do not want any more |
military Presidents" These objections |
come, however, mostly from those who did
not like the war for the Union, who thought
the war failure while il was being wagcd,
and who are not sure yet that il was not on
the whole failure, since one of its incidents
was the relegation of those who think so to
the condition of hopeless minority politi.
cally. 1t is easy enough to understand this
feeling, for there Is no position so dsagreea-
ble for an active partisan as that of the OPP.
position during great and popular war.
Yet in government by parties there must
be Constitutional Opposition. Unless there
is some one to criticise its conduct of public
affairs there can be no due check kept upon
the party in power, and this applies to times
of war quite as much as to times of peace.
Yet this function of opposition is most un-
lucky one for those compelled to assume it
during war period. Even Clay and Web
ster, incomparably the greatest statesmen of
their age, could not be elected to the Prcsi-
dency after their opposition to the annexa-
alton of Texas and the war with Mexico.
Now the very fact that General Hancock
is in the Army is what has given him his su-
preme availability. The Democracy has been
torn by dissensions upon questions of vital
interest to the people, and every active poll
tician has been compelled to take more or less
part in the dispute over these questions.
The central features of the financial discus
sion are as far from final settlement as ever.
for on one hand are he advocates of a paper
currency composed exclusively of Govern
ment legal tenders, and on the other the adj
vocates of one composed exclusively of bank
notes. On the one hand are the advocates
of single gold standard, and on the other the
advocates of a bi-metallic standard. A third
party enters the field and proposes a candi.
date upon the ground that the attitude of
neither of the old parties is satisfactory
upon the great monetary issue. And the
third party has divided the Opposition to
such an extent that 1t has thereby lost not
less than thirty seats in the lower House of
Congress. Of equal difficulty are the ques-
tions raised by the relation of the Govern
ment, and therefore of political parties, to the
tarlh' and to the great railway system of
the country. All these present questions of
much delicacy and difficulty, and yet not
one nor all of them is really the central and
controlling issue that is to be decided by the
autumn elections. A majority of the Demo-
Gratis and majority of the Republicans
would concur in the declaration that their
views upon the currency or the tariff are
not the chief or controlling reason why they
vote for their own candidates and against
those of the opposite party.
Hence, while there are other Democrats
whose war records, If not as brilliant as that
of General Hancock are just as unimpeach-
able, they would lose votes on account of
their known views respecting those disputed
| questions upon which the lines as between
the two old parties are not tightly drawn,
while he can stand simply as the representa-
tive of the distinctive policy of the Constitu-
tional Democracy. There will be difficulty
enough in framing platform to meet the
new phases of the questions that for the last
ten years have been creating dissensions
within the Democratic ranks, without having
a candidate whose record will have to be cut
or stretched TO fit the platform. General
Hancsck's freedom from political entanrle
ments, owing to his position in the Regular
Army, is one of the two great points in his
favor. The other and greater is that he Ii
the most conspicuous and brilliant Unior
soldier now available to head ticket who's,
greatest weakness will be that it is so solidly
supported by those who fought on the othel
side. If the ex-Confederates think the tim,
has come when they can safely show thei
preference for an old line Democratic civilia,
over Union soldier like Hancock they will
make a mistake only second to that the,
made when they disrupted their party rathe
than have Stephen A. Douglas for President