Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-10-28
The Duty of Business Men.

No business man, no working
man, no investor, can want an
other electoral commission. The one
thing that this country does not want
is another contested election. Practical
men know what such dispute would
cost. How is it to be avoided? Clearly
not by votes for General Hancock. 1t
can be avoided only by overwhelming
majorlties for General Garfield.
True, the Democratic Committee
holds out different prospect. The poor
victims who were weak enough to stake
much upon the promises of this convo-
cation of lncompetents will need no
warning to be shy of trusting its assu-
RANGES. For vast and varied misinfOr-
nation, a Democratic committee can be
trusted to excel the universe.
The Democratic party does not pre-
tend to have chance of success in
Ohio. and has not one chance in thou
sand of success in Indiana. Its leaders
know this. They deliberately lie to their
| followers, as they have done so many
times before, in order to induce them to
make renewed and extraordinary exer-
tiOns, and yet they know that nothing
will save them but miraculous Republi-
can neglect or blundering, and that the
Republicans are not in the mood to ne
glect or blunder. Mr.. Landers polled
thousands of soft-money votes in Indi-
ana which will never be cast for Mr..
English, the most unpopular man in the
State. When Democrats pretend that
their sO-called hard-money candidates
for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency
can poll more votes than were cast for
Mr.. Landers, they know that they are
trying to cheat somebody. For this year,
Indiana is lost to the Democratic party,
past all hope. For the same reasons
the party has not the ghost of a chance
in any other Western State, where its
members are largely infected with soft
money heresies.
Thus the contest turns upon three
Eastern States, New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut. The man is to be pit
led, as the one matchless and incompara-
BILE Ounce of the period. who fancies
that enough Greenback men in
Maine can be brought to vote for Dem
ocratic electors, after what has happen
ed in Indiana, to give that State to the
FuSionists..- In that State, the independ-
ent Greenback vote is likely to poll more
votes than the FusiOnists can command
for the beaten candidate of the Democ-
racy. Returning to the Eastern States
which have been really doubtful, we
find that Connecticut has Republican
Administration. and wise laws for the
prevention of fraud. That State has
never given Democratic majority in a
Presidential election, excepting when it
had Democratic officials to administer
them. Its vote next month is as sure to
be for Garfield and Arthur, if its Re-
publicans work as they always do, as
any future event can be.
New York and New Jersey remain,
and they have only A electoral votes.
Grant that Democrats do not as yet re-
alize the force of reasons which move
Republicans to declare that both these
States are safe for Garfield. Let it be
supposed that both may possibly vote
against him; still General Hancock will
lack three electoral votes, even ii he
gets every vote from the South. So, no
matter what New York and New Jersey
may do, General Hancock is beaten, and
yet possibly by so small a majority that
there is danger of contest.
What is the patriotic duty and the
personal interest of business men? To
make the majority so large and so over
whelming that there can be no dispute.
They hesitated in 1876, and the result
was a prolonged and disastrous struggle |
which might have involved the country |
in another civil war. Then they were
told, as they are now, that
Mr.. Tilden could not succeed, be-
cause, at that time, there was power to
thwart bu,ldozing and fraudulent count
ing in some of the Southern States
where there was a clean Republican ma
jority. Now the swindler and the bull
dozer have prevailed at the South, but
the North has become solid to resist the
party of fraud. And now it is the duty
of every conservative man to realize,
without delay, that the peace and pros
perity of the country are endangered by
votes for General Hancock, and can be
secured by votes for General Garfield.
If we make the majorities overwhelm-
ing in the Northern States, there can be
no dispute.-[N. Y. Tribune.
MuE H0NTR ST