Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-01-22
Leaving ID Out.

tricts leaving it out" Whenever they
Nleave OUT matter in dispute to be set
tied by arbitration or submission to a
Judicial tribunal, they are pretty sure to
lose their case. And then they go round
dissatisfied and growing. and saying
they ought never to have left it out at
all, but to have insisted on the good, old
fashioned. simple plan shat they should
take who have the power, and they
should keep who can" There was the
famous case of Tilden against the People
OF the United States, in which the De-
mocracy claimed on behalf of Tilden
that he ought to be declared elected
President because. certain Returning
Boards refused to permit the conspiracy
to suppress the negro vote to be carried
out. The party leaders, thinking they
had an absolutely sure thing with an
Electoral Commission made up of
Judges of the Susreme Court, urged that
the questions in dispute be settled by
such reference. They lost their case,
and have been grumbling eyer since.
Mr.. Tilden himself says now that it
never ought to have been left out, and
he has lately gone so far as to assert that
he expected the question to be decided
by Democratic Congress, which would
have elected him Of course, and he would
then have gone to Washington, taken the
oath, and been inaugurated. He thinks
it was a fatal mistake to lease it to the
Judges of the Supreme Court, who at
the best were doubtful, when they might
just as easily have left it to Congress,
where they had Democratic majority
and good thing. The old gentleman
suffered great deal first and last from
the decisions of Courts, and has a natu-
raj prejudice against them, but this was
so sure disappointment that he vows
he never will trust again the men who
agreed to the arbitration, and continual
ly calls upon the American People not
to condone fraud
Governor Garcelon of Maine made the
same mistake. This was case in which
Pillsbury and other choice spirits in
the party had concOcted as pretty plan
for gobbling up a State as ever tickled
the fancy of a Democratic statesman. 1t
was cut and dried long before the cleo
tion. The blanks sent out by the Dem
ocratic State officials for the filling out
iof returns were all prepared with this
end in view, and all the opportunities
afforded by temporary possession of the
State offices were used in furtheranee of
the scheme. Such confidence was felt in
its success, that after the votes had been
counted and the Republicans were found
to have carried both branches of the
Legislature by handsome ,najorities, it
was openly declared by some who were
in the secret that the result would be
reversed when the returns came to be
canvassed. In pursuance of the plan
they did count out enough Republicans
and count in enough of their own men
to give them control of both branches of
the Legislature, and, as consequence,
all the State officers. They seemed to
have sure thing. But there was such
an outburst of indignation that Garce-
Ion, the Governor, was compelled to lis
ten to the demand of the outraged citi-
zens that the questions at issue be sub
mitted to the Supreme Court.
For doing this, even though he had no
intention of making a fair and honest
submission of the points involved, Pills
bury and the rest denounced him. He
did not submit the questions as request
ed, but, with degree of cunning that
entities him to first rank among mod
ern Democratic statesmen, dlew up an
other set upon which he flattered him
self that the decisions of the Court
would be, or seem to be, so nearly favor
able to the Democratic Interpretation of
the Constitution and the law as to give
the cOnspirators a sort of justification
for their action. Misplaced confidence
again. With sure thing in his hands,
he thought to make it doubly sure by
playing another trick on the Supreme
Court and fortifying himself by their au-
thority. But it was the old story. They
ruled against him on every point and
left the conspiracy without leg to
stand on. The pirates went on, to be
sure, just as though nothing lad hap
pened, and no submission had been
made, and Garcelon, lapsing into CRATE
full obscurity on the expiration of his
term, left his gang in the State House
playing at being Legislature. But
with the decision of the Court so square
ly opposed to them, the continuance of
the game was only a question of time.
With the first opportunity the defraud-
ed members organized and re-submitted
the question at issue to the courts.
Whatever comes of it, it is certain that
the Garcelon gang will not be sustained.
The blunder of 'leaving it out" has been
repeated, and all hands curse Garcelon
| for it.
One obvious moral from these facts
is: Don't undertake to steal offices on
quibbles and technicalities. But the one
most likely to be drawn by the DemOc-
racy IS: Never leave anything out to the
courts; if you've got it, keep it. The
late Mr.. Tweed, who was after all the
completest representative and exponent
of his party, followed the safer way. He
took no risks. The maxim Of Democra-
cy should be that of individuals of the
thieving profession: Beware of courts,
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