The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-05-29
A TIHI 70 rHIIx.


the Chicago nomination. The nomination OF
Gen Grant presents to the democrats the choice
of position Of great strength or of extreme
weakness We take very little stock in the
violent pre- -nomnational opposition to Grant
in the republican party-the Central Music
Hall and Farwell Hall outbursts. All thlso p.
position Will cease rs soon as the nomination
is made We saw the same thing in 1872, when
the Greeley movement looked vastly more for
mldable than the present anti.Grant outbufst,
but that opposition rapidly disappeared
when the process of wheeling into line" be-
gan In a word, Grant will carry the party
strength-he will carry the republican states,
and it remains for the democratic party to de
eide whether he shall carry the doubtful states,
In the rightful solution Of that question con
slsts the opportunity of the democratic party,
ASIDE from the regular voting strength OF the
republican as well as democratic party, there
is, in every presidential contest, an enormous
loose undecided element known as the floating
vote. 1t is this element which controls all the
doubtful states and upon concilating which
more than all else democratic success in the
approaching contest depends There are vari-
Gus ways of influencing that element, but the
chief and always effective one is to secure in
the outset the prestige OF the best man" and
reasonable assurance of success.
To secure that "best man" and reasonable
assurance of success are then the vital and all
important points to be aimed at by the Cincin-
natl convention. Who is that man. What
ever may be the high admiration his more I'M
life, integrity and craftsmanship Of Samuel j.
Tilden, and conceding all they may claim as
to his goodness" few will have the hardlhood
to MAINTAIN that he is the best man the demo
convey to that important floating element we
have referred to the rcmotcst semblanCe of an
assurance of his success Granted even that
he can carry New York, IN which not even
one democrat In thousand has any faith, what
of Connecticut, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia
North Carolina and Florida, all of which will
then become doubtful states? With the loss Of
the floating vote all will most likely 90 over
board
Is Seymour the best man There are thous
and reasons for saying he is and few that he
is not. On the score of purity of life honesty
integrity and lofty statemanshlp he is COMES
sedly without peer And there would flock
to his standard all there is well meaning, sin
cere and honest in the loose, floating voting
elements, so that his success would be reason
ably assured. But Seymour IS old and intirm,
and is known to he so de,erminedly averse to
accepting the nomination that it would be next
to cruelty were iteven possible to force 1t upon
him.
Then what as to Bayard, Hancock, Morrison,
Palmer or Jewctt? Assuming New York TO
be the pivotal state can any one OF them carry
it against Grant? We have the gravest doubts
In favor of Grant in New York will be array
ed the entire banking and money-power, every
huge corporation and every other element that
is wicked, corrupt and corrupting in politics
possibly nominate to carry that state. With
out Seymour as the candidate, land even
doubtfully with HIM, our honest persuasion
is that no democrat can hope to carry New
ork against Grant.
Then who is the "best man" to nominate at
Cincinnati? After calm survey of the whole
field our honest persuasion is with the reser.
walton of a single doubt IN behalf of Col. Nor.
r,sopl that that man 10 david Davia W.
want man who can relieve us of the direand
depressing necessity of carrying New York
1t is said that so jealous is Tllden OF his pow
er in that state that he will merciessly knife
any other man there who wrests the Cincin-
natl nomination from his grasp. Leave Tilden
with his idols, and let us take man that can
afford to let New York go to the dogs, If her
democracy have no more spirit than to cringe
under the whlplash Of Tilden. With David
Davis we can carry Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
and Wisc0nsin,-66 electoral otes,-cnough
with the 1856 votes of the South to give us the
President without New York, Connecticut or
New Jersey, and allowing leeway besides for
the loss of "A southern state or two
The recent letter Of Judge Davis published
in another column) places HIM squarely upon
the democratic platform. He is man whose
purity of life, integrity of character, conserva-
tism and craftsmanship in the broadest sense
of the term make him an object of confidence
and trlst among all classes OF people He is
just the man around whom every dissatisfied,
honest element in the republican party would
delight to rally and upon whom more than
any other the vast, overshadowing and always
decisive floating vote would be most certain
to concentrate. David Davis is man not only
of local but OF national strength. His nomina
every danger the most vivid Imagination can
conjure from democratic success. The ma