New-York tribune., 1880-04-08
SHALL VIZ INITIATE THE BOURH0NSi

SHALL UE IUII1IE mr. Bpt hHNNDf
There must have been good reason for not
nominating the OK President for reelection four
years ago. What was il 7 He was not unWlll-
ING; and he had in all the States more or less
support. To his popularity as n successful mill
tary leader, and the devotion of great party to
its representative man, there was added mt that
time another element of strength i'll the subtle
influence which the possession OF patronage has
upon the minds of men. no matter how impair
TALLY and I'm cfishly such patronage may have
been administered. lie was no less willing. his
immediate personal adhercnts were no less
anxious, then than now. But he was not even
a candidate before the Convention. His name
was taken out of the lists few months before
the Convention met Why was this Simply
because all men saw that he could not he
elected if nominated. Other reasons there
might have been; this one was enough. The
drift of public opinion was too plain to b0 mis-
taken. No matter whether it was right OF
wrong, whether the popular Judgment of the
administration of President Grant was founded
on reason or on prcjudice the fact was suili
cient that the tide was against him. Under his
administration the strength of the Republican
party became weakness; an almost fatal divi
sion arose Hn uuNcISF Ful'JOl''J N'hi' III i' Wv
House, and the Republican majority in the Sen
ate was gradually but surely tapcrng to the
same result In some States the tide was par
TALLY stayed bya declaration against third
tenn, and others were lost by neglect or delay
in taking the same position. These were the
salient features Of the situation in the latter
part of The ex-Prcsidents secOnd term. The
meaning of it all was too apparent, the logic
irresistible. Let us recall what was done to
save the field.
The Democrats were coming into power by
slow but certain steps; not because OF anything
they had done to merit public confidence them
selves, but simply because of the withdrawal OF
confidence from the dominant party. 1t is not
necessary to discuss the question now whether
the people were right in their distrust of the
one party or in their trust of the other. 1t was
practical politics TO recognize the fact that In
the then condition of the public mind there must
he either change or defeat. The party did
recognize it and changed its course. Expert
cnce made it wise and wise in time. From
being careless it became discreet; from being
reckless and extravagant it became prudent
and economical; it needed the people; it did
the strange thing sometimes thought impossible
purged itself, stclnly pointed the way out Of
public life to men who had forfeited its conf
dcnce and abused official privilege, and put such
an end to public scandals that when its adver-
saries came into power they searched IN vain
with lighted candles for some evidence OF Re-
publican folly or corruption. SO the Hayes
administration came in, and the Democrats
moi on their own merits, but on Republican mis-
takes, came shortly afterwards into control Of
both branches of Congress, with the respcnsi-
bilities it entailed. How lily they have dis
charged those responsibilities, how poorly full
flied their promises of reform. is matter Of
such public notOriety as to require no comment.
We are in the midst of the reaction their con-
duct has brought about. They have manifested
their unfilness and the people have taken knOwl-
edge Of it. We have charged them with Bour-
bonism, and said NIL along that they lacked only
the opportunity to show that they could not be
trusted. And we have seen them verify our as
ssrlions upon their earliest taste of power
They lost their heads with the first signS OF