Morning journal and courier., 1880-10-16
TO INDEPENDENT VOTER AND
 OTHERS.

OTHERS.
 An Independent Voter' has sent us an in teresting communication, in which he very impartially states the principal errors of both the great parties and makes just comparison of their presidential candidates Having done this he seems to be still in doubt as to which ticket he and other independent voters ought to support and asks us for advice. AL though it seems to us that his statement of the case is sufficient to convince him that he ought to vote the Republican ticket, we have no objection to giving some of the req sons why most of the independent voters are, and all should be- on the side of the Republi- can party in this campaign.
 And first let us say that we believe in the independent voter. He is great nuisance to party managers, and they find it hard to conceal their contempt for him, even when it is for their interest to do so. But he is a very healthy and desirable factor in politics. He is, perhaps, little too prone to find fault and does not always perceive the limitations of parties or recognize with sufficient clear ness the fact that, as things are, the best party that could possibly be formed would SOOO- he is conscientiously seeking that which he believes to be best for the people, and he is not afraid to be in a minority against what he thinks wrong. These qualities entitle him to | more respect than he gets from strict parti- sans They make him dangerous to parties, but they also make his support and vote val uable
 | Now as to the reasons why independent voters are almost unanimous in desire and work for Republican success. They did not nominate ticket of their own, as they very likely would have done if either Grant or Blaine had been nominated at Chicago. So l far as the man is concerned they did not feel called upon to protest against General Gar 1 field. Nor can they, when they compare the | principles, the past record and the present attitude of the two great parties, escape the conviction that, with all it's faults, the Re- publican party has more and better claims | upon their support than the Democratic. 1 The indepe ndents ignore dead and dying
 issues They see the Democratic party urg- | ing change merely for the sake of change | They believe that while the government is as
 respectfully administered as it has been under
 President Hayes, an opposition which clam ors for change should have something bet ter to offer, or at least an honest, positive
 and ineligible policy. The Democratic party has no such policy.
 They seek the reform of the civil service 1 They cannot expect any reform from the Democrats, who invented the spells system. On the other hand the present administra- tion has begun wholesome reforms ln the l civil service. General Garfield has repeated ly advocated such reform and the Chicago platform marks long step forward in this
 direction, containing, as it does, an explicit | declaration in favor of the reform.
 l The independent voters are loyal men. They ,see that the Democratic party has only half accepted the constitutional l amendments, and has refused legislation de- | manded by them They know that within a year some of it's leaders proposed to nullify l law which the Supreme Court had upheld l because it conficted with their ante-belium notions of the Constitution. They fear, moreover, that the election of General Han- | cock would be so interpreted as to obscure
 the fact that the war ended in Ia conquest,
 not compromise"
 They recognize the dilemma in which the South has been placed by the introduction of l & new political element, composed mainly of l the ignorant and indigent, but they do not find in the manner in which that dilemma 1 has been met anything to encourage them to
 help the Democratic party to power.
 To sum up, they believe, in the words of
 the address issued by the Independent Re- publican Association of New York, that the friends of good government have more to 1 hope for from the Republicans than from the Democrats that General Garfield would make better President than General Han-
 cock; and that it would be unwise in any
 case to trust party whileft is uncertain of
 its own policy or convictions"
 Our critical and conscientious correspond
 ent and others like him who may be in doubt as to how they ought to vote should ask