The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-11-06
BY WHAT A SLENDER THREAD.

BY WHAT A SLENDER THREAD!
Wcll-by the INSCRIPTIONS use of none
and all the power and engInery of the nationa
government, the republicans have, by the skin
of their teeth, gained renewal Of their lcas,
Of power for four years. Look ing over the IN
cldents of the campaign and the final struggle
on Tuesday, it is amazing to notice By wha
triAing causes the mightiest events are con
troled.
There is no man in his sober senses but vii
concede that had the election taken place or
the first Tuesday IN October instead of \ OVEN
Der, Garfield would have been Overwhelmingly
beaten. Never had a campaign opened more
auspcously for the democrats. Everywher,
the party was full Of hope and courage-"hop
pers" were coming over to The Hancock stand
ard in swarms, while the republicans were lite.
less and respondent Conkling, like Achilles,
sat sulklng in his tent, and Grant, Cameron
and the rest of the "old guard" looked on with
grim indifference. 1t was then that piteous
cry for help went up from Mentor and the old
guard were asked to state their terms" Conk-
ling, Grant and Cameron went to Mentor in
person and presented their ultimatum What
ever it was, there is no doubt it was fully &C.
coded to, and then the ball opened IN such an
assault on Indiana as no state had ever before
encountered. OF course the democracy were
stolen out, sold out and slaughtered. How
could it have been otherwise? In the first
place, contemplate the mighty enginery
brought against them. Then they had made
a blunder in having an election at all in Octo
Der; in the next place, their candidate for gov.
ernOr was q blunder, for man who runs 1000
behind his ticket IS nomin alton not fit to be
made; and lastly they Numbered IN alternating
the greenback vote by snubbing them in the
congressional nominations.
The defeat in Indiana completely turned the
tide 1t cost the democracy 10000 votes in H.
lnois and took most of the "starch" out of
them IN all the northern states. The whole
floating vote deserted its camps like stampeded
sheep, and every doubtful or waverlng repub-
llcan fled back to the old camp as if chased by
a grizzley.
ocratic triumph would have been safe but for
the dsgraceful wrangling among the party
leaders in New York city. There was a clean
and square democratic majority in that city
and Brooklyn of 10000 The John Kelly and
Irving Hall quarrel reduced it to Al 900. That
loss gave New York to the republicans by a
meager majority of $4,000, and that meager
majority makes Garfield President! Hayes
was made president by fraud Garfield by an
accident or rather another fraud, though Of a
different kind, for whereas Hayes was elected
by buying up corrupt Louisiana returning
board, Garfield is elected by the alleged pur-
chase of John Kelly by promise of the con.
troll of the municipal offices and financial steal.
ings of the great city of New York!
And such are the slender threads on which
the destinies of this great nation hang-a blum.
der in Indiana, by the trick of an October
election, to force the nomination of an Indiana
man at Cincinnati; and the Illuminating and
shameful condition in New York that Its vote
and destinies, and through them the destnies
of the nation, should hang on the whlm or
greed of purchasable commodity like John
Kelly!
And il is the 'old story over again" Of mi
norlty president. Tilden beat Hayes 100000
on the popular vote and was sold out. Han
cock beats Garfield at least 100000 on the pop.
ular vote and is sold out only in another way.
Trumbull never spoke more truly than when,
of clean popular vote of two-thirds against
the republicans will ever Gust them from
power.