The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-11-13
Garfield.

viewed by all Democrats, and by a |
great many Republicans. as impos- |
sible, has happened. General Gar
field is elected President of the
United States by majority decisive
beyond the possibility of visiting
statesmen returning boards and cleo.
toral commissions. The result is tn
place at the head of our Government
the ablest man, in all respects. nut
there for many years; man COM
binding intellectual stamina equal TO
that of Lincoln, with culture and
requirements equal to those of the
younger Adams-slnce whom Gar
field is the first President who could
be termed a scholar. 1t is not worth
while to speculate upon the causes
that have produced this result. Most
of them are too plain to every think
ing man to require even recapitula-
ton. One thing only we recur to,
and that is our ADVICE, so often ten
dered to. and so little needed by, the
Democratic managers namely, to
quit fiinging mud at the candidate.
and begin fire of solid shot against
the party. Doubtless even Barnum
himself, dull as he is. begins tocom-
prehend that when party enbrac
ing the brains, the pretensions and
the pride that are embraced in the
Republican party, nominates man
for the Presidency, its adberents are
not going to be deferred fom voting
for him by assault upon his personal
integrity or roorback letters-One
false and the others forged
We could not vote for Garfield be-
cause we abhorred his political doc
trines. But on personal grounds
alone we should certainly have voted
for him. because he is not only one
of the best fellows in the world, but
has been our friend, 10! these many
years and we came within an ace of
voting for him simply because the
Democratic committee. which was
Samrandallism incarnated for the
nonce in Barnum, said he was
thief, when we knew he wasn't ; and
after while the hing got monoto>
nous and excited our resentment.
If such was the effect upon US, who
never had the slightest sympathy
with The Republican party, what
must it have been upon men who
looked up to this abused, maligned
man as their chosen standard bearer
and honored leader? 1t would be
worth the while of the Democratic
managers to ponder this inquiry
even now.
The great lessen for Democrats,
exc We, all politicians and 'manag-
ers," to learn from all this, is that
when party dominates man for
President it takes him with his
record. If he has ever been accused
the party, by its act of nomination,
declares one of two things: Either
that it does not believe the accusa-
ton, or, believing, endorses the thing
of which he is accused. In either
case the record of the candidate be
comes the record of the party, in its
corporate capacity, and thencefor-
ward every attack upon the personal
Integrity of the candidate becomes
an affront to each individual member
OF the party that nominated him.
We were led into these observations
by a remark of our contemporary.
the Post, the day after election.
The Post said it would have felt
better over the result if it could have
believed that the President ELECT was
an honest man!
Well, to this the most natural
reply would be that that was simply
a matter of opinion, and whatever
doubts might harrow the mind of the
Post, there were people enough be-
lieving Garfield an honest man to
choose 2l9 electorals out of 1863. In
this case and to this extent the ma
iority were right, and the Post,
strange as it may seem, was wrong.
Garfield is an honest man. He is an
exceedingly able man. He is, as men
go in these times. an exceptionally
good man. And if he developes nerve
and courage equal to a tenth part of
his honesty, ability and good nature,
he will make one of the best, greatest
and wisest Of our Presidents.
We know him pretty we'll better
probably than most of those who
supported him do, and it is upon the |
point of nerve and courage alone that
we have the slightest misgiving for
his future. OF course we do not refer
to what is called physical nerve and
courage he has enough of that. But
we mean that sort of nerve which
ono bloc u Drooidapt IN TO-, -