New-York tribune., 1880-10-26
Az ORGANIZED BLUNDER.

The Democratic party is IN embodied and
persistent blunder There never was party
fhat so invariably went wrong at all times
and upon every question. The capacity i has
for wicked foClshness ard foolish vickedreSS
is something wonderful to contemplate. II
wouId seem the language Of par isan oXaggcra-
tlon 10 sly that this Gfeat party bad not done
wise or prudent ,hing in more t4an twenty
wears: but, cGndidly and truly, Is It not the
fact? lis original blundor perhaps, from the
point OF view Of current political issaes, was ITS
shoudcing Cf the institution of sic cry, ana Ts
attem3t to inveigle the tOlling millions OF the
North into the support and the propagation II
a system that degraded labor and was sure IN
the end 10 take the bread out OF their own
mouths This II did. ard with blind and brutai
obstnacv persisted in it even after II had been
rcDcaicily rebulled and dlsastrously defeated.
II cling TO slavery till there was nothing left
Of it 10 cling to- ani only then, when the insti-
tntIon had utterly gone OUT Gf existence aud
there Was not the shadow OF > hnpc fer It's re-
viva, did they sulienly and with an III grace
arrert lie inevitable. And thGt is but lhe type
of al its acts and its policy. Is tataOus folly
is without parallel. lt has been not only sure
TO take the wrong course when Cwo were
omen. but shut IN to Il single one 1t might DC
trusted either 10 brra6 over all barriers and DO
the wrone thing, or do the night in the T'ost
stupid and blunuering way possible.
/, were idle to undertake to recount tne blum
ders Of their management during even a single
campaicn: bunders rot of individuals, like
Wade Hampton and BeltzhOOver and theiI can
didate himself, but blunicrs that seem to have
been Organized and carried out by the combined
force and concentrated peryerseness OF the
wholc party. OF such there is notable in
stance in the free trade plank IN the platform.
which they are now trying to saddle upon poor
Watterson, but for which the whole party is
spcly responsible, since thei! chosen rcpreSen-
fatives cave it their most careful thought and
the whole party deliberately adopted it as the
best expression Of what they thought they
might pIoiitabls pretend 20 believe. The
shameful fusion in Maine and the futile dal-
lance in Indiana with the Grcenbackers were
parts Of the same blund,riDg policy and though
their candidates silly cOngratulatlOn to PlalSted
WAS piece of folly of his own, it WAS III perfect
keepiDg with the whole management of his
party. Not the least remarkable of the series
of blundcrs that have characterized the pre-
Indiana has been tho scene, ard here the Iecol
of those sharp practices upon their own heads
has been so quick and SO fatal that they are left
| wondering themselves mt their own amazing
| lack cf foresight aud sagacity. The Supreme
| Court decision which annued the ccDstitu-
| tiona, amendment and kept In diana in the list
| of October States for cOnfessedly partisan
purpose, to wit, t. secure the nomination of
| Hendricks at Cincinnati, not only failed OF its
pnrpose in that regard, but was largely iDstru-
mental IN bringing about defeat which, had 1t
been postponed to November, would not have
| bad tithe of The demOraliziug effect that has
| followed so tlat their smart trick has proved
| to be a bl,ihder with most disastrous conse-
| ouences Tho nomination of English, bad
enough in itself, was not half 20 hurtful TO the
marty as thus judicial trick to favor Hendricks.
Mr.. Iilden, though by far the most cunning
and sagacious leader the party has bad these
many years, was not exempt from mistakes
winch have in the end proved fatal 10 his own
political ambition bur ii may fairly be said
that under his lead the patty escaped making a
! great many blunders, and came as noar AS lis
moral and intellectual constitution vonld per-
u,S to being occasionally almost wise. Since he
| was she!vod, the predcstinate stupidity OF the
| Marty has broken ont with renewed yirulenCe
| IL has quite outdone itself in pilIng folly upon
| folly. The "329r frenzy is good illustration
| of it. and only one out OF many. 1t is hard to
| say which in tine latest aud impossible to guess
what will be the last, but at this writing the
| whole patty, through it's stump orators aud
newspapers, seem to have rushed headlong into
an insane effort to prove General Garfield Il Fret
| Trader running on Protection platform, anC
General Hancock ProtectiOaist Oh a platform