Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-03-14
THE GREAT "DEFRAUDED" A
FRAUD.

The friends of Samuel J. Tilden
insist that he is entitled to the dem
ocratic nomination for president,
because he was "eheated' out of
the Office in 1880. To such we
commend careful reading of the
following editorial from the New
York Tribune:
"How much better it would be for
| Mr.. Tilden il his friends should in
sist on his nomination. not merely be
cause he is the victim of fraud but be-
cause he has been so grossly slandered
and belied. He thinks he was elected
and cheated out of the office. But
that, if true, only makes him sort OF
political martyr and serves to heighten
his fame. He would much better pose
as martyr-an equestrian martyr II
that would be pleasing 10 him-tban
to be standing off at one side sucking
his thumbs and whining that he ought
to have the presidency because he
has been cheated out of 1t. His
fame can stand his being de-
frauded, but the charge unrelated
that he and his intimstes undertook and
failed to carry out fraud, will be very
damaging. He is entitled to the
nomination of his party; no intelli-
gent person will dispute that; but it
seems to US mistake to base his claim
to 1t upon what his friends are pleased
to call the electoral fraud. He has
been vastly more injured by the repu-
tation of having attempted to procure
the presidency by bribery than he ever
could be by having lost 1t as the victim
of fraud.
We say then that if he needs win.
dication it Is not as having been de-
frauded, but as having been falsely
and libellously charged with attempts
| ing to 'de,fsud our people. 1 is due
to his fame that his advocates shift
IL cir ground, and demand his nomi-
nation as a certificate of the character
to which he is justly entitled. AS the
case now stands, refusal to renOmi-
nate him can have no other siguifica-
ton to ptGerity than that his party
had lost confidence in him on account
| OF the cipher exposure and other ques
| tionable transactions. The effort ia
behalf of his nomination at least should
be distinctly based upon the fact that
IL is due him as refutation of the
charges against bis personal charac-
ter. Should he be Nominated, it will
be time enough then to take up the
other branch of the subject, and ask
the people not simply to vindcate him,
but to give him the presidency because
he was once cheated out of it. Mr..
TiIden can afford to go to his grave as
the victim much better than as the
perpetrator OF fraud.
"Let US then have these things In
their due order. The ground for de-
manding Mr.. Tilden's nomination is
that his party does not believe he had
any thing to do with the cipher frauds,
and that there is no other way by
which they can vindicate and show
their confidence in him. Before the
convention the question Is for his own
party, us he fraud ?" After his
nomination it will be for the country,
Was he defrauded ?" Let the new
Tilden boom begin, then, with gem
ersi uplifting Of hands and solemn as
severation that in the matter
Of the ciphers Tilden was
lamb that his confidence was
imposed upon by Weed, Marble, Pei
ton and the cOparceners; aud that all
through that business, If there was
any one place Ia this country in which
butter wouldn't melt, It was in the
mouth of Samuel J. THden. And w
don't see but the coparceners will have
to play goats till the nomination Is
made, and lie low afterward. Atsny
rate, let's have the natural order:
Question No. l, "Is he fraud ?' Aud
this is now open for general debate.