The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-11-07
THE paSTAND TIE ruTuBE.

Inc pVVVsitiVH nave suuereu NHdt w itst
seemed crushing defeat, but what on closer
inspection is seen to he only narrow escape |
for the Republicans. A plurality of 20, 600 in
New York is so small for that populous
State that we can easily account for IL by the |
moral effect of the October disaster alone. |
II is in no sense the triumphant vindication |
of Republican administration, which that
party in its hour of exultation claims. We
need seek for its cause neither in the tariff
issue, nor in the prosperous condition of the
country, nor in the Solid South, nor in John
Kelly; although all these combined to en-
able the Republicans to elect their weak
candidate, and the defeat of so preGminently
strong a candidate as Hancock would have
been impossible without combination of all
of them. Indeed, the margin in New York
is so close that IT may be accounted for by
the religious question alone so foolishly
raised by John Kelly. When Kelly's man
can only barely escape defeat in a city which
has a legitimate Democratic majority of
0,0O0, it needs no discernment TO see what
tremendous burden Of unpopularity the
Tammany boss brought with him onto the
electoral ticket.
That the one hundred thousand active
offlceholders, and the money they were able
TO take indirectly out of the Federal Treas
ury, counted for much more than the maori-
ties they obtained in all the close States, is
self-evident Therefore, II fair and un-
bought expression of the popular will had
been obtained Hancock's majority of the
electors would have been much greater than
Garfeld's is. Yet this must be counted
among the unavoidable disadvantages the
Democratic leaders had to encounter, and
which they will have to encounter in future.
Among the causes of the defeat which
might have been avoided and ought TO have
been avoided, the most important was the
loss of Indiana. This pivotal State was
thrown away several times over by series
of the most incredible bunders. In the
order of their effect these were ~ the nomi.
nation of English. The Indiana delegation
| at Cincinnati, in the true spirit of the ma
chine politician, who, caring nothing fol
principles himself, imagnes they are cast OF
and off just as lightly by the people, pu
forward for the Vice Presidency a man VIII,
was the very incarnation of all that indiana
Democrats had been taught to abhor-a ma
tional banker, usurer, forecloser of mort
cages, an enemy of the greenback. TheI
(2) the Nationals had proved at every recen
} election that they held the balance of powe
nomination of English, the same part,
!, which had two years before voted for an,
elected the Greenback apostle, De La Matyr
now insisted upon running a straight Demo
cratic candidate against him. OF cours
this made the Greenbackers mad, and thi
alone, in all probability, lost Landers vote
, enough to have elected him, for note tina
the Democratic losses were scattered all owe
the State, which indicates that the defea
was largely the result of some such infr
ences as we have indicated. Less formid
e able, but yet considerable disadvantage
which the Democrats had to shoulder, wei
(9 the weakness of Landers, and (4) I'll
action of the Supreme Court in reversin
| tI,a li,tn nF u.
n tion in October.
e Upon surveying the whole field we fir
y that Hancock was everywhere stronger tina
his party, that he was strong enough to eve
It carry the Solid South and the tariff plan
r blunder, and that he was finally slaughtert
l. by local mismanagement and the incredib
weakness of local tickets. General Hanco,
. comes out of the conflict the grandest flgu
!. in the Democratic party. The people Ii;
le only begun to make acquaintance with h
'e splendid military and civil record, and to
Or impressed by the wisdom uniformly di
4" played in all his writings, when the blu
ders of puIblind politicians had enabled Il
RI Republicans TO compass his defeat by Il
" skin of their teeth. The Democracy ha
re no reason to be proud of their platform n
TO of their management during the momento
campaign just closed; they can be proud
.Y their candidate, and If they are wise tn
will stick to him as their forefathers stuck
Nv Andrew Jackson.
us