The Portland daily press., 1880-09-01
A DiSbanded Army.

The action taken by Messrs. Cove and
Denison and others, in withdrawing from
the Greenback organization, is having great
and immediate effect upon Maine Green
packers who were once Republicans and
whose interests and sympathies on all sub
Jects OF National interest except finance, are
with the Republican rather than with the
Democratic party. They begin to see what
Mr.. Cove has seen and proclaimed that the
Greenback faction in this State is worked
in the interests of the Democracy. The
Democrats with the exception of those who
have an ardent expectancy of filling State
offices, are not merely Indifferent to Plas-
ted's success-if they thought his defeat
would not injure their Presidential
prospects, two-thirds of them would
vote against him. Their labor for
him is purely selfish. They know
that his election would be everywhere re-
garded not as Greenback but as a Demo-
cratic triumph; not as triumph for Weav-
er, but as a triumph for Hancock. They
believe his success here would secure Dem
ocratic success in Indiana, and New York
and New Jersey, and Connecticut; and so
believing, and with this hope they support
Fusion. Their intention is and their prac-
tice will be to ignore their Greenback allies.
Even now among themselves they denounee
the iniscount last Winter as Greenback
device; and after the thirteenth of Septem-
Der that denunciation will be public They
are preparing to unload to shift, most un-
justly, the odinm of that transaction to 9th
er and innocent shoulders. They are play
ing fast and loose game with the Green
hackers, and the Greenbackers are finding
it out.
That is, Greenbackers of Republican an
tecedents are finding it out. Greenback
recruits from the Democratic camp have
understood it from the first. These men,
who constitute majority of the voters
who threw their ballots for the Greenback
and Fusion tickets last year, went into the
movement with the purpose of beating the
Republican party and making the way clear,
not for new party, but for Democratic
restoration. They enlisted for that object
and when it is achieved they will return to
the Democracy. From the first, Democratic
leaders have exultingly proclaimed that
they could whistle back these men whenever
it became necessary or expedient to reform
their lines. With the election of Hancock
the term of enlistment would be out. The
recruits went into the new organization to
secure Democratic success, not to promote
currency reform. The principles fol-. which
they are fighting are, to use the frank ex-
preston of Wade Hampton, the principles
for which Lee and Jackson fought for four
years. They are battling for State rights
against National supremacy, for the South
ern idea against the Northern They care
nothing for the currency except so far as it
affects Southern interests.
Naturally enough, men like Messrs Cove
and Denison decline to lend themselves to
the furtherance of Southern success. They
have been seeking the ostensble reduction
OF the public debt. They properly appre
hend that that debt WILL in the event of
Southern success, be vastly increased to
satisfy Southern rapacity. They are intel
ligent enough to perceive that the section
which pays but scanty revenue TO the Treas.
ury will heap up appropriations TO burden
the section which pays thetaxes. They are
laboring for freedom of opinion and honesty
Of the belief. They see in how much regard
both are held in the South. They went into
the new movement in order to kill both the
old parties. They find it used to promote
Democratic success and further. Republican
defeat Seeing these things and that the
only available choice is now between the
two old parties they unhesitatngly re-
turn to that political organization which
fought the war, freed the slave, threw open
homesteads in the West to the poor and
landless and stands as the upholder and
protector and defense and shield of Ameri-
can labor and industry. And their example
will be followed by hosts of voters.