The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-02-26
THE GRANT BOOM.
"In Plain English, 1t Means Revolution. .

|
foremost Republican paper in the count.
ry, has a late article upon the Grant
Third Term movement from which we
make an extract or two. In reference
to the idea that % danger to the count
ry" exists, which calls for the nomins-
tlon of strong man." which notion is
industriously thrown out by the schem.
ing politicians who manage the Grant
gambling affair, the Nation says:
1--WE doubt, however, whether many
persons, even among Gen. Grants warm
eat supporters, have taken the trouble to
picture 10 themselves in detail what this
role is to be. They keep saying they
wish to elect him to maintain order at
the South, but refrain from describing
the mode in which he is to do so without
violating the law They do not tell US
how he is to punish crime in any State
without the Intervention of the courts or
the aid of acis of Congress, without ex.
posing himself to impeachment. When
be was in office, however, he did so
many arbitrary things al the South, and
the relations of the South to the rest of
the Union have long been so abnormal
and disturbed, that it is easy TO see how
good many well.meaning men, in
whose minds the memor es of the war
are still fresh, and whose notions about
the conditions of constitutional govern.
ment are vague, should not form to
themselves any clear idea of what they
mean when they propose to make him
President again, in order to protect life
and property in that region. But this
explanation will not cover the use to
which 1t is proposed to put him,
when 1t is said he must be nominated
and voted for by the Republican party,
because he is the only candidate who
has the nerve and ability to see that he
is not counted by the Democrats. We
think 1t safe to assert that of the thous.
ands who use this language probably
not one dozen hare thought out the idea
it contains-that is, pictured to them.
selves in detail the way in which it
would work in practice, and the results
it would have. The counting of the
electoral vote after the Presidential elec-
ton liz now lodged by law and precedent
in the two houses of Congress, through
procedure framed by themselves Next
year Congress will perform this duty
as usual. There is, under the Constitu.
ton, no appeal from its decision in any
particular case 1t may exclude votes
which some may think ought not to have
been excluded, but no mode is provided
for altering the result thus reached. If
Congress grossly and plainly abuses its
power, it exposes itself to punishment
at the polls at the next election, but to
no other punishment. The theory on
which the American government rests,
is that this punishment will be, on the
whole, found sufficient, even where the |
members of Congress are en- masse gross
ly wanting in conscientious patriotism,
but that at all events it must in all cases
be tried thoroughly before any other
measures can be resorted to.
Nov, what Gen, Grants supporters
propose is, in fact, that in case he-one
of the candidates-should not be salts
fed with the decision of Congress, he
should count the U0te8 himself admiHtnq all |
he thought entitled TO admission, rejeCtin0 all
others; that If the result thus reached satisfied
bim, he aCdS elected, he should take possess
ION of the White House By armed force, and
set the majority in both Houses of Con.
gress at defiance, and begin the discharge
Of executive functions. There probably
are not many of them who like to see
the plan set down in this way, in black
and white, beforehand, but there is no
denying the correctness of this descrip.
ton of it. This is what is meant and
the only thing that can be meant by Sc.
lecting military man for the Presiden-
cy, because if elected lin his opinion)
"he would see that he gets the place"
in PLAIN ENGLISH, 1T MEANS REV.
OLU IlON. 1t means the introduction
into the government of the practice of
having each candidate pass on his own
claims to the Presidency, and then fight
in order to assert them. 1t means chat
we have reached stage in our politics
in which strategiCal skill and military
courage are the best qualifications for
our chief officer, as they were for the
kings Of the Huns, Visigoths and Lom.
bards."
The Nation then goes on to show that
the logical result of the success of euch
a nomination would be that the next
time other parties would nominate mill.
tary men, each of whom would do his
own counting, "and see that he had force
enough to make it good against all com.
ers." It then concludes:
"phe forCeof the foregoing description
Of the Grant programme would be much
if it were true that he was
presented to the party as a successful
soldier, of whose qualities as a civil adj. ,
minlstrator nothing was as yet known,
but of whom as civil administrator
much might fairly be expected; or il, =
having been tried as a civil administra. =
tor, and found not altogether satisfac. :
tory, he had shown himself nevertheless !
4 capable party manager, whose admin :
Isstration, whatever its defects, enabled /
the party to keep its hold on the voters; \
or lastly, If the one country had, since +
be went out Of Office, been passing thro'
4 period of disorder and malaise, from
which 1t was fair to suppose the pres
snce OF "a strong man" in the chief ex- !,
9cutlve would relieve it. But it will :,
puzzle the future historian of the count r
y greatly to find that the Grant move
nent had none of these things behind Il
t. Gen, Grant has been tried as civil 8,
administrator, and it is not denied that =
lis two terms were marked by great cor. -
upton at the seat of government, by u
'reat violence and disorder at the South,
md by the loss of fourteen States by the
Republican party.
lie can, in short, only be produced with o
view to some sort of violence or illegal y
ty. It may be, as we have said, he will n
Iot allow himself to used in this wav: q
he does, those who have not reached y
he conclusion that our political system "
failure, will see that his candidacy o.
imposes on them duty such as Ameri. q
ans have never before been called upon
discharge towards any man."