National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1880-08-02

are led to these preliminary remarks by see
ing notices in the city papers now and then
appointing meeting of the veterans Of the
ancient Democratic Jackson association Of
Washington which are called with spas
modic regular irregulority that responds to
outside movements of the bourbon democ-
raey with devotion rs sympathetic as the
weakness of the zip of an expiring chick
when the last hope has fed and succor,
could it come would be useless. These
veterans still live. They still hang around
the old dilapidatcd haunts of fifty years
had an Office TO bestow upon every Yirginian
who raised his hat and whose color was not
Objectionable. They listen TO the signing
Of the mild west wind rs IL comes from q
st. Louis or Cincinnati convention, lift their
hats as though General JACKSON himself
were passing, gather in some melancholy
hall or lawyers Office aud vote upon the
ancient resolutions once more, rehearse in
speech the story Of the defense of New Or
leans and the slaughter of British troops till
NAAN AitNNlnolDUi lttll Itt WIN llt blbbh VI ~
depraved generation, aud go home to dream
Of parchment and huge deposits of red seal
ing-wax thereon, and blue ribbon, giving
title TO lovely berths in the departments
the army aud navy, and signifying the re-
turn of historical times, and promising the
enioyments once vouchsafed by a WooD-
BURY, n CAss, n VAN BUREN, or other OF
the dispensers Of patronage of the long ago
We will not deny that there is n suggcs-
ton Of monotony in these performances
They are repeated more than once in -four
years. They came Off when ANDY apos-
! tatized, when he went swinging round the
circle, when he returned, when impeach-
.ment failed, when MCCLELLAN was nomi.
mated and GREELEY, when CRoNIN's nose
got in the wrong place, when LYMAN TRUM-
| BULL fell from grace and when WATTERsoN
promised to come down with 100000 armed
men from Kentucky to make sure of the
seating of TILDEN. Now they come out
again on the nomination of HANCOCK, thus
covering period Of sixteen years as full Of
disaster as they seemed to lie of promise.
1t is a strange record of strange hopes
and more strange delusions. General JACK.
son is dead. Old Hickory and young Hicli.
ory, and much later magnates of democracy
have vanished the seeds sown by then
came up bore their grain and it was burned
many years ago, the fire thereof scorchine
the hair Of BEN HILL and burning to tho
bone the flesh of JEFF DAVIS and TooMBs
while these men are trying TO live on tn,
smoke of the perishing cinders or the scat
tered ashes Of q lost cause.
The picture is more sad than the scene il
Connecticut at the Quaker Westinghouse
for the case has no alleviations. The OLD
lady had the satisfaction of knowing that il
was a well-rounded life that was to end il
peace, but these veterans are doomed to til,
awful destiny should HANCOCK succeed o
being crowded from their perches by Tho
WATTERsoN hosts and the hungry horde
from Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas ant
all along shore-men who never heard o
any general but LEE, and whose suffering
in the confederate army are not going to b,
outweighed by the deprivation of twent,
years Watching in Washington for a JACK
son resurrection. No, old boys, you are no
destined to get anything, come what viii
for General JACKSON is actually and posi-
lively dead, and JACKSON associations NJ
longer count.