The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-05-27
THE REPUBLICAN THIRD-TERM
an MACHINE.

THE REPUBLICAN THIRD-TERM
GRANT MACHINE.
The leaders of the Third.term consplra'
cy are Cameron, Conkling and Logan
and they seem to control the Republic
can machine in their respective States
and hence in the country, and will die
tate the nomination at Chicago.
These men are shrewd politicians, and
perfectly heartless, caring nothing for
the sentiment of the great majority OF
the Republican party. Their we'll train
ed following is the machine, and repre-
sents the we'll trained, we'll paid and
we'll differed regulars of the party, as
against the rank and file, Geo. William
Curtis, in a lecture before the young
Sdatchers," in New York, the other
night, defined the machine in this very
graphic manner:
A system is rapidly developing itself
which usurps the political initiative. the
vital point of popular government, and
which rules in the name of the party
as the meanest king was said to rule, by
the grace of God. This system is known
as the machine. The machine is an oil.
garchy, a combination, a ring or clique
of professional politicians, of men who
live by the emoluments Of Office, and
give their lives TO politics. They are not
formally organized, but there is a com.
mon and instructive understanding be.
tween them. Their object is the main
tainance of their own power for their
own advantage; and the power is to be
maintained through party organization
and the party spirit which keeps party
men faithful to party action. The ma
chine trades upon party principles. 1t
has no public purpose, no faith in pri-
vate honor or integrity or patriotism.
Its cry is that all is fair in politics, and
its whole spirit is revealed in what one
of the machine once said to me: This is
a nasty state, and it takes a great deal Of
nasty work to carry it, and l trust we
have enough MISTY agents to do it." No.
where is the machine more powerful
and complete than in the state of New
York.
X 4 4
A remedy can be found only by find.
ing the source of power Of the machine.
and that source is official patron ge.
Strike at this system strongly, steadily,
p%ersistently, and you shiver it, In the
states of New York and Pennsylvania,
the spoils system has already so far sup.
planted the American prinCiple-the
fundamental principle of liberty-that
the important Republican question in
| New York is, not what does the party
wish, but what does Mr.. Conkling say2
and in Pennsylvania, not what is the
conviction Of the party, but what does
Mr.. Cameron mean to do2 Is this Re.
publican or is it imperialP Louis the
XIV. said of France, 81 am tire state"
But a system which enables any member
Of a political party to say with virtual
truth, II am the party" is a system that,
so far as that power extends, has de-
stroyed popular government. Our faith.
ers were willing subjects of the crown 30
long as the crown obeyed the law, but
when the King became a despot, they
shook off King and crown together. We
are American born, and we are reCreant
Americans if we do not hold ourselves
as much the enemies of the ~despotism OF
a party as our fathers were of the tyr.
amy of a King.
The Chicago Tribune, which has long
been the leading Republican paper Of
the north west, gives a picture of the Hi
nois machine as engineered by Logan,
which is rather funny, if Republicans
can enjoy the joke.
The position of Boss Logan is &C ex.
traordinary it should be briefly restated.
He is a resident of Chicago. He leaves
the Senate and ele%Ctioneers and pulls
wires for a fortnight in Chicago for third
termery. He attends the primary, and
votes for Grant delegates to the Cook
county convention He is beaten in his
ward, beaten in his county, beaten in his
Congressional district. The Cook county
convention %Convenes. A minority of
less than one.third, consisting of Grant
delegates, seek to organize the ConVen.
ton against the majority. They fail,and
as previously advised by Logan, bolt and
organize an independent convention,
which appoints a full delegation of de-.
feated candidates to Springfield. B)ss
Logan leads the boilers to the state cap.
ital, induces a delegate named Pricket Of
Jackson county, to vacate his seat in the
Boss's behalf appears in the body of the
convention; directs that the regular del,
egation from Cox county, by which his
delegation was defeated by a two.thirds
majority, shall be excluded; not only
from participation in the preliminary
proceedings, but prohibited from taking
seats on the fl or; and then offers a reso.
luton that the regular delegation from
Cook county, as a condition precedent to
having their claims even considered, be
required to pledge themselves not to
take an appeal if they are kicked out
and their places given to boilers!
These three men, whose methods are
sketched ~ Mr.. Curtis and the Chicago
Tribune, from present appearances will
control the Chicago convention. In fact
they will be the convention. A major.
ity Of the delegates will do their bidding.
This represents in its perfection, the
cohesive power Of public plumber"
We hope reputable Republicans, who do
their own thinking, enjoy the picture.