The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-07-23
REPUBLICAN, TICKET.
THE CAMPAIGN IN A NUTSHELL.

General Grant has quite remark
able faculty of getting at the vcr!
kernel or core of a question and stat
ing it in few simple words. Ills
recent letter on the subject of thu
nomination of Hancock has the adj
ditional merit of being epigrammaIic.
1t ran: His (FIancock's, personal.
official and military record is good.
Tie record of the party which pm
him in nomination is bad" This is
the whole Presidential campaign il
a nutshell. It furnishes an oppor
tunity to the Republicans TO fight il
on the advance ground of Buckle.
The theory of that meteoric genius.
who lighted mp the scientific sky 81"
brilliantly for a moment, was that
man was in large sense controlled
by his environment. The work which
he cut out for himself was to recon
struct hist ory on this basis. The sur
roundings of people having been
accurately asceytaincd, he thought i,
would not be difficult to form gen
eral idea Of their political career. II
is true that he did not get be.'ond
the first volume of his introduction.
But his generalizations were SO clear
ly stated that they arc insensibl,
modifying historical methods. In th
path which lie followed Buckle hold.
up the torch as certainly rs Darwin,
or Newton, or Adam Smith, or Ba-
con did in theirs.
The treatment of historical mat.
ters of which he is the inventor can
be applied AS well to party az to a
nation. 1t will be impossible tor
General Hancock to rise superior, IL
be should be elected, to his environ
meat. HIS constitutional advisers
will be all Democrats, and mosil,
from the South. He will live, move.
and breathe in Democratic atmns
phere. For the first two years oi
his term, at least, he will probably
lave to deal with Democratic Con
gress. All his appointments viii
necessarily be Democratic. None
but Democrats will have access To
him, or enjoy his confidence. N"
matter how much he may kick
agai st l; he will have to See with
Democratic eyes aml hear With Dem
ocrat ic ears. We do not think that
even with this eaatoarage that General
Hancock, if President oi the United
States, wonll consent to a division
of the Union, or permit secession.
Loyalty to the Union is something
that has become fixed and immuiahl
for him. II is something that is
above and beyond the environment.
But that is not in any ssrise of the.
word All issue. There is no desire il,
the South tor separate and indie
psnient existence. Now that slavery
is abolished there wor:l.l be nothing
to gain, but much to be lost by such
a,step.
But there are other dangers almost
as great which can reasonably be
apprrhendrd in the event of Demo-
cratic success. The South will want
TO recoup itself for the losses OF the
war. 1t will not seek to do SO by
demanding a direct compensation for
the slaves that were freed. II will
be just as well content to be made
whole under the head of subsidies for
railroads, levees, improvements oi
rivers aud harbors, aud the like.
The South is heavily in debt, directly
and indirectly. Part ofthe National
debt, incurred. for its suhjugation,
has fallen upon it. BY paper infia
ton not only can this burden, but nll
other burdens, be removed. II is
not impossible TO bring the national
paper once more to the level of the
Continental currency, which, though
based on the faith of the Cont
nent," fell to one cent on the dollar.
It would have gone lower if Com
gress had not passed q law to redeem