Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-03-22
lanraster fntelLige1lcer.
MONDAY EVENING, MARCH "a. 1880
Subordinate Personal Issues.


Mr.. Seymour gives good advice when
he tells us not to quarrel over old men
who die and leave us the inheritance of
their disputes. 1t is indeed profitless to
a party to contend about individuals, old
or young, and the time-honored Demo-
cratic motto accordingly is, "prin-
ciples not men, which does not
mean that the party should not
be careful to select good candi-
dates, which is as of prime importance as
to pronounce sound doctrine but it
means that it should be content with
the nomination of any good man and not
insist upon the selection Of any particu-
lar one at the cost of the party harmony.
This is something that active partisans
are very apt to forget, and Mr.. Sey-
mour has done wise and timely thing
in calling the attention of the party to it
at this juncture, when it seems in especial
hazard over the insistence of so many
Democrats upon the nomination of Mr..
Tilden; who is Objectionable not simply
because he is old, but chiefly because
there is an active antagonism to him
which disturbs the party harmony. His
candidacy is not essential and should not
be insisted upon. The principles which
he especially represents are vital and
must not be surrendered. We must nom
mate no man under whom we cannot
put in issue the great fraud committed
upon the party and the people in the
withholding from Mr.. Tilden of the
presidency to which he was elected. That
is great issue upon which the coming
contest must be waged. Mr.. Tilden's S
candidacy is not essential to it. We can
not hazard its success by putting him
up to represent it when there are
influences which will prevent him
from getting the votes of all those
who dctest the fraud and would con-
denim it.
The party in the nation cannot afford
to he as rash as the party in New York
was in making its last gubernatOrial
fight on the Tilden and anti-Tilden
question. There is nothing in the ques-
tiOn but a personal triumph of one ele-
ment or the other; and that is question
of too little consequence to the party at
large to warrant it risking its success
upon it.
We pronounce ourselves quite unable
to understand why Democrats, ordin-
arily of good judgment, should want to
make this bitter fight over man, and an
old man at that, who may die when they
are up to their eyes in trouble of his Gre
alton, and leave them a legacy of enmi-
ties. 1t is funeral fight, as Mr.. Sey-
mOur suggests, and all not fond of such
amusements should give it up.
We have plenty of good presidential
candidates to select from. Horatio Sey.
mour would probably suit us all if he
will have it; but if anybody objects to
him, let us pass him, as he suggests, fol
somebody else. He certainly would not
have the nomination unless rendered
with fair degree of unanimity, and
neither ought anybody else to want it
unless SO obtained. We know that we
ourselves will not be hard to please, and
we believe this is the current feeling in
the party. Indeed we do not know anyone
who has been named who would not be
generally acceptable, except Mr.. Tilden.
He is about the only hopeless case for a
harmonious ratification. Hancock, Bay
ard, Potter of New York, Parker of New
Jersey or of New York, Palmer, Eaton,
and a great many more would do. We
have no need to fight over men to get a
good one. There are plenty of horses in
the paddock to give us good mount, and
we can accommodate any reasonable
person with an animal that will be agree
able to him in color, size, gait and
temper.