Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-06-05
Aamraster f1,telligerlcer.
At Chicago.

Al SuhC0SOs
If Mr.. Blaine shall be beaten at Chica-
60, as now seems likely, he will have run
the usual course of candidates like him.
self; and having pressed to the forefront
of the battle he will fall PROSTATE, pierced
by the many arrows that are always aim
ed at the foremost man in such a contest.
The history of presidential conventions
is that the most prominent candidate
rarely ever wins, unless events have SO
shaped themselves that his nomination is
assured before the balloting begins. The
field is generally able to beat the favorlte,
and in the course of contention it becomes
very willing and even anxious to do SO.
In politics nowadays it is very dangerous
to any mans supremacy to get too far
ahead of his party rank and file. Both
organizations contain many ambitious
men, struggling for spoils and leadership,
and each one knows that his ambition
can only he realized over somebody's dead
body. Every lance is levelled at the one
whose plume mods at the front, and there
is very little enthusiastic following of one
man in these days.
At the convention of 1876 Mr.. Blaine
nearly won the prize, and yet as it came
closer and closer to him his prospects
only made the opposition more desperate
in their purpose to defeat him, even if
they had to take a man who was not
tasteful to them. Mr.. Blaine started
then with about the same strength he
has now, and of his leading opponents NO
one expected that either BristOw OF
Morton could finally succeed. The field
was made up of scattering forces, and
there was no such compact organization
pitted against him rs that now led
by Conkling, Logan or Cameron
or even rs Shermans phalanx
which has for it's leaders Garfield and
Foster, who are proba bly, the most cool.
headed managers in the contest. 1t need
not be expected that Sherman'S forces
are going to throw themselves into the
arms of either Grant or Blaine until
every last chance of their mans nominal
tion is lost. They hold the balance OF
power, but they are not unconscious OF
it, and are not disposed to fritter away
their strength. Possibly one side or the
other may yet follow them when they
break for dark horse, and if Garfield
were not handicapped by his support OF
Sherman, he would be as likely to I've that
dark horse rs any man in the field.
1t does seem, however, that Blaine
had one chance to win, which has been
thrown away. The time spent by Chan
dler in the committee Oh credentials, was
golden time for the Grant men. Their
fortunes were at the lowest ebl
while the convention was wait
ing for that committee, and had
it been prompt with report favor
able to the Blaine men, stampede
might have been started that would have
enabled Blaine to make the landing. As
it was, Conkling succeeded in enforcing
his policy of delay. lie had all to gain
and nothing to lose by it, and the last
vote taken last night shows decided
gain for him. At the first days end he
was 81 behind ut the close of the second
he was only 81 in the rear. At that rate
of gain his policy will prove Il successful
one, and his genius for leadership will be
demonstrated.