Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-04-19
la1lraster fntelligencer.
MONDAY EVENING. APRIL 10, 1880.
Conflicting RumOrS.

MONOA1 EVENING" APRlL ~, 1851.
Conflicting Rumors.
The reports about Tilden's intentions
as to his candidature have become so
many, SO contradictory and so positive
as to be very amusing to those who are
not foolish enough to become enraged
that newspaper correspondents will not
tell the truth. 1t requires a long exper-
ience of the peculiar readiness OF the
American newspaper in publishing every
thing that comes along that is OF suffi-
cient interest, regardless of its truth, to
be able to preserve oneself from being
continually deceived and from receiving
as fact to-day what tomorrow is con-
verted into fancy, only the next day to
be offered again as positively true, and
shortly afterwards to he declared ficti-
tious. This see-saw of story is kept up
as long as the subject is of interest, and
the shuttle-cock can he kept up. In this
Tilden matter the style of the game is
very well exhibited, and it is really very
enjoyable to all who can regard it with
calm philosophy. Some people may
think it too bad that their credulity is
thus remorselessly trifed with ; but such
people only need to be reminded that
they have no business to be credulous in
this lying world. 1t is very good thing
indeed for them if the newspapers can
than, Of ~ &c pHII.
cation they are going through, and when
they have been graduated they will have
learned, if they have profited by their
lesson, to distinguish with reasonable ac-
curacy the true from the false; which is
one of the chief duties Of their being.
They have no need to he disturbed by
these flat contradictions as to MIR. Ill
den's purpose concerning the presidential
nomination. For in the first place it is
not a matter which should greatly en-
gage their attention. They are not their
brothers keeper. 1t is not the duty of
the American citizen to anXiously watch
the lips of a fellow citizen to hear him
proclaim that he is not a candidate for
their suifrageS. 1t is the voters buSi-
ness to. determine who he thinks will
make the best candidate and to so beStOw
the office SO far as his influence goes and
not until the voter has selected his man
need it become of much interest to him
us to whether he will accept the place.
In the matter of the presidency, since it
is well understood that it is not an office
that is likely to be declined, the voter is
relieved from any such consideration in
making his choice.
In the second place all those who do
insist upon wondering what Mr.. Tilden
purposes are, can very readily find out
by consulting their common sense. And
we fear that the reason why the news
papers publish SO many statements on
both sides of this question, is because
they find that there are a great many
foolish people who are interested in it,
and lack the sense and self-reliance. to de-
eide il for themselves. Certainly every
one has all the conditions necessary to
enable him to know as much about Mr..
Tillen's mind in this matter as Mr.. Til
den does himself. They will assume
that he would like to be a presidential
candidate, because everybody else would
like it, and he liked it once before, show
ing that he is man of like tastes
with other men. Upon this founda-
ton they can advance a step
further and assume that Mr..
Tilden will decline to be a candidate
only when he is of the opinion that the
people do not intend to nominate him ;
that is just the time any other sensible
man would decline. lie could not lie
expected to do it before: he may not do
it then. lie will, though, if he is wise.
Mr.. Tilden has an extended repute for
wisdom, and it may be taken for granted
that whenever he concludes that the
Democratic convention will be unwill-
ing to nominate him, he will relieve it
from the necessity of saying so.
The only question therefore which any
one has to determine, to decide whether
Mr.. Tilden will be candidate at Cincin-
natl, is that of the Democratic feeling as
to the proprity of nominating him. This
we all can guess as well as Mr.. Tilden.
We know what our neighbors say. We
hear what those at a distance say. In
the South there is a strong feeling devel-
oped against the propriety of Mr.. Til
den's nomination. In the North the
same feeling exists. We have it in Penn
sylvania they have it in his own state
of New York. 1t is growing. To-day
we hear that one of his staunchest sup
porters, the Brooklyn Eagle, gives him
up because it is satisfied that the public
pulse is against him. These revelations
will go OH until shortly it will be gener-
ally apparent that the Democratic party,
whose first duty is to itself, cannot afford
to nominate Mr.. Tilden.
TIE INTELL1GENCER has no secrets
from its readers. The springs of its
political action are always open, and if
it has a reputation for anything and has
gained fair fame in Pennsylvania jour-
naliSlm by one means rather than another
it has been by saying what it means and
meaning what it says. 1t therefore con-
Germs it or its editors very little what
such a paper as the Harrisburg Patriot
saws about it to the contrary. or what