Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-05-12
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.


WASHINGTON, ID. c., May 9, 1881.
In the two or three previous ditiicul.
ties Of the Republican party, the fight
has been of few against many. Re
publicans were almost solid against
President johnson. The bulk of the
party stood by Grant when n.en like
Sumner and Shurz attacked him. In
the Hayes matter the administration
received little support from the party
leaders. Men like Blaine and Conkling
in the East, Logan and Others in the
West, united in a general contempt for
the position and methods OF the admin
istratiou. All is changed now. How.
ever the question of confirming Robert
son may be decided there is no assur.
ance of final victory for what may be
called the Blaine faction or for the
Conkling faction. About all that is Ger.
tain is, that the contest will be long,
bitter and destructive. The ablest men
of the party-those which have follow.
ing which cannot be coaxed or bribed
away from them-are opposing each
other. believed after the course Mr..
Hayes took that Senator Conkling
would never support n man not of his
own friends for the Presidency. lie
would not have supported Hayes for re.
election or Blaine if Blaine had been
nominated, or Garfield If he had known
Blaine was to be Secretary of State. lie
did support Garfield, however, and did
as much to elect him as any man did.
He is now learning lesson he began to
learn under Hayes. So with Blaine.
He and Conkling, if they live, will be
the leading Republican politicians in
1884 as they we're in 1876 and 1850, and
each of them for fear Of what may take
place after the 4th of March, 1885, will
have a Republican candidate he can re.
ly on or he will have none. The quar-.
rel is no ordinary one.
The course taken by President Gar
field in withdrawing the names of Conk.
ling's friends is .variously commented
on. find very few persons who fully
sustain him in resorting to that method
OF warfare. He has weakened himself
lowered himself in the estimation of
the best class of Republicans as well as
Democrats. 1t is fully admitted that
Conkling's ways are enough to provoke
a saint, but it is agreed that what a par.
tisan or a member of the Senate might
do without complaint, is hardly beft.
ting the President Of great country.
1t is believed now that enough Dem.
ocratic and Republican Senators will
vote with the President to confirm all
his nominations except that of VIM. +.
Chandler. Gen. Brady's paper, the
National Republican, is EXTREMITY bitter
in its treatment of the President. 1t
says editorially this morning, in relation
to the money squeezed out Of the
"Star route contractors for the Repub-
lican campaign fund, that what Gen'l
Brady shrunk from doing, Gen. Garfield
pushed him on to do The Republi.
cans admit now that Garfeld's letter on
this subject was a very grave mistake.
If it had been made public prior to his
election, il would have defeated him.
The colored Republicans of North
Carolina are making ready TO follow the
example of their brothers Of Maryland
in demanding some fair share OF the
government patronage. They will hold
State convention at Raleigh on the
18th of this month to consider this
subject. II is a matter which it is un.
derstood is also agitating the minds of
the colored voters in Virginia and other
States besides Maryland and North Car.
oIina. Southern Republicans now here
fear that this dissatisfaction among the
colored people will eventually have the
effect 10 weaken the Republican party.
without the aid of the colored vote the
Republican party would be no more
than a sectional organization, and not
very much Of one at that. Consider.
ing the natural shrewdness that pertains
70 the colored race. IL seems marvellous
that contributing 30 large a per cent. OF
the capital Of the Republican party
they have been content with such an
infinitesimal proportion Of the profits.
DoS.