New-York tribune., 1882-04-08
JEFFERS0N J1CKS0Y AND PAE

| ",
Order is coming out Of chaos in the Demo-
cratic ranks. The party is pulling itself together
and getting into line for the fray. For long
time it had no leaders ard 10 issues, but 1t Is
collecting both now. This gradual tIansiorma-
ton has been brought about by the skllful
hand of some experienced leader, and our OBJ
servation leads us to suspect that Mr. 1lldens
is the hand at the helm. The change began
with the Jackson banquet in Chicago and was
| continued by the jefferson banquet III New
| Haven and the Irish mass meeting III New
| York The Jackson and Jefferson Danquets
were remarkable for several developments
which have received merited notice i'll The
TRIBUNE, but their chief object appears now
to have been to give Mr.. Tiden an opportunity
TO write letter telling all nc knows about the
two illustrious but somewhat dead statesmen.
He did this with great JUNCTION and with so
much cloquence that the Democratic party
have been sitting around the letters ana holding
| up their hands in admiration ever since. ms
| was very skilful manTuvre. 1t put Mr. III
den in kind of godike trio with Jefferson and
| Jackson, as the only great and statcsmanllk"
| Democrats As two of them were dead, II ioi-
lowed by natural deduction that Iildcn was the
only possible Democratic leader. 1t Is notable
| that during IA long and somewhat verbose
| career, Mr.. Tilden has never wasted any eulo-
gies upon living Democratic statesmen lie
obviously prefers dead men for rivals
But it is manifestly impossible 20 run for the
Presidency Oh Jefferson and Jackson alone. IL
would give the cam pagn too much of a funeral
procession aspect. A living Issue of some KIND
must be had, and as it could not safely be had IN
this country, where the Democratic party has been
on the wrong side OF every public question Tor
twenty-five years, it was necessary TO 90 abroad
for it, An excited orator at the Butler demon
stration on Washingtons Birthday, in Boston,
7 cmarkcd that there were American citizens
rotting in British Dungeons and declared 1t to
he thc purpose of the Democratic party TO get
them out. Mr. Tillen has cribbed this issue
from General Butler, and comes to the front
| noblv as a champion of Pat. He wrotc a beau
tiful letter on the subject to the Irish mass
meeting on Monday night, and from the zeal
with which the Democratic press has followed
his lead. we Ia Ike it that the party has adopted
Pat AS its living issue As usual, they take the
| wrong side of the question II they sided with
the better class of Irish in this country and else
where in favor OF a manly and legitimate
struoole for the freedom of ireland and against
all efforts to secure freedom by murder and
outrace there could be no objection to their
course. But their zeal for Irish votes carries
J them far beyond that. They join their forces
with the dynamite operators. and with them
denouncc as a "sycophant" one of the most
eminent, patriotic and highly honorcd OF
Americans. whose offence is that he has allowed
himself to be on friendly terms with Lord
Granville. Day after day the Democratic press
of this country has presented the astounding
spectacle of American newspapers traduclng
and slandcring one of the most accomplished
of living Americans simply to gain Irish votes
1t is this conduct which makes Pat the one
living Democratic issue. by Pat w mean the
Irishman who roars No Rent and threatens
TO lay london in ashes if he is forced to pay It,
There is a certain fitness in the Democratic
party adopting Pat and his issue. We cannot
see why the No Rent cry should not be
started here with as much reason rs IT Is con-
timed in Ireland. American tenants have
nothing like the privileges offered Irish tenants
by the Land Act. We have 10 doubt that if
| Pat were to say to the Democratic party,
| Take up the No Rent issue here or you can't
have our votes" the party would at once adopt
it, Even Mayor Grace, who is something Of a
landlord himself might possibly enjoy presid-
| ing at "a meeting to start the movement. 1t Is
a good Democratic issue. It's spirit is entirely
Democratic. Ii is communistic, of course, but
so was the Greenback craze. The Green
hackers simply wished to escape paying their
lust debts The " No Rent advocates have
similar wish. The Democratic party accepted
the Grcenbacl issue, formed open alliances
with its advocates, and did their best to force
their policy upon the country and put an in
eilaceable stain upon the public credit 1t
would be entirely consistent, therefore, tOg the
Democrats to adopt Pat and bis quarrel. They
could thereby round out and complete their
platform, and enter the campaign with some
such stirring notices as these upon their ban
ner: Down with Protection. and down with
wagesr Down with the National Banks and
up with panic p Z" Free Whiskey, Free Trade
and No Rent aIIu.rah for Jefferson and
Jackson - Ilnrrah for Ould lrelandW 1t
would glve us inexpressbc pleasure to see Mr..
| Tilden marching to the fray under that ensign.
| ----------
| Mr. Tildens late fervent eulogums upon himself
| -thny disguised as letters to Jefferson Dinners
recall the twenty y-nine carat compliment winch Mr.
| Tigg once paid to Chevy Slyne. Mr. Slyme said to
| Tigg: pm not man of common capacity or ac-
complislments, think am Or am notT Being
thus invited to give his candid opinion of his friend
| Mr. Tigg replied: lyon are the American aloe of
the human race, my dear Chev, which only bios
SONS once in hundred years" Chevy Slyme has
passed away but and anon T1lden says to him.
| self: Pm not ordinary statesman or political
wire-puller OF bar'l-dispenser. think tell me- my
Utmost soul, how is it," And being thus addressed
his inmost soul, playing the role of Tigg, replies
sec his recent letters" Samuel, you arc the Ameri
can aloe OF the human race, which only blossoms
once in hundred years." The great American aloe
| pot Slyme but Tilden-hopes to blossom in 1884.