New-York tribune., 1882-08-12
which the prospect appears is that pointed
out by Magnetism.
SEEKING FOR A SIGN.

|
| II seems to be generally conceded that the
recent negotiations, between drinks, at Sara
toga to secure Democratic harmony were not
successful. The statesmen OF the party have
returned to their homes with less money but
with much more temper than they had when
they met. The great obstacle to harmony was
the old man. or Mr.. Tilden. He said there
| was To be no nonsense of that kind, and there
was none. Why the statesmen should have
como together without first ascertainng his
views is mystery. If they were bound to do
as he said, why not find out in advance what he
was going TO say, and thus avoid the expense
| as well as the wear and tear OF the meeting
We suppose the reason was that the genuine
| Democratic statesman regards 1t as his duty to
make a blunder whenever he has an opp0r-
| tunity.
The main fact demonstrated by the meeting
| is that Mr. Tllden's mortgage on the party is
still good They are all waiting now, as they
have been waiting for many years, to see what
| it is the old man wants" Every year there Is
the same preliminary to the Dem ocratlc cam
paign plans. The whole party forms Itself
into hollow square, with the Sage IN the
centre, and all its members watch eagerly Tor
sign as to what they shall do. Sometimes they
get no sign at all. At other times they get
one which is so subtle that they are unable to
understand it, and IN endeavoring to obey 1t
go wrong and offend the Sage. This Is always
a disastrous blUnder, for it cuts OIL the supply
of "moral forces" for the campaign. Inc
sign which was given to the Saratoga confer
ence seems to have been unusually PLAIN. IL
said "Call the Convention on September II,
and punch John Kelly's head" Both orders
were obeyed, and while they have not produced
harmony in the party they have demonstrated
that, whatever may be the condition of the
sold mans" bodily vigor, there has been no
dminution in the energy OF his hatred Tor
Kelly He has said as plainly as he ever said
anything: "This is my party, and I'll slam 1t
"about to suit myself. whether it elects any
"body or not" Whether party can afford to
exist simply for the pleasure of being used as a
clno to- pound John Kelly with, is question
which does not concern u.s. Mr.. Tilden thinks
it can, and he is able to make the party think
so, and that is sufficient to make all Eepub-
lcans happy
The date of the convention having been
fixed, and the harmony movement disposed Of
the next question to be decided is, What shall the
convention be allowed to do This has yet to
| be answered, and the party must resume Its
position around the Sage. He has given vague
signs that he would be satisfied with either Mr.
| Hewitt or Mr.. Andrew II. Green for "A candi-
| date At least the signs have been so inter
| prcted by some, and differently understood by
| others. Many close observers declare that Mr.
| Green is his only choice. These shy that the
sage will never favor Mr.. Hewitt because the
latter not only supported the Electoral Irl-
bunal bill, but has since declared that Mr. Til
den did not signify his opposition to it till it
was apparent that its decisions would be adj
verse to him. Ir Is argued that the Sage will
never condone this, and that Alr. Hewitt can
expect nothing from him. Mr. Green, Oh the
other hand, these observers claim, has been
sitting reverentially at the feet of the Sage
| almost constantly for the past few years, and
| has become SO saturated with reform wisdom
| that the Sage feels willing tc trust the sue
| cessiOn to him, confident that he Will never
! condone fraud, no matter how triumphant it
may be. The Hewitt advocates deny these
assertions, and say there is no doubt about Mr..
| Tilden's frlendllness toward him. 1t will be
seen. therefore, that the sitting will have to be
renewed and new and more Ineligible sign
given before the convention can be trusted t9
enter upon its work Upon one point, how
ever, there is no need for "A new sign What
ever else the Sage is in favor of, he is not in
favor of Mr.. Flower as the candidate tor Gov
ernor. No cause for this unmistakabe anmos-
ity is given, but that is perhaps unnecessary.
Mr.. Flower is a candidate chiefly because he
has barrel. The audacty of setting up a
candidate on barrel, while Mr.. Tilden lives,
must be apparent to everybody. 1t is an in
fringcment upon his copyright which he can
not be expected to tolerate for moment.
The next five or six weeks are likely to be
devoted by the Democrats of the State, there
FORE to a constant vigil about the Sage. When
he winks there will be commotion when he
sneazcs there will be an answering sneeZe all
around the circle. He is not likely to give the
sign about "A candidate till just before the con
vention meets but when he gives it the ques-
ton will be settled. We really do not see what
necessity there is for holding a convention.
Mr. Tiden could name the candidate ard the
State Committee nominate him. That would
save expense, and would amount to the same
thing in the end, nan ely, the election OF the
Republican candidate.
Ex-Governor Lucius Robinson IS represen ted