The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1883-09-01

the third-term question, and each side
was vigorously preparing for the s'bat-
tie royal which occurred at Chicago.
The high enthusiasm and thorough or
ganization of the third-termers seemed
to promise an easy victory, and their
organs talked as glibly of what the new
Administration would be and do as II
Grants nomination and election were a
foregone conclusion. This counting
of chickens before they were Matched"
continued up to the day the National
Convention met, and not until the neck
of the hen had been duly and truly
wrung did the third-termers wake up to
realizing sense of their obstinate folly
and its consequences. Even then they
could not or would not understand the
causes of the disastrous defeat, and
persisted M attributing to ''treachery
and fraud" what was simply the logical
result of eight years of Grantism. So,
instead of accepting defeat gracefully
and shaking hands with the victors,
they grumbled and growled, kicked
and cursed, and finally were only
whipped into the traces by the dread of
Democratic success. But they never
forgot nor forgave those who had
spoiled their plans and compelled
them to eat humble pie, and dur
ing Garfeld's brief term his Bit
terest assailants were the men without
whose efforts and influence he never
could have been President. The pecu-
liar circumstances of his death tempo
rarily suspended hostilities, but these
were renewed before 1.-THE funeral baked
meats had grown cold. What the
ballot box did not do for the Stalwarts,
the assassin's bullet did; and they at
once proceeded to make the most Ut
their unexpected luck. AS soon as Ar
thur had laid aside his mourning gloves
and note paper, he dismissed all the
members of the Garfield Cabinet except
Lincoln, who happened to be the only
Stalwart that Garfield had admitted to
his council board. When the big heads
had dropped into the basket the little
ones followed, and very few anti-Stal-
warts are now feeding at the public
crib, save in cases where the office is
not worth having. So matters went on
until the Administration candidate for
Governor of New York was buried be-
meath hundred thousand Democratic
majority; the Republican ticket else
where faring little better. Since then
Arthur has s'gone slow, = and the Stall
warts have contented themselves with
occasional thrusts at their enemies, by
way of reminding them of the wrath to
come. There has been no compromise,
and the two factions are practically as
wide apart to-day as when the third
term business fell at Chicago never to
rise again.
1t remains to be seen how the family
fcud will be patched up for the approach
ing Presidential campaign. 1t is evil
dent that no man who was conspicuous
and active in beating Grant in 1880 can
be nominated with the consent of the
Stalwarts in 1884; and equally evident
that no man conspicuous and active In
pushing Grant can be nominated with
the consent of the anti-Stalwarts. As
it will be hard to find Republican Of
any considerable prominence and popu'
larity who did not commit himself with
more or less emphasis to one side or the
other, the selection of an available can.
didate will not be an easy task, and the
chances for good deal of Republican
bad blood before and during the Con
vention are encouraging. Blaine an
nounces himself as out of the President
ial ring, and it is certainly time he was
but as he has plenty of friends to re
ward and enemies to punish, his power
is sure to be felt when the opportunity
arrives On the other hand, there j!
Conkling, soured and surly, waiting tt
"get even" with his rebellious subjects
in New York, and determined to have q
candidate of his own stripe or maxi
things lively for the party. Logan ant
Cameron. too, are on the war-path and
will take several scalps before the fgh
is over, even if they lose their own; Sc
that from present appearances an oceaI
of oil win be required to smooth thu
troubled waters sufficiently to insure thu
Republican ship safe and happy sailing
Meanwhile, we may observe, the Re
publicans have given up all hopes o
| breaking the solid South, and the ex
pertinent SO fragrantly illustrated b.
Malone and Chalmers is a confessed
failure. So the probabilities are tina
the Southern delegates to the Conven
ton win be treated with much less con
sideraticn, and have much less weigh
than in 1880; which must, to some ex
tent, assist the anti-Stalwarts. How
ever, the full strength of the Admins
tration is likely to be thrown into tn
opposite scale, thereby restoring tn
balance and leaving the forces Of tn
belligerents nearly OF quite equal
which means q sharp contest, in whicl
no quarter is given or asked.
Though Democrats are not as unite
as they ought to be, their union is com
plete and hearty compared with that 9
the Republicans, and the points of dii
ference can and will be easily recon
ciled. If the party will cut loose fror
self-appointed leaders, treat with cor
tempt the dictatorial advice of self-ap
pointed organs, reaffirm its old princl
pies for an all-sufficient platform, an
nominate ticket which unmistakabl
represents these principles, Demo