Daily Kennebec journal., 1883-05-01

WAsHiSGTos, ID. c., April 2G, 1888.
II might be said that il is altogether too
soon for any one TO gather up the lines pre-
paratory to the struggle for the Presidential
goal but when one takes second thought
and remembers that but a year must elapse
ere the conventions prepare to assemble, the
time is seen to be short indeed. Even the
few fall elections that will take place this
year are already spoken of as indicators of
the direction of the Presidential cyclone.
Carter Harrison too, has had the presumption
to make his mayoraity election i'll Chicago a
basis for a Presidential victory; an assump
ton, of course, which is too ridiculous for
anything. But it shows, as ! said in my
previous letter, that the cauldron is showing
signs of heating.
Well, then, we ask what signs, prognosti-
cations and presumptions can we gather rel
ative to the prospects of the party which has
so long had the distinction aud the glory of
being foremost in the direction of the Amer
lean government? To be plain. there Is
much doubt and uncertainty regarding the
future. These have been almost mainly ere
ated by the inharmonious condition Of the
party itself. Fractional feeling never ran
high in the party until the great questions
growing out of the war were fairly settled
and il entered into what seemed a peaceful
era of domination. Then cropped out ambi
tious and partizan distinctions. factional and
local interests which have been slowly growing
and eliminating. Every party has had, and
everv party will have them. The question
now remaining, and an important question 1t
l., is: can these breaches be healed?
Are they so important. distractive
and illimitable that they cannot be
ignored or made secondary :? This ques-
ton must be settled soon or the time will
have passed when il will be necessary to ask
such a question ItwUuld seem that a move
ment is on foot by the Thoughtful minds of
the party to discover the means whereby the
question can be sblvcd. An important call
in New York State very recently is step in
the right direction. and this may he an initia-
tory step which will be followed in many
other quarters. Il would seem that. after all
the trouble is surface like, and only needs a
little ''giving in either facti0nal side, to
bring all the elements together again. The
civil service question, which has brought dis
sension heretofore. has really become mat
ter of fact policy as well as theory and seems
to be out of the way for discOrd.
President Arthur has, generally speaking,
been mild and even tempered in his al
mnistraton, giving good satisfaction to the
whole party, and thus not only agreesbly sur
prising many but helping to do away with
factioual feeling. The party is nearly unit
on the tariff question, in strong contrast to
its opponents, and it would seem that it might
harmonic and concentrate easily if this issue
x...1 fB Cprats, out
look, it would appear that if factional feeling
is so deeply rooted that it cannot be got rid
Of defeat is certain; but that il this is out of
the way, the party has n fair hope and field
for success. New issues may and can arise
between now and November 1854, which will
upset all the calculations of either party; but
now, the main-in fact the only issue worthy
of being called such is that of the tariff, and
on this the republicans seem to be far better
poised than their opponents. The only fear
is that their strength upon this alone, may
make them careless as TO minor points IN
issue.
Another fear is that they may count too
much upon the heretofore habitual blundering
of the democracy. Ii were better that they
should strengthen their own outposts and po-
siton rather than trust to the careessness of
the enemy, which, | admit. has served them
many a good turn in the past. One ray of
hope strikes in where heretofore there was
expected darkness; and that ray is the indie
pcndentism mauifesting itself in the South.
Bourbon possession long continued and sell
fish, together with changed feeling on the
tariff question Gin connection with new en-
terprises and new interests) and better feel
ing existing between the two sections, has
brought out an independentism which, if
met in the right spirit and nourished, may
change the political status of several States
of the South, and render democratic impreg-
inability there a thing of the past. Delaware.
MARYLAND. Virginia, North Carolina, Florida
aud even Louisiana (the latter by reason of
the tariff question: may be classed as doubt
full, and they may he made more so if lib
eral, conservative and conciliatcry spirit is
offered to them BY the republican party with
out hesitation. This may now be done with
out sacrificing one principle or endangering
any interest which that party holds dear.
1t is too early and almost unreasonable at
present to speak of candidates. Those which
have been most prominent heretoiore-such
a. Grant, Blaine, Sherman. Edmunds. VIM
dom, &C.. are rarely spoken of in dead ear
nest as candidates, and for the good reason.
! suppose, that they have been candidates,
and. themselves, do not consider their names
as on the list, nor do they desire them to be,
knowing the past. ard the necessities of the
present Blaine has his hosts of friends who.
il he desired to become a candidate. would
work AZ heroically and faithfully as in the
past for him, and would risk all the chances
Tor him; but it would seem that. like Web
ster. Clay, Seward and others of our greatest
great men, he cannot take the place which