Omaha daily bee., 1884-06-12
CURTIS ON BLAINE.
What Harper's weekly Said of the
Ticket Before Ii Was Made.
Harper,s Weekly. NAV 3.

The movement tor the nomination Of
Mr.. Blaine at Chicago already divides the
republican psrty as dangerously as that
for the nomination of Gen. Grant divided
it in 1880. The republicans who are
urging his nomination cannot be blind to
the consequences should the nomination
be made. They must see that it would
be suicidal, because they know, as every
republican knows, multltudes of the
most earnest and intelligent republicans
everywhere n the country who do not
hesitate to say openly that they would
not vote for him, while the secession OF
the great bulk of Independent voters
would be assured, and the grounds OF
this resolute and plain.spoken hostility
are perfectly we'll known to the most ar.
dent supporters of the Blaine nomina'
ton.
To the deep and strong republican pro-
test against an action which must neces-
sarily jeopardize the election, it is child.
ish to reply that the majority, should il
prove to be such, does not propose to
yield to the minority. 1t is far from
clear, indeed, that the majority will
desire the Blaine nomination. But wen
in this event that it does SO, what then?
The great object is, not to obtain a nom
nation, but to secure an election. The
fair and obvious probabilities of the cleo.
ton are as much to be regarded as the
possibility of carrying the nomination. If
a large body of republicans declare that
they could not support a certain nomina-
ton, it may be true that they take a
ground which makes party organization
and action impossible, and that they
ought not as party men to refuse to
accept the decision of the party majority.
But it is equally true that without their
votes success is impossible. There is no
use in wasting time and breath in swear
ing at such impracticability. A nomina-
ting convention should deal practically
with the situation and ask whether, il
certain nominations are sure to %convulse
and divide the party and hazard the re-
suit, there are not other candidates who
would heal alrthe differences, and whom
every man who would support the re.
publican nomination at all would willing
ly sustain. ar
The extreme danger of the Blaine
nomination would lie in the immediate
and final alienation of independent re-
publicans and of independents. This
would be due to various causes, and
among them to the fact that they hold
Mr.. Blaine to be a representative o.
those methods in politics which are one
of the great evils to be corrected, and be-
cause he is wholly unknown to them as q
friend of reform. His nomination would
be accepted by them as the deliberate de.
cision of the republican party to make
Mr.. Blaine its representative man. This,
in turn, would be regarded as an aban-
donment of reform and of purer politics,
and it would unquestionably persuade a
great many voters who have been always
among the most strenuous and intelli-
gent republicans that the time had come
to acquiesce in republican defeat and dis
indignation in order to force a reconstruc-
ton of parties upon actual living issues.
A nomination which would not have this
significance would hold them fast in the
party. Sincerely desirious as we are of
continued republican control of the gov
eminent, we submit to those republicans
who are desirious Of securing the nomi-
nation of Mr.. Blaine that the first duty
of republicans is to select acandidate who
does not stand for a violent and hopeless
difference within the party, but whom
every republican and independent voter
would willingly support, and who there
fore would be elected.