The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-06-26
What Blaine's Nomination Means.

The nomination of James G.. Blaine
by the National Republican Convention
at Chicago means a good many things
1t means, first of all, that some things
can be done as well as others-n one
goes about them the right way. Twice
defeated st conventions where he earn
estly strove for and anxiously desired
the nomination, defeated, too. without
any serious impeachment of his fitness,
Blaine has at last captured the honor
under bitter attack and without any
apparent anxiety on his own part to
secure it. OF course, his Indifference
was only apparent. Men do not per-
form the quantity and especially the
kind of work that was done in his be-
half without assurance that it is
wanted and will be rewarded. But, for
all that, the show of indifference was
admirably simulated, and the apparent
triumph is heightened by it.
The nomination means, also, that the
district system of choosing delegates is,
so far as the Republican party is con-
cerned, failure. There is not the
slightest reason to suspect that Blaine
is, or ever has been, the choice of the
Republican party Tor President, though
he came near being so eight years ago.
Aside from the question as to his
purity, his foreign policy is not in bar
mony with the views of his party; or,
rather, it is much in advance of any.
policy that his party has ever been
ready to adopt. Yet, under the new
system, he has been able, by methods
with which party experience has made
him familiar, to capture majority of
the party's representatives in cOnven-
ton.
Tie nomination means, too, that
large numbers of Republicans, as we
intimated few days since, like the
Presidential meat little tainted. Of
all the candidates before the convention
Blaine alone has been attacked as an
impure and corrupt politician. 1t was
in this respect mainly that he differed
from his competitors. The inference,
therefore, is unavoidable that he was
selected because of his record, or it
would be unavoidable if it were not
known by what kind of ''inflooence"
some portion of his support was secured.
Most of all, however, Blaines nomi-
nation means Republican humiliation
and defeat. The partisan swallow is
capacious and we'll nigh Omnivorous;
but it is impossible that any great num-
Der of the Republicans who have at
tackled Blaine so vigorously should swal-
low him now. Some of them undoubt-
edly will. The Chicago Inter Ocean,
which said before the nomination that
the secret of the enthusiasm for Blaine
was ''unorganized appetite" and that
Blaine was merely "a powerful magnet
to every man who is an unplaced peg
looking for hole" will undoubtedly
fall into line at an early day. So will
other recalcitrants of similar CALLER.
But it is impossible to conceive of the
New York Post or Times doing so. And
it would be impossible to conceive of
the Independents doing so if they had
not on one or two previous occasions
shown their capacity for ''eating crow"
One thing we sincerely trust the NOM
ination does not mean, though we con-
fess to some misgivings. We trust it
does not mean dirty, mud-slinging
campaign in continuation of the war
which Blaine's opponents have been
making on him since he was first sug-
gested for the nomination. Blaine is
vulnerable, we know, in respect to his
record. The temptation to the New
York Post and other Republican jour
mails of that character to continue their
assaults upon him will be very strong.
We do hope, however, that they will re-
strain themselves within the bounds of
decent opposition. A campaign of
defamation and indecent personal attack
is very much to be deprecated.-De-
trout Free Press.