The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-05-17

Where the Independent Republicans
Make 1hcIr Mis,nkc-ihc People
Arc Not WRONG.

Make IliCIr MiStnkc-ihe People
Arc rot Wrong.
n. Y. Tribune tRep)
The circular Of the Independent Repub.
lican Conference Committee is, on the
whole, a sensible document. But 1t con.
sains one proposition that cannot be sue.
cessfuly maintained. That proposition is
that "the Republican party cannot afford
to burden itself with defensive campaign"
1t can afford to do just that. Have the
gentlemen who prepared the circular 60
soon forgotten the Garfield fight OF 1880?
Tha. was defensive fight, ii thcre ever
was one, from beginning to end. Envy,
hatred, malice and all Observation-Disclosures
opened their batteries upon the General
Just as soon as he was nominated. They
never ceased firing until election night.
Nevertheless he was triumphantly elected.
The truth is that party can always Of.
ford 10 make defensive fight, when, rs in
Gartield's case, it has "a sure defense" for
its candidate. To argue otherwise is to cast
q reflection upon tho intelligence and sense
Of justice OF the American people. For it
implies that they either cannot or will not
discriminate between charges made and
charges proven; that they regard accuse.
ton and conviction rs convertible terms;
that they stand ready to accept as true the
counts OF Al Indictment without stopping
10 listen 10 the evidence. Once let such q
cruel and unjust theory Of the attitude OF
yoters toward an sassiled public man gain
q foothold among Us and the golden ago OF
the libeller, the assassin OF character, will
have arrived. In q world in which there
is reason to suspect that sinless perfection
does not exist outside Of The. Ersning Posts
Office, it is comparatively easy to frame an
attack upon any conspicuous figure. 1t has
come 10 be an axiom that de,raction and
enmity are tho necessary attendants upon
greatness. To rise above tha crowd Is to
open the way tina. leads to malignant op.
position.
The Republican rarty IVES born OF the
instinct OF fair play. It doesn't scare cas-.
lily, Hence it can be counted on never
to &c: aside Republicans whose careers
have been characterized by patriotic deyo.
ton to its own and tho country's welfare
simply because they are Threatened with
the experience oil GaItisld-the experience
OF defensive campaign. Nor will it do to
reply that when the circular OF the indie.
pendents spoke OF a defensive campaign,
reference was had to an indefonsible de.
fensive campaign. There are $50 delegates
elected 10 the Republican National Con.
vention. It will take four hundred and
eleven votes 10 nominate. II is
idle and worse than idle to assume that
such large number Of unimpesched men
will concur in placing candidate in the
field who would mako necessary An indie.
fensible defensive campaign. The nomina.
ton Of Mr.. Blaine has been persis!ently
urged by great numbers Of Republican
constituencies because they regard him az
the strongest, the most available, the most
justly popular man that the party can pro.
sent for the presidency this year. But the
Post and lis allies cease not day nor night
to protest that bis would be defensive
campaign. Well, it would be, precisely in
the uense TINT Gaiiield's was. Ths Repub
lican maeses from Maine'to Oregon would
rush to his defence. They would stamp
out the charges and place him in the. White
House.