Morning journal and courier., 1884-07-15


to present some considerations to those Re
publicans of other States who may be in
doubt as to their duty with reference to the
nominations made by the national conven-
ton.
In order that the views of those who advo-
cate the right of separate and independent
political action should have weight with thei1
fellow men, it is important that this right
should only be invoked in cases of well-as-
certained necessity. They who take an inter
est in watching the political fold become
wearied with the cry of ''wolf," if it be ut
tered lightly or with too much frequency.
The greatest wrong of which the indspen-
dents have had in the past to complain has
been the use of the party machinery in such
q way as to thwart the wishes of the people.
Time and again has the public preference
been set aside by men who were able to ma
nipulate conventions and to utilize the vari-
Gus devices known to the skilled politician.
The independents of Pennsylvania have felt
that they could justify their action in oppo-
sing nomination even for so high an Office
that of Governor of the State, if able to
show plainly that it was the outcome of the
schemes of the few, successful at the ex-
pense of the many. To great extent this
wrong has been remedied, and very largely
through their exertions. By the overthrow
of the unit rule and the establishment of dis
trict representation it became possible to hold
q nab1Onal convention CnaG was Sr0pr6S6nIaU1Ve
in the true sense. The expression of the will
of the members of the Republican
party, and they were enabled to ex-
press their will because of the exertions of
the Independents, has resulted in the nomi-
nation of Mr.. Blaine. 1t cannot be gainsaid
that Mr. Blaine is the choice of the masses of
the dominant party in the United States and
that the late convention, better than most of
its predecessors, gave heed to the demands
of its constituents. 1t is an evidence of the
personal strength of Mr.. Blaine that his sup
port came from the farthest east and the far
thest west-from Iowa, with her agriculturists
and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. with her manufacturers
and in these widely separated localities with
diverse interests, was exceptionally earnest
and enthusiastic. To oppose his election
would then seem to be an attack upon the
results of independent work. 1t would seem
to be an acceptance of the theory against
which we have been contending, that the few
are more entitled to consideration than the
many, and to differ from the principle and
practice of the machine men mainly i'll re-
spect to the personality of the individuals
very assailable, if not an indefensible posi-
ton, in that it enables opponents to charge
that Independents are never content unless
their own preferences as to candidates
have been successful. Such an opposi-
ton would not only be difficult to defend up
on theory, but would, we conceive, be most
disastrous in its results since it in
wolves the proposition of surrendering the
control of the country to the Democracy, a
party which has been on the wrong side of
every important question settled in the most
eventful period of American history, and
which has to look back to the time of Jeffer-
son for its achievements, to the time of JEFF
son for its virtues. The annals of human af-
fairs show no instances of reformers relying
for pf thair
ization which has exhibited such extreme
conservatism.
Even if it be true that Mr.. Blaine has not
been pronounced advocate of civil service
reform, that cause has, in our Judgment, far
more to hope from the Republican party,
which has embodied the principle in its
platform, than from the Democrats, who are
avowedly hostile to it, who dismissed to
private life its Democratic sponsor in the
senate, and who are eagerly awaiting distri-
button of partisan rewards. We believe,
further, that it would be more reasonable to
expect support for this measure from man
with the vigor and intelligence of Mr. Blaine,
than from any nominee of the Democrats,
who, if he should be elected and make an eff
fort in its favor, would have the whole
strength of his party used against him.
Nor would such an opposition be justified
by the fact that charges are made against Mr.
Blaine which those who make them say affect
his personal integrity. That he must be de-
Tended may, perhaps, be good argument
against a nomination. it certainly has no rele
vancy at this time. If it should be once es-
tablished that man ought not to be elected
to the presidency because accusations have
been made against him, the ablest men would
be ALWAYS excluded In the heat of contests
these accusations spring up and luxuriate.
They are like the parasitic plants that cover
an oak but live on air and need roots.
4CIo 4 r,N4b ba 4+oT1f hot oh
have been met by the State of Maine, which
has since elected him to the Senate; by Gar
field, who made him Secretary of State, and
by the great party which has chosen him for
Presidency. Every presumption is in favor
of a man who has been trusted and to
have weight it is not enough that such
charges should be made, they must be con-
clusively proven.
IF the "Jingoism" of Mr.. Blaine means no
more than is asserted in the Pail Mall Gazette,
which says: "But wherever ne can he Will
oust us from the position we hold;
wherever an opportunity offers he will
use it to the uttermost to replace our
influence and our trade by the influence and
trade of the United States, and he will re
gard it as his chief object to promote great
American confederacy under the regis of the
government at Washington, which would
tend to increase the export trade of the
United States at the expense of Great
Britain" that epithet, borrowed from Eng
lish politics, will have no terrors for an Am
erican.
To him who says that he cannot support
Mr.. Blaine because of conscience there is
nothing to be answered, since he stands upon
a ground beyond the reach of argument.
He assumes, however, great responsibility,
and we ask him to take good heed as to his
steps. We suggest to him that there may be
a merit in the discipline which permits
the people to have their own way, because,
even if our lives be cleaner and our
judgments better than theirs, there is still a
possibility that our information is incorrect
or our conclusions from it erroneous. We
appeal to him, if he live in Massachusetts,,
not to mistake for conscience the resentment
he may feel for sharp words spoken years ago
and which broad-minded men have forgotten,
and if he live in New York that he sees to it
that his conscience does not conceal his ap-
proval of certain English views upon the
subject of political economy.=We in Penn
sylvania see no reason to strike at SO distin-
guished and able a Republican, We per
seive no merit and no wisdom in hurry
ing into an alliance which necessarily |
includes the most corrupt elements in
American politics. We decline to form a
league with men who always opposed the |
we held to be of the most import
ance, who now reject the reforms which we
regard as essential and who still cling to
those means OF SIlnInS llluof1GleS winch Re |
Dublicans have discarded as unworthy. We |
feel that whether or not Mr. Blaine was our
choice for the nomination, his election will
best serve the interests of the people and
that to defeat him wapld be to aid in the res |
toratiop of 'lpachine" methods and to en-
rust with general power party which has |
given every evidence of inability to exercise |
t in such way as to promote the common |
welfare.
Signed. John I, Mitchell, Henry NJ. Hoyt, |
Charles S. Wolfe, Thomas W. Barlow, |
George w, Merrick, William H. Koontz, |
Howard NJ Jenkins, J. Edward Carpenter, |
E. T, Sweet, Wharton Barker, Philip B. !
Garrett, Richard NJ. Cadwallader, Samuel |
W. Pennypacker, Rudolph Blankenburg, |
Benjamin Citizens, I. D, Mckee, chairman |
of the Independent Republican State COM
1nittee, and very many others representing
the entire independent element of Pennsyl- |
vania,