The clarion., 1884-12-10
Mr.. Roscoe Conkling.
Courier-J Journal

Courier-J 9urnal.
If Republics are ungrateful, they are
forgiving, In point of fact, their for
getfulness works both ways. Three
Short years ago Roscoe Conkling was
held up to the execration. of men as in
diyeat!y Y responsible for the murder of a
President Of the Tnited States, and great
sanders OF good peqpis believed the
: {ast. Today his FetqFa =
public life anu --4ad bg those
protest, and is actually prop Iia,.
who have the least reason to trust
Mr. Conkling is a partisan, rank
partisan, and so much of time and
thought which he has not bestowed
upon love of himself he has devoted to
hatred of his kind Truly doth politics
make strange bed-fellows. No meaner
alliance was ever meditated between
those twin children of evil, Rapacity
and Revenge, than that by which min
ority of time-serving Democrats, aided
by clique of vindictive Stalwarts, are
scheming to bring this firebrand back to
the sphere of action in which he can do
greatest harm to his country and his
adversaries, but, t,most of all, to his associ-
ates and colleagues.
All that can be said in Mr.. Conkliug's
praise is that during period OF nation
al corruption, he was not corrupt. lie
was as man-servant in House OF Sin.
who took his hire, and no more. and did
his work, and no less. To the passions
and excesses of the period, he abandoned
himself nor uttered word nor raised a
finger against the policy which enabled
rage to govern and rogues to steal. His
name is identified with no measure of
public usefulness. In all his public
service he contributed nothing to enrich
any debate. He was throughout a
player strutting his hour upon the
stage-a show-piece in the Senate posing
for the ladies in the gallery-a handsome
coxcomb with the gift of CAB and genius
for acting; cynical, conceited, but now
grown corpulent and clumsy, and no
longer beautiful!
The Republicans had their fill of him.
But, true to their passion for playing
second fiddle to the enemy, and taking
his toggery at second hand, the Demo
Gratis are talking about trundling this
limp and faded flower, this wilted dande-
lion, upon the scene again. We hope
there will be sense enough left in the |
New York leaders to resist this weak |
combination of foolishness and servility. |
But. if it is successful, we wish its pro- |
moters no worse than they will surely |
get. If anybody wants to polish Mr.
Conkling's boots, be it the capitalists to |
whom he has sold himself, and in whose
presence at least he will not put on any |
ed with courtesy and consideration. Iti
therefore quite painful to have this
savage thrust made at him by one of
his own cloth. To accuse him of being
an emissary working in aid of the Rad
ical cause is really most annoying and
particularly when that
cause has just been defeated. But neith-
er Mgr. Capel nor the Irish Democrats
need any defender; they are amply able
to take care of themselves. All that is
necessary to say is, that Father Quinn's
story win need considerable backing
before it will be generally accepted. Po-
Iitical opinions in the United States are
not made up according to order or au-
thority, secular or religious, and no one
probably knows this better than cult
vated and observant gentleman like Mgr.
capel. This story therefore, is unjust
it once to his piety and intellect.