Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-11-11
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What They WIN kesIst.

Those who deride and those who com.
plain OF the Democratic resolve to
sight" for their legal rights in the cleo
toral matter, rather than submit to being
defrauded OF them, have short memories.
In 1879 the Democrats fairly elected a
president his election was backed by a
popular majority Of nearly q quarter
million he was the clear and unques-
toned choice Of fairly chosen electoral
majority and his title was as indisputable
A. Jefferson's, or Van Buren's, or Lin
coins.
Nevertheless, on the day after the
election. few desperate Republicans
led by the Chambers, set up the same
impudent claim that they do now. BY
mischievous agitation. audacious claims
and by threats of force and anarchy
they got the country into condition Of
social disorder and business demoral
ization, which impressed a majority of
the Democratic congressman with the
necessity or propriety Of submitting
their cases to an extra constitutional
and altogether unprecedented tribunal
Being composed of conspicuous men,
the majority of them supreme court
judges and senators, there was some
popular confidence that they would de.
eide the case honestly and fairly.
From the start every Republican
On the commission SET himself
to the work Of counsel for his
party. Cardeli assumed to judge OF
case he had helped to manufacture ;
.Edmunds lent all the power of his
intellect to the contamination of fraud
Conkliug, after having resolved to de-
clare the truth, listened to siren voice
that lured him to silence. But, wors,
of all, Bradley, the umpire of that
tribunal, after having made up his
Judgment in favor of counting Florida
for the Democrats and after reading his
opinion to that effect to one of his asso.
ciates, changed it at the instance of
partisan persuasion.
Had the case been decided upon any
uniform principle of Law, however
erroneous the eight triers who made the
Republican majority might have got
credit for consistency but, to win their
etske, they applied one principle in one
case and the contrary in another, and
only made fraud triumphant by the
grossest perversion of their own law
When it suited they went behind the
returns and when it affected them un.
fsvorably TREY refused to do it they
threw out votes in one place and counted
ballots never cast in another {; they stood
on technicalities when to their interest
and invoked the equities when that best
served them. There was neither
coherency nor consistency, law nor
logic in their methods. Their only aim
was to seat man not elected and the
Democrats, having waived their rights
at the outset, never recovered them.
The recollection of these historical
facts very naturally makes the Demo
Gratis now sensitive as we'll as suspicious.
They do we'll not only to be on their
guard, but to serve notice on their lead
ers whose weakness betrayed them eight
years ago, that they will not tolerate
fraud nor ratify undue concessions in
This crisis. The claim of Baine's elcc
tion is utterly unsupported by any
figures yet produced and, hile'popular
confidence in the success Of Cleveland
remains and no legal reason to dispute il
is sadduced. Democrats cannot be too posi-
tive nor vigilant in maintaining an atii-
tnde that will deter any repetition of
the surrender and robbery of 1s76-77.