Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-03-13

PRESIDENTIAL GOSSIP.
President Arthur and General Logan Ahead. with
Senator Edmands Remote P0ssibility-rhe
Land Grant Railroads Service
Commission

matter of candidates. Probably there
never was time, at least not in recent
years, so near the date of the nominate
ing convention, when so little crystal
lization of sentiment existed as to can
didates. Not that there are no candi-
dates, but that there is so much uncer-
tainty as to who is the right one-the
strong one. In the coming contest,
which promises to be a close one, it is
universally admitted that mistakes must
not be made in selecting standard
bearers. As matters stand to-day the
fight in the Republican convention
would seem to be between President
Arthur and General Logan, with Sena-
tor Edmunds remote possib ility. Mr.
Blaine, who has SO many warm friends
all over the country, and who has twice
come within few votes of the nominal
ton, is pretty certainly out of the race
this year. Blalne's experience is very
forcible illustration of the fact that the
favorites do not always win, and that
the Presidency is too big thing to be
"set up like nest of ten-pins, and
when it is thought to be all arranged
that certain candidate has majority
it does not take long to find out how
easy it is to be mistaken. We all re-
member how William III. Seward had
''set up" the Chicago convention of
1860 and how easily Mr.. Lincoln walked
away with the honors. Very few had
ever thought of Mr. Lincoln as a candi-
date. 1t was the same at Cincinnati
when Hayes was nominated. Nobody in
particular wanted Hayes, yet he got the
nomination, while Blaine, whom several
hundred delegates did want, got left as
he did at Chicago in 1880.
1t cannot be said at this time that any
candidate has the pins all ''set up"
and it would be difficult to say who is
really the strongest in public favor,
though there is Enthusiastically growing
sentiment favorable to the denomination
Of President Arthur. Some of the wisest
men OF the party believe it would be
the safest thing to do, though undoubt-
edly General Logan has very large
and enthusiastic following, coming
largely from the soldier element for
whom he has done so much. Those
who prefer Senator Edmunds are also
very numerous, and | meet them here
from all sections of the country, but
there is less adhesiveness, SO to speak.
among them than among friends of the
other candidates. In behalf of Presi-
dent Arthur it may be said that his adj
minlstration has been careful, consistent
and clean. He has done much to har-
monte warning elements in the party.
and has made no mistakes that worked
injury to the public good. Besides this,
it is believed that with the perfect knowl-
edge he possesses of the political situa-
ton and methods. in New York he
would be most likely of any candidate
named to carry that State. Whether
this will be the view of the convention
or not will probably depend very much
upon the position of the New York dele
gates themselves. There are at least a
dozen other candidates who hope to see
a deadlock in the convention result in
bringing them out on the dark horse
track after the manner of the blessed
Hayes. One of these is Postmaster
General Gresham. Another is secretary
Lincoln. But under present clrcum-
stances further speculation is idle. To
me it now looks good deal like Arthur
with Western man for the tail of the
ticket.
OF course the land grant railroads
will not submit in lamb like compliance
to any Congressional enactment that is
10 deprive them of several hundred
million dollars worth of property, so
long as there is u Supreme Court for
them to fall back upon, which tribunal
alone is clothed with the power to tell
us whether the land is the property of
the railroads or not. That court has
hitherto held that it could not interfere
with the grants, and that they could be
resumed only by the direct action of
the Government, either by law of Con-
gress, or suit brought by its law Off
GERS. This ruling was based upon suit
brought by settler, praying for the
Intervention of the court to protect his
homestead which was on land which
the road, having failed to comply with
the conditions of the grant, had no
longer any right to hold.
Next in Importance to the report of
the Civil Service Commission itself, will
be the responses o6the heads of bureaus
to the invitation given them to express
their opinions as to the working OF the
law as applied to appointments made
in their several departments. Inasmuch
as nine out of tea of these appoint
ments are actually forced upon the de-
partments, and some of them against
the emphatic protest of the officials in
charge, it will afford some curiosity to
the public to peruse the left handed en-
dorsements that will accompany the
Commissioners report. Individually,
the law has been voted consummate
piece of idiotic humbuggery by every
one of these officials. but when it comes
to the expression of an opinion upon
such delicate subject, from the stand
point of officialism, it will be an equine
of another color. JUNIUs.
Always Failure.
Who will say that the Democratic
party has not reformed? Look back
forty, thirty, or even twenty years and
what does it proclaim to-day as prin-
ciples which it then declared were es-
sential to the we'll being and prosperity
of the country? Human slavery, and
the methods to bind its chains, was
Democratic pet. 1t was hard money
and nothing else. The war was a
s,;t,,ro pac,j;o.;o,, ,f +ba ,.,,hl;o