Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-07-23
SOUND SENSE.
The Independents Republicans of Penn
svlyania IN thu, RoItars-

Il
sylvania to the Boilers:
The Independent Republicans of Penn
sylvania have issued an address to the
Independents of New York and Massachu-
sets, giving reasons why the Pennsylva-
mans will support Blaine for President,
and appealing to those addressed not to
give their aid in surrendering the country
to the control of the common enemy. The
address is signed by large number of the
most influential of Pennsylvania indie
pendents, some of whom were active sup
porters of the Wolfe revolt, and all of whom
were prominent followers of John Stewart
in 1882. The address reads as follows:
The undersigned Republicans of Penn
sylvania. relying for the proof of the earn
estness of their convictions upon acts of
independence, which in 1881 and 1882 re-
ceivcd the support of $4,000 voters, venture
to present some considerations to those
Republicans of other States who may be
in doubt as to their duty with reference to
the nominations made by the National
Convention.
In order that the views of those who adj
vocate the right of separate and independ-
ent political action should have weight
with their fellow men, it is important that
this right should only be invoked in cases
of well-ascertained necessity. They who
take an interest in watching the political
| fold become wearied with the cry of
"wolf," if it be uttered lightly or with too
| much frequency. The greatest wrong of
which the Independents have had in the
| past to complain has been the use of the
party machineryi in such way as to thwart
| the wishes of the people. Time and again
has the Republican preference been set
aside by men who were able to manipulate
conventions and to utilize the various de-
vices known to the skilled politician. The
| Independents of Pennsylvania have felt
| that they could justify their action in OPP
| posing a nomination, even for 50 high an
| office as that of Governor of the State, if
able to show plainly that it was the out
come of the schemes of the few, success
| full at the expense 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 district representation, it became possible
| to hold national Convention that was
representative in the true sense. The ex-
preston of the will of the members of the
| Republican party, and they were enabled
| to express their will because of the eXer-
tons of the Independents, has resulted in
| the nomination of Mr.. Blaine. 1t cannot
| l.
| 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 support came from the
| fartheSt East and the farthest West-from
| Iowa, with agriculturists, and from Penn
| sylvania, with her manufacturers-and in
these widely separated localities, with their
| 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 in re-
| spect to the personality of the individuals
| who participate in the effort. 1t assumes a
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 opposition would
| not only be difficult to defend upon theory,
| but would, we conceive be most disastrous
| in its results since it involves the PROPOSE
| ton 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 Jackson for its achievements, to the
time of Jefferson for its virtues The an
mails of human affairs show no instance of
reformers relying for support of their meas
ures upon an organization which has ex-
hibited 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 judg-
ment, far more TO hope from the Rcpubli-
can 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 distribution Bipartisan rewards
We believe, further, that it would be more
reasonable to expect support for this meas
| ure from man with the vigor and intelli-
| gence of Mr.. Blaine, than from any NOM
| inee of the Democrats, who, if he should
be elected and make an effort 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 defended may perhaps be a good
argument against nomination, but it GER
tainly has no relevancy at this time. If ii
should be once established that a man
ought not to be elected to the Presidency
because accusations have been made against
him, the ablcst men would be always eX-
Guided. In the heat of contests these accu-
| sations spring up and luXuriate. They are
| like the parasitic plants that cover an oak,
| but live on air and need no roots 1t
should not be forgotten that these charges
have been met by the State of Maine,
which has since elected him to the Sen
ate; by Garfield who made him Secre-
| tarv of State, and by the great party which
| has chosen him for the Presidency. Every
presumption is in favor of man who has
| been so trusted, and, to have weight. it is
not enough that such charges should be
made, they must be conclusiyely proven.
| If the "jingOisn' of Mr.. Blaine means
no more than is asserted in the Pau Nal
| Gdzette which says: g." But wherever he can
| he will GUST us from the position we hold :;
wherever an opportunity offers he will use
il to the uttermost to replace our influence
and our trade by the influence and trade of
! the United States, and he will regard it as
his chief object to promote a great Ameri
| can confederacy under the ;egiS of the Gov
! eminent at Washington. which would tend
to increase the export trade of the United
States at the expense of Great Britain, that
| epithet, borrowed from English politics,
will have no terrors for an American
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 argu-
ment. He assumes, however, q great re-
sponsibility, and we ask him to take good
heed as to his steps. We suggest to him
that there may be merit in the self-disci-
pine which permits the people to have their
| own way. because even if our lives be
cleaner and our judgments be better than
theirs, there is still 4 possibility that
! our information is correct or our con-
illusions 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 see to it that his con-
science does not conceal his approval Of
certain English views upon the subject of
political economy. We in Pennsylvania
see no reason to strike at so distinguished
and able Republican. We perceive no