New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-08-20
AETSING RTTLER.


| II il TO be observed that General Buffers
| letter does not strike the Democrats iavorably.
| The hard names they discharge AZ him do not
| hurt much because they have all been used
many times before. Whatever there is that Is
| bad or discrcditable in General Buffers course
or character. be it little or much, existed and
was fully known to the Democrats when they
| hailed him as their candidate in Massachusetts,.
| They hoped. through his personal popularity
with certain classes, to make Massachusetts, n
| Democratic State TO use its electoral votes as "a
burglars Jimmy to pry open the Federal
! treasury. aud to get Offices and plumber for
! Themselves by his aid. Then he was quite
! good enough. quite pure and honest enough
! and quite sincere enough in his beliefs, to be
! held MP to the people as "A Democratic candidate
/ fo, the highest Office in the State. General
| Butler has not changed since, in the slightest
dogrec-unlcss it be accounted a creditable
change in his moral attitude that he no longer
consents 10 support a party which tries to cheat
the people ON the tariff question.
ANY comparison between Benjamin F. Butler
and the Democrats who support Cleveland
must result to their discredit. He Las the hon
! eetv to say what he believes and what he in
! tends. They have not. lie is a demagogue
with some honesty they are dcmagogucs with
ont any. He has manhood enough TO reject
openly a candidate who is conspicuOusly unfit
to he President they are too hungry for ONCE
| ~ DO the same lie speaks with scorn of the
dirty rings in Ncw-York which procured TIA"
nomination of Cleveland by a series of tricks.
! BIT the Democrats and Dependents ask Hubert
/ u. Thompson 10 pull them through. and hope
| that Barnum may succeed in stealing a victory
! this time.
| Hence the Democrats had better not invite
severe comparisons by wasting abuse ON Butler
| They cannot hurt him much. But he hurts
them. every time he tells the truth about the
| Chicago Convention and itR candidate. lie
! proves that the Democratic party Is utterly
| false end dishonest. when IT prctcnds to bc the
| friend Of the working people. aud that hurts
| lie proves that the party dishonesty set aside
an it, tried At 4 able leaders. IN order To- take NJ
"A man Of whose political opinions not thing
| Vaa known nnd that huttH lie HhoWa that the
alliance between the Southern nhot gun and
the most corrupt rings aud lchdcia of New
No,h s all that h. lett Of the great Democratic
putty, and that viii hunt very much, The less
the Democrats aay about hutlor the fewer huila
they vii have to heal after tho campaign Is
over,
one thing is evident already; they are con
sciOus that his opposition Is "a terrible blow 10
Mr.. Cleveland. As candidate under other
circumstances, General Butler might not get
many votes. He would not have drawn largely
from Mr. Thurman, or from Mr.. Randall. But
tine Democratic masses know not thing to Mr..
Cleveland's credit. They know that ne has
been hostile to their interests, and that his
party assails the protection of American in
dustry. That will cause great many Dem
Ocrats to vote for General Butler On the other
hand, the opposition to Mr.. Blame among those
who have been Republicans is not of such Il
sort that it prepares men to support any third
candidate. The Pharsees would not give him
their votes the free traders naturally prefer
Cleveland aud the working people in the Re
publican party recognize in Mr.. Blaine the
ablest champion of protection, and of truly
American policy.