The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1884-11-22
The Record Of Four Years.

of its candidates. Blaine is bright |
and versatile man, but he has done
nothing in the course of n long public |
service to establish claim TO states
manship. He is believed to be dishon-
est, he is known to be tricky, and there
is every reason to fear that he would
prove a whimsical and uncertain, if not
a corrupt President Logan was a good
soldier, but he has been a very poor Sen
ator. The Republicans, there ore, must
make their canvass on the record of
their party, and the most important
part of that record for the purposes of
the present campaign should be the last
four years. The organization has no
right to appeal to the people for APPROX
al unless it has done well since they last
approved of it. What are the facts?
The Secretary of the Republican Nation
al Committee has virtually confessed
that the State of Indiana, the pivotal
point in the Presidential canvass of
1880, was carried by the corrupt u OF
money in that year. At banquet in
honor Of that gentleman in New York,
where the chief men of the party we're
assembled, he was praised for the skill
which he had displayed in bringing to
pass the unexpected in In llama, and
The fact that he had won success by
bribery was openly acknowledged
and treated as matter OF
elorIfication. Vice-President Arthur
himself made speech in which he
| tested about Dorsey's achievements
| through the liberal use of ''soap." No
sooner was President Garfield inaugu-
rated than it was discovered that huge
system of fraud had been in operation
during the previous Republican 4: dmin-
istration, and measures were taken TO
bring the rogues who were responsible
| for it to Justice. Chief among them
was the Secretary of the Republican
National Committee, who had been
| feted rs the savior of the party, and
he not unuaturally looked for immunity
| for himself and his associates from the
officials who were the beneticiaries of
these frauds. Even long before Gar
field entered upon his duties as Presi-
| dent fierce quarrel had broken out
over the distribution of the spoils, and
after his Inauguration the quarrel grew
more bitter day by day. One faction
| of Republicans, the leader of which
was the present Republican candidate
for the Presidency. claimed the con-
troll of the Federal patronage as their
prerogative; the other faction, at the
head of which was Roscoe Conkling,
claimed a right to share of the Fed
eral patronage on the ground that il
had been solemnly promised to them to
secure their active support during the
Presidential canvass. The quarrel grew
so fast and furious that Conkling and
his colleague In the United States Sen
ate resigned and appealed to the Legis-
lature of New York for an approval OF
their course Ivy reelection. The most
shameless contest in the annals of oul
State ensued. The Vice-President ap
peared in the lobby of the Capitol
there were scarcely concealed attempts
at bribery; and to crown all the defea
of one of the candidates was brought
about by one of those scandalous de
vices to which Republican politicians
generally resort as desperate remedy
Before the contest was brought to ;
close the evil excitement which it kin
died had prompted disappo nted of
flee seeker to murder President Garfield
His Administration had been marked
ments, some of which were clearly tn
result of pre- election bargains. Anon:
the worst of these was the selection O
Stanley Matthews for the Suprem
Court OF two serious tasks which de
volved upon Garfield and his Cabinet
one, the punishment of the Star-rout
thieves, was begun with zeal but carries
on coldly; the other, the vindication Q
the rights of American citizens impris
oned without trial in Ireland, wa
shamefully neglected. In extenuatio
| | it may be said that the wounding {
{ President Garfield and his long an
lingering illness prevented any seriou
{ devotion to public business for tim
: on the part of Federal officials. Tn
, Administration of President Arthur too
:, up the task of furnishing the Star-rout
, thieves and make costly and ignomin
: Gus failure; it took up the task of prs
: tecting American citizens abroad an
, achieved at least measurable success!
Those imprisoned under the Coercion a,
of March, 1881, were liberated shol
5 time before the act expired by limit:
ton. So far as known the Administer,
ton has been honest and decent in ii
conduct of ordinary official bushes
: and the appointments under it hay
been in the main creditable. The grca
I, est scandal outside of the failure of tt
prosecution of Dorsey and his comrad'
! was the attempt to secure political col
4 troll of this State for the Administr;
ton by the election of Cabinet Office
as Governor. In that scheme the Sta
warts got possession of the Republics
State Convention at Saratoga by frau
: and nominated Folger. The result WI
a salutary defeat of the Republics
party all along the line, which broug
Q about a revision of the tariff that Il
Q Republicans in 1880 had declared
J. sacrilege to meddle with, and the pas
age of the Civil-servicc law which
now happily in operation. We 81
confidently that it would be diff
n cult to find anywhere SO disgraccf
e record for the space of four years.
Q covers bribery at the ballot-box, bride
g in the Legislature, Boosting openly
- q