Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-07-04
why They wiz set-Jisya- Ri~sxe.


Tbsfact that George William Curtis
has bolted the nomination Of the Chioa-
go Convention is being held mp TO that
gentleman's discredit by the Republican
press. II the editor of Hmper's Week
W had been one Of the routine machine
politicians. who affect TO discover n
sanctity in the mere name Of party, this
objection would have been well taken
but, as a matter OF fact. the shacklos OF
party have always sat very lightly upon
his limbs. He has only claimed to be
Republican TO tho extent OF advocating
certain principles which TO his mind EN-
body all that is OF value in the name. As
70 the claim that he Is compelled TO show
the Same submissivoness as to the YER
dict OF caucus or convention as is ex-
acted from the professional politicians,
Mr.. Curtis very properly and cogently
says; " No self-respecting man would sit
in convention with the understanding
that It shonld bind his conscience; and
the theory that delegate upon accept
ing his commission ceases TO be free
moral agent Is utterly repulsive to every
instinct OF honorable manhood. No man
! worthy OF tho name, whether n member
Of convention or not, would feel him
self bound, in honor or in any other way,
10 support for high office person whom
he might beliye TO be corrupt or unfit,
merely because the majority OF the con
vention might decide to nominate him.
During the Tweed regime one of his
henchmen procured the regular nomina-
tion OF Republican Convention. But it
was nomination binding upon no decent
member of the convention. The way in
sent, whether by open protest at the
time, or by Withdrawing, or howsoever,
Is matter for his own decision. The
manner of dissenting is of no importance
to those who deny tue right to dissent"
OF course Mr.. Roscoe Conkling and
his school OF politicians would sneer
at the foregoing outgivings as the
maunderings of imam milliner," but
this great mans sneers are not as potent
as they were in tho old Grant days Of his
almost omnipotent ascendancy. Mr..
Curtis presents his views with both sense
and dignity.
On the merits of the ticket which Mr..
Curtis and hundreds of thousands of Re-
.publicans decline to adopt, the editor of
Harper's Weekly gives forth no unccr-
tain utterance. In the last issue of the
great pictorial periodical which has ar
rived at Los Angeles, there is nm arraign-
ment of the men nominated at Chicago,
which is marked by great perspcacity
and force. We quote: at is an issue,
every other. II is useless to consider
policies and measures when the personal
character and fitness of the candidate
are in question, and this not from the
calumnious tongue of political opponents,
but from his own letters and from ac.
knowledged facts. And it, without
further explanation or justification, if by
a mere hurrah, and appeal TO old party
feelings and former good deeds OF the
party, and by contemptuous refusal to
deal with the actual facts and significance
of the situation, the nomination should
be ratified at the polls, the Republican
party would have declared that the
things which its candidate represents are
those which il honors and respects. The
old Republican spirit, principle, char
acter, and purpose would then seem to
many of the stanchest old Republicans to
have disappeared. 1t is because they
honor the party, and have believed in
it, that they decline to s-must -thefe
the Chicago candidacy as one
that should be supported. They
opposed Mr.. Cornell aud Mr.. Folger,
both of whom were personally above
suspicion, and they opposed them in the
interest of the party, How much more
earnestly must they oppose the election
of Mr.. Blainel The same appeals were
made to them before as now, to trust the
party il they did not like the candidates.
But the party in the sense of the ap-
peal, means the very character, princi-
Pile and purpose which are shocked and
repelled by the nomination The party
which deliberately selects tch candi
date is not the party which the exhorters
have in nina when they urge the pro-
testants to trust it, 1t is because they
have been the most earnest and devoted
Republicans that they protest. They
do not believe that the objects for which
they have been Republicans can be
furthered by such candidacy. They
hold that the old Republican party may
survive the defeat of the candidate, but
that it could not survive his election"
1t is impossible to break the force of a
temperate and all too true indictment
like this by calling Mr.. George William
Curtis a "sorehead." Unhappy is the
party, and destined to immediate and
crushing defeat, that makes 'soreheads'
out OF the men OF conscience and honor
who have so often carried its banner to
victory. The Republican party has in
its day taken many liberties with its own
followers aud with the people, but it is
at last about to realize the fact that the
pitcher may 60 to the well once too
often. The handwriting is very lcgibly
written on the wall, and it requires no
political Daniel to interpret message
which will prove as fatal to the Republi-
can party as was the scrptural missive
to BelslaZZar