The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-07-02
Exit TiIdea.

uoD po6A no Sucn llnpCOSclNo tbulohu
upAu any stage rs that presented. by
ar. Samuel j. Tilden in his final I'd.
dress TO the Democratic pEEtys |
Pecksni&" we read, ''Was . moral
man. rS Perhaps there never was
= moro moral man than Mr.. Pecksnif,
especially in his conversation and cor
respondsnoe. On ona occasion. st
least II = recordSa that he,rose 70 the
trus Tilden proportions. Humble As
I am y said he. II am an honest man,
seeking tUdo my duty in this earnal uni
verse. and setting nay face against all
Woe and troaehery, ! wePt for your do
pIavity. mourn over yoar corruption,
4 pity your voluntary Withdrawal from
the 6owery paths Of purity and peace;"
and thereupon ''he struck himseh upon
Ais breast. or moral garden" ai
Mr.. Tilden. not to be oGtd0ne by any
thing Mr.. Pecksniif could bring forth,
says Of his own humble efforts in tho
past: ssaal 6se s,5s
For over nfty years e . private citizen.
never contemplating an otacial career, have
devoted at least as much thought and effort
to the duty Of influencing ayight the action
of the governmental in6titNtions OF my coun-
try as 70 all Other objects. e S@1F-u i
When we remember that Of all the
men America has produced, there has
not been one more notoriously mean,
selfish and sordid than this same Peck
sniffian gentleman who so freely admits
his own philanthropy; that he has not
made record OF y Political or personal
service of any kind in all that half cen-
tury of his mature years that was not
apparently to his own direct advantage;
and that with all his wealth, which is
supposed to extend into the millions,
his name is not connected with q single
public enterprise which is not expected
to pay dividends, or with benevolent
rphilanthropic movement OF any name,
sort or dimensions whatever, we are led
to marvel that he expects an audience,
even of his chosen followers, to sit with
long faces and listen to his exposition. OF
his own good works. He puts his Of
fetal labors on the same plane as his
private endeayor for the public good,
saying:
j have never accepted official service except
for brief period, for a special purpose and
only when the occasion seemed to require
from me that sacrifice of private preferences
to the public welfare. undertook the Stat;
administration OF New York because twas
supposed that in that way only could the ex-
ecutiye power be arrayed on the side OF the
reforms to which, as private citizen, had
given three years OF my life. ! accepted the
of the general conviction that my candidacy
would best present the issue of reform. which
the Democratic ma aiorlty of the people de-
sired to have worked out in the Federal Gov
hod hanv. fhnt nf I'm nfaf
New York.
His own pretensions provoke a refer
ence TO the practical comment upon
those high professions, made by the
disclosures of the cipher dispatches that
followed the election of. 1876; and the
idea that ..'his candidacy would best
present the issue of reform" is worthy
of the modesty of the Democratic ora
Gle. He has shown himself to be an
adept at political intrigue, but when
ne alludes to the reform and purifca-
ton of politics he is using words which
are out of place in his vocabulary. His
reference to his exploits in New York
City and State shows similar feeble.
ness of comprehension and strength o.
vanity: 81 II
Three years of experience In the endeavor
to reform the Municipal Government of the
City Of New York and two years of expert
enee In renovating the Administration OF the
with the requirements of such work.
Mr.. Tilden's services in helping to
break up the reign of Boss Tweed are
not forgotten, but they hardly take the
rank Of eminence. After the death oi
Dean Richmond he managed to secure
the place of Chairman Of the Demo.
cratic State Committee, and in many
conventions the willy Chairman sent
Tweed to the front, and he never made
motion toward bringing the rule oi
the corrupt boss to an end until the
press had aroused the citizens and the
people were in full pursuit. At thf
eleventh hour Tilden went with the
current he could not withstand and be
came reformer within the party o.
corruption when there was nothing else
left for him to do. A public sentiment
so general as to result in mass meet
ing to appoint committee OF one hun
dred to proceed against the TwecG
gang brought him to the surface as one
of the hundred, but while the stealing
was successfully going on, not wore
came from Reformer Tilden.
In the State administration Of two
years Mr.. Tildeu did, indeed. help tC
smash the canal ring. That combina
tion constituted political machine tha
was not part of the Tilden machine
and would not become subject to it
He undertook the State administra
ton of New York" not at all "becaus,
it was supposed that in that way only
could the executive power be arrayet
on the side oil the reformers, y but be
cause the panic of 1873 had produced
such feeling of discomfort that :
shifting of the State administration o
New York and some other States from
the Republicans to the Democrats wa
inevitable before nomination wa
made, and because Mr.. Tilden was sucl
a sly and skillful pipe-layer that he 90
the nomination by q scratch in con
vention that had large majority o
delegates who preferre Judge Sanfor'
E. Church. The tidal wave took Tide
and the whole Democratic ticket int
Office, and both branches OF the Legs
lature to boot. 1t is sheer impidenc
for Mr. Tilden TO pretend that he ''ac
cepted official service" in this case $50
a special purpose" or for any purpos
tho, fkao fha ,o,.,,a0aa ,,,t.faL ;o.I