Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-07-04
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Tbsfact that George William Curtis
bss bolted the nomination of the Chica-
go Convention is being held mp to that
gentlemsn's discredit by the Republican
press. If the editor of Harpers Week.
" had been one Of the routine machine
politicians. who affect to discover a
sanctity in the mere name OF party, this
objection would have been well taken;
but, as a matter Of fact the shackles OF
party have always atvery lightly upon
his limbs. He has only claimed TO be
Republican to the extent OF advocating
certain principles which TO his mind em-
body all that is OF value in the name. As
10 the claim that he is compelled to show
the same submissive as TO the ver-
dict OF caucus or convention rs is ex-
acted from the professional politicians,
Mr.. Curtis very properly and cogently
says, "No self-respeciing man would sit
in convention with the understanding
that IL should bind his conscience; and
the theory that delegate upon accept
ing his commission ceases to bo 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,
to support for high office person whom
he might belive 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 a Republican Convention. But it
was a nomination binding upon no decent
member of the convention. The way in
which delegate shall express his dis
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 the right to dissent ="
his school OF politicians would sneer
OF the foregoing outgivings as tho
maunderiugs of a "man milliner, but
this great man s sneers are not a. potent
as they were in the old Grant days Of his
almost omnipotent ascendancy, MIR.
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, tho editor of
Harper's Weekly gives forth no uncor-
tain utterance. In the last issue OF the
great pictorial periodical which has ar
rived at Los Angeles, there is IN arraign-
ment of the men nominated at Chicago,
which is marked by great perspicacity
and force. We quote: at is an issue,
of course, which instantly subordinates
every other. 1t 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 nc.
knowledged facts. And ii, without
further explanation or justification, if by
a mere hurrah, and appeal to old party
feelings and former good deeds OF the
49, kx, ~ raft nj tn
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 smust -thefe,
the Chicago candidaey as one
that should be supported. They
opposed Mr.. Cornell and 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 if they did not like the candidates.
But the party, in the sense of the ap-
peal, means the very character, princi-
pie and purpose which are shocked and
repealed by the nomination. The party
which deliberately selects such candi-
date is not the party which the exhorters
have in mind 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 a 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 n
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 81 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 90 to the well once too
often. The handwriting is very legibly
written on the wall, and il requires no
political Daniel to interpret message
which will prove as fatal to the Republi-
can party as was the scriptural missive
to Belshazzar.
The Boston Adrertiser of late date
contains very elaborate letter giving
an inner history of the modWs operaNdi
by which Blaine and his friends captured
the late Republican National Conven-