The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-04-12
LOGAN AND BLAINE.

LOGAN AND BLAINE
Abou, as sharp little game in poll
tics AS any ever played in this country Is
tina, being played by James &, Blaine on
John 4. Logan in the race for the republi-
can nomination for the presidency over
and over the announcement has been made
in the papers for the past six months mat
Blaine positively declined to be candl'
date for the presidency, and two months
ago il WAS announced that he and John A
Logan had enter d into II solemn compact
of mutual amity TO each other and of com
bincd opposition to Arthur Logan was To
he president and Blaine his secretary OF
state. Where Logan should be unable TO
carry the dele gates they might be instruct
ed for Blaine, and cice ccrSa, but Blaine
being out of the race Logan would have
all the delegates in the end. The league
was ratified by the selection of Chicago rs
the place for holding the convention and
the election of Senator Sabin as chairman
of the Republican National Committee.
In token that all was 'loyely' between the
great warrior and the great historian, the
papers duly announced about that time that
Mrs. Logan and Mrs. Blaine might be seen
daily making calls and the rounds Of the
shops in Washington city in most anna
BILE and sisterly association,
Meantime Blaine sent out "A few more
reiterations of his decension rs IA presi-
dental candidate and retired to his study
10 finish his great book and Logan, salts
| fled that his most serious rival was out Of
the way, resumed his task of working up
the G. A. r. and pummelling Fitz John
Porter
But somehow The compact worked curl
ously. Every new letter of declension or
declining interview that Blaine gave to the
newspapers was followed by the election Of
Blame delegates, and when sounded on
the subject of the compact with Logan it
was found that there was no Logan in
them. They were for Blaine first, last and
all the time" or at least as long AS he
kicked, and after that for Edmunds, Sher-
man, or anybody to beat Logan"
What could have given the Blaine boom
such an unaccontable impulse? Alas it
was the persistent reteration of his declen-
sion First it drove the republicans of
Pennsylvania literally to sitting up o nights
weeping for its plumed knight, and the
lachrymose fit rapidly spread until even in
Iogans own state the boohOos became 50
vehement that it was found next to impos-
sible to suppress the impulse to appoint
delegates for Blaine and compel the great
historian of the war and author of the
Mulligan letters to accept the republican
nomination whether he would or not.
| 1t was now plain enough that the device
by which Blaine had gotten up his big
boom was his persistent declining to be II
candidate. Alas that Logan hadn't seen
through it sooner! Blaine had taken out
no patent for the device and no doubt Lo-
gan could have made ii work with equal
success. But it is too late. Pennsylvania
is solid for Blaine; Ohio, though shamming
II preference for Sherman, is really for
Blaine; Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and
even the great state of New York and the
little state of Delaware are for Blaine,
while in Illinois itself, though the conven-
lions ccldly instruct their delegates to vote
for Logan as a "favorte son." they are
really heart and soul for Blaine, and, us at
the Republican convention in Ottawa a
few days ago, give him all their cheers.
Logan no doubt by this time has parted
with an illusion He has learned the i'm
pressive fact that in the matter of confer
ring great offices and honors the people are
chary of those who want them and prefer
to place them on coy and unwilling should
ers That's what makes Tilden so strong
with the democracy and for n time made
Gen Sherman dangerous rs II possible
clark horse"