The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-08-12
Blaine's Opinion of Gov. Tilden.

In his Twenty Years Of Congress james G.
Blaine says of Mr.. Tilden'
BY fortunate concurrence OF conditions
which he partly made, and which with signal
ability he wholly turned TO account, Mr.. Tilden
gained the one commanding position in the
Democratic party He held the most vital
State of the North in his grasp. He en-
bodied the one thought which expressed the
disconte mt with Repubicanism and the
of leadership which no man in his party could
rival. The Democracy before his day could
count but four chiefs Of the first rank-Jeffer-
son, Madison, Jackson, and Van Buren,. Mr..
Tilden was not, indeed, leader of the same
class with these masters who for so long
period shaped the whole thought and policy
OF their party out he he, displayed political
trained in tho school Of the famous Al
! bany Regency and had exhibited much OF
its ingenuity and power He placed his re-
lance both upon ideas and organization. He
sought 60 captivate the popular imagination
with striking thought and he supported IL
with the most minute and systematic work. In
his own State he discarded all leaders of equal
rank with himself and selected active young
men or mere personal followers as his lieuten-
ants. He bore no brother near the throne. In
other States he secured strong alliances 20 pro-
mote his interests, and called into existence a
national force which was potent as it was COM
pact.
His political observations covered nearly half
q century and spanned the successive epOchs
which stretched from the struggle over nullihca-
tion to the war OF secession and the work of re-
stirring era he was engaged i'm the practice OF his
profession and the acquisition Of wealth. In this
work he was peculiarly successful. To the
subtlety of an acute legal mind be added the
gacity Of keen business man. He attained es-
pecial, indeed almost unrivaled, eminence as a
corporation lawyer and thus gained a practice
which leads TO larger rewards tnan can be found
in other legal fields. While acquiring great
reputation he amassed great fortune, and
when at last nc entered upon his political ca
reer he combined the resources of n full treas
ury with the arts of an unrivaled manager.
Mr. Tilden has been the subject of vehement
and contradictory judgments His friends have
well-nigh canoniZed him as representing the
highest type Of public virtue his foes have
His partisans have held him up as the evanGel
of new and purer dispensation his opponents
declare that his ability is marred by selhshness
and characterized by cunning. His followers
have exalted him the nblest and most high
minded statesman of the time; his critics
have described him ms a most artful, astute,
and INSCRIPTIONS politician. The truth doubt
ingenious, and wary, skillful to plan and strong
to execute, cautious in judgment and vigorous
in action, taciturn and mysterious rs n rule, and
vet singularly opcn and frank on OCCASION rest
ing on the old tradition, yet leading in new
pathways, surprising in the force of his blows,
and vet leaving a sense of reserved power
Mr.. Tilden unquestionably ranks among
the greatest masters OF political management
that our day has seen. Certain il is that his
extraordinary success and his exceptional posi-
tion had inspired the Democratic party with
the conviction that he was the one man TO COM
mand victory, and he moved forward TO the
Presidency with n confidence which discouraged
his opponents and inspired his supporters with
a sense Of irresistible strength