National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-05-15

1.-THE succeeding year QS71) brought the
same attempt to carry the state convention
against the national administration Again
Tnmmany men and money, volumes Of Tribune
ISLANDERS, and tireless effort contested the
primaries In vain. The convention overlooked
the irregular and iactionNl course Of Mr..
Greeley and his Tammnuy allies IN calling
local conventions to forcstall and defy the dc.
ond diHiid both Elk n de,eo ttes, tic
only condition being that thereafter the
party should be one. Hero was the rub tho
men who have since thrown OF the mask aud
revealed themselves ms descrtcrs were deter
mined then 70 divide and destroy the party.
They menut then to wrest the state from Presi.
dent Grant and to pave the way for a contest.
ing delegation to the national convention, II
they could not by some artiflce seize the dele
ton frustrated the scheme, and then came the
sorry theatrical Off secession from the Conven.
ton, led by faetionists who have been In turn
the friends of all parties, aud the betrayers
CHOOSE BETWEEN THE TWO.
Here are contradictory statements OF
scene In the New York state convention.-one
who gives the boilers version Of II, as though
| that was undisputed history: the other by Mr..
| Conkling, who was a prominent participator,
| says the compromise" to admit both delegl-
| tiOns with an equal voice and vote was de-
ieated under the lead OF Mr., Conkliug Mt.
| both sets of delegates expressly to avoid Civ.
| ing the Greeley. Fenton men the prctext they
| wanted for bolt
now TwEgD's DOWNFALL INJURED THE LIBERAL
| CAUSE.
Mr.. Blaine attributes Republican success that
| year to the exposure of the Colossal frauds
| and robbores' of the Tweed ring which
e his way ofsaying that his boiling friends OF
| the Greeley faction would have succeeded in
| throwing the state to the Democrats but for
| this piece of bad luck. "Tho unexpected sue
cess of 1871. browning the triumph Of the state
convention" he says, Gully confirmed the
| power of Mr.. Conkling as the leader of the
| party In New York"
This was more thnn Liberal flesh and blood
| could bear. That the Republican party should
have been beaten ut every state election from
| 1866 TO 1871 under the lead OF Fenton and
Greeley, and then be led to victoryby Mr.. Conk-
| ling, was snd indeed. Says the historian
MIR. Greeley and his followers, already OPP
| posed TO the national administration now
gave way to a still more unrestrained hostility.
| All the antipathy which they felt for their
antagonists IN the state was transferred 10 the
President. They Inscribed their defeat to the
| free exercise of federal power"
Was II their defeat In being ddmuted to the
convention, or their defeat by tho Republican
| party at the polls, which thus exasperated
them? And how had federal power been
made oppressive tothem? They had made no
complaint Of the interference by federal OIL
| GERS in their own behalf the previous year
| when tho whole political power Of the New
| York custom house was brought to bear in the
fruitless effort 10 nominate Mr.. Greeley for
| governor.
OREEIEYlTEs ALL FOR GRANT WHEN FED WITH
| SOILS
They lived and moved and had their being
| on federal patronage during the first year of
| Grants first administration, and In his namo
attempted to do many wonderful works, Mr..
Fenton paid assiduous court to tho President,
and claimed to DO his special champion in the
Senate. MI Conkling did neither, Mr.: Fen.
ton favored the repeal of the tenure.otolice
law. Mr.. Conkling opposed tito the end. Mr..
Fenton was forward In advocating repeal OF
the law which prevented 4. t. stewart from
becoming Secretary of tthc Treasury. Mr..
Conkling advised against II. Mr.. Conkling's
friends were removed on Mr.. Fenton's ecom-
mendotion, because they were his friends,
although this reason was never the President
reason, nor known by him to be Mr.. Bcnton's.
Thus tho men who turned upon Grant
IN ISL, were the very men who who
supporters for the year during which they had
been without competition in the greedy aD.
Precipitation of the federal spoils, Their own
recklessness brought them to grief, They
advised some appointments which brought
scandal upon the administration, and the
President began TO suspect them wanting either
in sense or honesty. Thencetorward he ex'
tended the sources from which ~ seek in
formation. The state convention of 1870
refused to make Mr., Fenton its
Mr.. Greeley. its candidate for, governor.
The Republican party was slaughtered that
year by the friends Of those gentlemen.
BLAINE EXPLAINING FOR THE Liberals.
| But Ill 1911, we nave seen, INC hcpuDlCWtl
party triumphed without them and despite
their opposition Stung by Republican success,
MIR. Blaine tells us that "the indictment which
they had long been framing was made more
severe from their renewed personal disappoint
ment" He says:
"Republicans ofprominence in other state
! either had similar grievances or shared thu
! same view OF the tendency at Washington
: | The discomfort with the national Rdminlstra
ton was stimulated and increased by power
full journals like the New York Tribune, tho
| Chicago Tribune and the Cincinnati CODiHer
ia. The drift of events placed the protesting
Republicans IN an embarrassing position
The denomination OF Gen. Grant was seen Il
be inevitable, and they were left to determine
whether they would remain in the party art
: acquiesce in what they were unable TO prevent
or whether they would try from the outside
the opposition which was impotent from thu
insidc.'
! Their embarrassment certainly was vor!
great. Their hue and cry against Grant haC
only operated to arouse the masses of the part!
TO his defense and to their utter humiliation
{ Never had so many officers commanded s.
! | beggarly n number OF troops They had failet
, to carry n township in the United States 70
| everywhere county and state conventions In
: structed for Grant. In Mr.. Summers own war,
! | I'm Boston he was unable to command sngl
; Republican vote in support of his master pas
sion-hatred OF Grant.
| BLAINE SAYS THEY HAD TO DO AS THEY DIE
But not only were the Liberals embar
raised. "They WERE" says Mr.. Blaine thu
: driven by events to extend into the nationa
|, field the political experiment which had bee
y successfully undertaken in the state of Nil
souri," In such holiday terms Mr. Blaine re
. lates the growth of the miserable little tactic
$ of SANDER and hate which collected itself I,
3 gether for the purpose of putting the Republ
G can party of the nation to death, because II Ia
with substantial unanimity indignantly r.
buked their wanton calumntos against tn
bravest Of soldiers, the wisest of ruler
! and the best of citizens, and had given theI
j. notice that he should again be elected Pres
dent Why did he not tell the truth and ga
!, ship had been taught the truth OF that sayin
y of the wise man, "Prlde goeth before destru
q ton and n naughty spirit before fall"
!. REAL GRIEVANCES OF THE LIBERAL LEADER
S Mr.. Sumner was so swollen with conceit an
!. so enraged at any obstacle 70 his slightest wis
8 that he quarreled with the President over III
4 question of two appointments to office. Their
s are doubtless some people who believe thu
o high considerations of public duty, but IL
n calumny and yitnpcraton with which b
Q fought were tho weapons Of personal spite onl.
: A Massachusetts Republican we'll imtorme
4 on such matters, told me, at the time OF thes
events, that If the President had allowed NJ
L Sumner to control the mission to Greece an
the marhalship OF Massachusetts, there woul
have been no breach between them. Sue
was the lofty spirit which animated a r.
o nowned leader in turning his back upon tn
II professions oftwenty years, to consort wit
d men he even then declared to be the enemiC
!: MI schurz came to his aid a rcady-mad
Il revolutionist, with the motto, "Whateyer Is
wrong.n Mr. Trumbull, who had crowde
y schurz's brother.n.law out Of office, could III
70 remain Republican after Grant refused 10 al
d point his son to an office. Upton had placl
D. Tor three brothersn.law, a nephew, and Il sol
1t but his Repuhlic0nism could not survive Il
II Presidents refusal to complete his family quo
o by bestowinga fat cOnsulship upon another SOL
It Greeley deserted exclusively on the questio
n of spells, as shown by letter written by hi
to Gov. Cornell, April 0, 1871, in which he sait
% "DEAR SIR: 1t gives me no pleasure to Gdvl'
70 you, and the committee of which You are II
y head. that am obliged to decline tho post a
signed me by the state convention In the pr
!, posed reorganization of the Republican part
r. of our city, Had little forbearance and col
Y ciliation been eyinced by the appointing pow
u ut Washington think this might have bee