The Brookhaven leader., 1888-03-22
REPUBLICAN DECAY.
4 mugwGmp Papers Impartial Survey o
the Political Situation

n veteran hepubllCau oeudtbT u
quoted as saying to a friend in Wash
ington recently: 81 can not discern q
ray Of light Blaine is certainly ont of
the question. John Shermau's nomi-
nation does not seem to be q POSSIBLE
ity. There is no movement for Alli-
son, or Hawley, or Harrison or Gull
lom, or Hiscook. or anybody else on
the list, any more than there was four
or eight years ago. l doubt II the
winning man In our convention has
been mentioned yet by any one Yet
the man may come to us In our hour
of need Such things have happened
to us before in our political history"
This is an accurate survey of the Re
publican situation. There are at
present about twenty Republican
leaders who are mentioned as possible
candidates, yet in the whole lot there
is not one whose availability can not
be seriously questioned. This is a
very curious situation for great party
TO be in, and it is worth while to In
quire into the causes which have led
1t is noticeable that as one man alter
another is considered. he is barred out
as undesirable because there Is that in
his record which will offend certain
"votes." Thus Senators Sherman.
Harrison. Hawley and Allison are all
thought to be excluded because they
voted against the Chinese Restriction
bill, 1t being part of the party be-
lief that no Republican candidate can
carry the Pacific Coast who has voted
in that way. He would not get the
anti-Chinese vote" Judge Gresham
is believed to be barred out because
of his prompt and fearless decisions
against turbulent strikers, which
would cost him the labor vote"
These are the party's strongest men,
and with them set aside the field for
choice is narrowed to such aspirants
as Foraker Alger. Oglesby, Cullom,
Hiscock, Depew, Boutelle, Blair and
Phelps, none of whom would give as
surance of any thing like close con-
test with President Cleveland
II is not difficult to see why it is that
this question of "votes" has come to
play so important part in the Repub-
lican calculations. The whole policy
of the party for the past few years has
been directed to the creation Of pre-
cisely such obstacles. Take, for ex-
ample, the Chinese question. What
gave that lasting Importance was the
conduct of Mr.. Blaine in writing let
ter on the subject in which he made
bid for the Pacific Coast vote. That
letter not only gave him the support
of the anti-Chinese element, but made
1t necessity for every candidate for a
long time afterwards to have the same
magnet If Mr.. Blaine had not raised
the question to the dignity of an
tissue" it would have been forgotten
long ago, and the party would not
now be deprived of the leadership of
four of its most competent men. So
it is with the "labo~ vote" If it had
not been persistently coddled and per-
sistently lied to about the effects of
protection in keeping wages high, there
would be no fear Of hostility to Judge
Gresham.
But not only have the leaders of the
party been thus disabled by this truck
ling to "votes," but the rising genera
ton of voters has been so dspleased
by the performance that the number of
able men turning towards the Repub-
lican party each year has been rapidly
diminishing. The departure of the
Independents, or Mugwmps, however
arrogant and "big-headed they NAV
have been, was not the only loss the
party has sustained because of it's pet
ty vote-angling policy. However
earnest the veterans of the party may
have been in urging that policy, in
seeking for the anti Chinese vote, now
for the labor vote, now for the Irish
vote, now for the soldier vote. and
first, last and all the time for the igno-
rant and prejudiced vote, the men of |
talent in the rising generation could
see nothing attractive, nothing offer
ing promising field for their ambi-
TONS, in party given up to such aims.
Ihey have therefore been going over,
in steadily-increasing numbers during
the past few years, 30 the Democratic |
party. There can be no doubt about |
this They belong to a new era and |
can not be frightened by a mere party
name. They see the Republican party |
every day more obstiuately opposed TO |
progress, clinging to war memories for |
quarter of a century after the war is |
over, and standing in the way of any
attempt to legislate in the interests of |
the changed condition of the present
time.
What inducement can there be for |
young man of intelligence and ambi- |
ton to enter party which makes |
great man of such Il ridiculous person |
as Governor Foraker? The mere fact |
that man of that calber is mentioned
as very probable Presidential candi-
date is striking evidence OF the intel |
lectual decadence which has fallen up
on the party The veteran Senator
whom we have quoted above saws the |
man that the party is looking for NAV
yet come to it in tits hour of need, as has
happened before in its history; but the
hour OF need in the Republican past
was very different one from what it |
Is now. The party had not only a
moral purpose, but moral character.
1t had men of convictions and brains