The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-12
sEATrLE. THURSDAY. yoT. 1s.
THE MUGwUMP.

THE MUGwUMP.
The recent elections make it certain that
in 1892 the Mugwump Republicans who
supported Cleveland for president in 1884
and 1888 will support him in 1892. These
Republican deserters of 1854 have become
naturalized Democrats and will remain
permanently with the Democratic party
Just so long as the Republican party re-
mains the party of the protective tariff
policy. These seceders from the Repub-
lican party left 1t in 1884 on the pretense
that they could not support Blaine and that
the Republican party was not sufficiently
devoted to civil service reform. The real
cause Of this Republican secession was the
tariff; George William Curtis confessed
that the tariff, not Blaine. was the pebble
in the Republican shoe that CALLED his foot.
1t is the tariff and the prospect of bat
tie for its overthrow next year that made
SO many of the New York Mugwumps
support Tammany last week; it is the
tariff that makes the New York Evening
Post anfthe Mugwump press of New Eng
land condone Cleveland's support of Tam
many. The Mngwump who has now be-
come an actual Democrat, permanent
resident of that party's piratical political
camp, is the counterpart, or repetition in
history of the pro-slavery Wing of thirty
five years ago. Like the pro-slavery Wing
the Mugwump plumes himself on his cult
ure and his blue blood; he is
never weary of taking off his hat
to himself as the only living
representative of .'the gentleman in pol
itics;" he cares as little about electoral
rights and outrages upon them as the pro-
slavery Wing cared about the rights Of
freedom and humanity, and the violation
thereof-on which slavery was founded;
he has opinions which the party he for
merly acted with treated lightly. and this
slight was intolerable. so, like the pro-
slavery Wing. the Mugwump flung him.
self into tn /, arms of the Democracy. The
Webster and Fillmore Wings that could
not swallow the anti-slavery platform Of
the Republican party all became Demo-
Gratis, and copperheads at that; and so
the free trade Republicans who could not
endure its protective tariff policy have
all become Democrats. DR.. William Ever
EFT is today the same kind of political
creature that his father Edward Everett
was; he is closet politician; q hyper
critical scholar in politics." who proba-
bly, deemed both Lincoln and Grant vul-
garious and throws up his hat for that
protuberant platitudinist, Grover Cleve-
land.
The Mugwump is gone bag and baggage
to the Democratic party, and gone to stay.
Nothing that the Republican party could
possibly do would bring him back, because
the Mugwump has the ineradicable tape
worm of tariff for revenue only" in
bis brain. Therefore, the Republican
party must get on without him, and
should shape its policy without refer
ence to or regard for him, for I'M
til the Republican party ceases to sup
port the protective policy the Mugwump
viii support the Democratic policy and its
candidate in all federal elections. It is
not Blaine; it is not "civil service re-
form" that really troubles the Mugwump;
it is the fact that he Is a college-bred free
grow his scholastic training To this
school of political thinkers, distinguished
for theoretical rather than practical states
manshlp, belonged Charles Sumner after
the war; cold, egotistical creature; fret
full, arrogant, Incorporating and disor-
ganizing as party leader, his last years
were fruitful in nothing but mischief Snd
all ua raI T.,
fine naval station in the West Inches. and
did his best to wreck all chance of peace
full and honorable settlement OF ting Ala
bama claims with England. Sumner was
the marplot that forced the recall of Mot
ley. Private pique and luminosity per-
suaded far ADLER Republican than
Sumner, Carl SEIZURE, to bend his bow
against the party in which he had won all
his best fame, and Lyman Trumbull left
our party for no higher reasons. The late
Charles Francis Adams became a Mug
wump without private grievance; he
did not need any; nor did Sam Bowles,
for both were able, honest men, with no
axes to grind, but by natural constitution
they were never so happy as when both
f'~AetNS "SAN AAAASN4 1SsS- hSl ncke
cold, cynical restless critics of ey-
cry man and every cause. They
had no friendships, and wanted none.
They were natural-born scalp takers: they
would prefer to take an enemy's scalp, if
they could find one, but otherwise they
would take the scalp Of dear personal
friend rather than return to the wigwam
from the warpath ami report campaign
without battle; battle without blood
and string of scalps q, the war girdle.
The sincere Mugwumps of today are all
OF the same doctriadire class. Many of
them are men of dne abilities, OF excellent
personal character. but they are ali ''closet
naturalists" in politics, who in their
hearts despise and distrust the people, and
who are always gibbeting the mistakes of
their natural friends and prssing with
faint damnation the gross crimes and
plumbers of their natural foes. The type is
yariegated sometimes by natural temper
amenth peculiarities. but q passion for
fau!t-anding hypereritical, scholastic pol
tiles, rather than executive craftsmanship,
Is common to them all.
---
The same purblind moral sense which