El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-28
vw ASHINGTON, D. c.. Oct. Is
AA/ The birth of the Republican

like out of the ashes of the ruins of
the defeated opposition to Democracy
in 1852, stands out as one of the re-
markable political events Of American
history But four years before the
/ country had been almost unanim Gus in
( favor of the adjustment Of the slavery
! question, as made by the compromise
I with that proceeded to push their ad-
/ vantage further under Pierce, and the
/ Republican party spraug. full grown
/ into the arena of politics, as q protest
/ against such a course. 1t remained for
/ Pennsylvania, in race in which the
/ Democracy won by an eyeflaSh finish,
/ to cast the vote which. the only time
/ i'm its history put one of its sons into
/ the white house. and kept out of it a
/ man whose election probably would
I have meant disunion and civil war four
I years before they came.
What Might Have Been.
Many historians have speculated as
to what would have happened had fus-
ion won in Pennsylvania in $50, and
{ Fremont succeeded Pierce in the white
house. That secession would have fol-
! lowed seems Inevitable Even eE-presi-
dent Fillmore declared the south could
not be expected TO endure the humilia-
tiOn Of a Republican victory with
president and q vice president from
the north. The entire temper of the
south was of that nature. And what
would Fremont have done in the presi-
4 Dental chair II such an event had come
about2 With his temperament and his
mediocre gifts. what would have been
the OutcOme2 Many a northern au-
thOrity has registered his vow of
thanlzfulness that by the narrow ma
jOrity of 1925 votes Pennsylvania
tiOn I'M American politics.
The Republican party met in Pitts
f. burg on HashingJon's birthday and
called q national convention 10 con-
In q aaHH "a ny
day 1t met according to schedule, and
such small thing as credentials never
entered into the minds of the leaders
OF the movement. They felt that every
body at the convention was sincerely
interested in the cause OF anti-slavery;
so every delegate had seat
Seward Forced to Decline.
Tt was indeed with them a case Of
principles and not men," and the
thought of most of the delegates turned
to William Fl. Seward as the man best
typIylnE the ideas and ideals of the
party. But Seward was out OF it. He
had declined the nomination; yet his
declination was not of his own wish.
ThurlOW Weed had forced him TO ii. and
he often hiuted TO friends that Weed
had betrayed him for Fremont Weed
himself tells a story which shows how
clearly Seward realized that if he could
have accepted the nomination in 1886,
he would Eavc been renOminated In
1850. and ne. instead Of Lincoln, would
story goes that Weed and Seward We're
riding uD Broadway one day, and when
they passed the Lincoln monument, in
Union square, Seward said w eed, if
YOU had been faithful to me. / should
have been there instead of Lincoln To
which Weed replied Is it not better
to be alive and in a carriage with me
than to be dead and set up in bronze2'
Salmon P Chase also was considered
for the nomination, but it was agreed
that he had been too closely identified [
with the Democrats to carry Ohio. so
ne was eliminated before the ballot .
ing began. Justice Mclean. who had
been on the supreme court bench since
1929. also was talked Of But Horace
Greedy wrote of him. I'VE do not con-
slider him quite 5. O. G.H-the IS. o. G."
standing for political slang express /
sion of the day. sound on the goose"
Charles A. Dana wrote to q friend:
You ought to rejoice al the interment
of such candidate rather than shed
tears by the quart when he is done for"
In the end John c. Fremont was
nominated. His political principles were
little better known than were those Of 1
zachary Taylor when the Wings nom
mated him in 1S4S. But a boiling fac
uOn of the Know Nothing party had
nominated Kim some time before and {
the Republicans sought to add that
strength to their own Lincoln was a
candidate before the convention for vice {
president and received 10 votes on I
one ballot. but ". 7. Dayton. of New I
Jersey, was nominated over him. Lin
coin favored the nomination of justice I
Mclean and urged T. B. Washburne /
and other friends to do all they could !
in behalf OF the eminent jurist. /
Know Nothing Convention
The Know NOthIngs, of whom Horace (
Greeley wrote that they had, as a party, /
about as many of the elements OF per- /
Torrance as an anti-pOtatO-rOt party, /
held their national convention on ]
WashingJon's birthday, their national 1
council having three days before /
drawn up the party platform. A fight I
was precipitated over the right Of the {
council to take away from the cOnven-
ton the framing Of the national plat
form, and this probably was response
bic for his subsequent nomination by
the Republicans The regulars nOmi-
mated eX-preSident Fillmore and sam
uel j. DOnelsOn. The Wings afterward I
met and ratified the nominations, the
last convention they ever held Thus
they, organized into a political party
by anti-Aasonry, expired as an adjunct
of anti-CathOlicism.
. The Democrats met in Cincinnati, [
holding there the first national con
ventiOn which ever convened west of
the Alleghenies. Although president !
Pierce was q candidate for renOmina-
tiOn, it was early seen that the party
course was to be determined from the
fact that the nominee would have TO I
carry some northern states to win, and Z
Pierce was unpopular in the north. SO
SOL the nomination. with ]
John G. Breckenridge rs his running
mate. The convention rather evened 4
up the score Dy a ringing approval of
Pierce's administration in its platform
Buchanan, when minister to England /
had Joined the American ministers TO
France and Spain in a letter from
Ostend afterWard labeled the HOstend
in which they declared that
Cuba ought to be a part Of the United
States become such by purchase. If
possible, or by force if necessary. That
with the favor with which Pierce and
Buchanan looked upon the Walker fill
buster in Nicaragua. led to the Demo-
Gratis being called Buchananeers"
Free States" and Fremont.
Free states, free Kansas. free speech,
and Fremont was the battlecry Of the
Republicans. while Buck cnd Breck"
was as much as the Democratic cam I
paign poets could find for q slogan. I
The Republicans could find no term (
more gentle than border ruffian'' to I
apply to q Democrat The Democrats
retorted with black Republican" and
hOnOrs were easy.
One of the greatest political rallies
ever held in this country was the I
Fremont and freedom festival held at
Dayton. Ohio, the last of July. More
than 100000 people came from far and
near The rallyiug cry of the day was
There is a north" One of the chief
frrr.a- of f1ra raTabr1 zion moe d, .