Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-10-04
Presidential Campaigns
XIV. Tho Hayes-TIldcn Recc Of 1870
Frederic j. Haskin.

| the eleven years reign OF teIIoI Y his
southern states came TO an end. Violent
anarchy, supported by bayoneb OF the
/ United States troops, and utter defiance
| of law by the government at Washington,
brought Mr.. Hayes TO the Presidency. BE
IL said To his everlasting credit that he
did despise the bridge that carried him
| over and that he restored free govern
ment in the states Of the south.
| The Hayes Inauguration marked the
end Of the most furiously fought political
and politico legal contest this country has
| ever seen. To begin WITH oply eleven
| years had elapsed since the~rnd Of the
| Civil War, and the Democratic party
was accused by every Republican orator
Of a desire 70 restore the dead confederacy
| Against this charge the Democrats pleaded
their LOYALTY 10 the flag and sent Demo-
cratic Union generals over the country,
spell-bindinp Fires Of partisanship burn
ed iiercely, and while they added to The
heat of the eampaigs, other factors de-
cided it's outcome,
The panic Of 1879 had plunged the
country into financial distress and busi-
ness depression, such as II had not known
| before Jay Gould was teaching Wall
| Street some tricks that have not been
wholly forgotten. The difference in value
/ DfENffit ii' Biffibbfk dltI Ahf t'A1 oNa
| lar was the basis Of the widest specula-
ton, in which the common people"
| invariably got the worst end of the bargain
! These business conditions caused the peo-
| pie to want a change for the sake Of
change. The Tilden democracy promised
| the resumption Of specie payments and
an end to business distress.
! The scandals Of the Grant admins
| tration. which had psulted in the Greeley
detection of 1872. had increased instead
| of diminished. The famous HWhiskey
Ring had been exposed, and a scapegoat
| 'or two was on the way 10 the peniten-
| tiary. The secretary Of war, Belknap,
was impeached, and escaped conviction
| only by resigning under FIRE. Said the
| Democratic platform, the work Of Iilden
and Watterson:
HOT PLATFORM.
ffWhep the annals Of the republic show
! the disgrace and censure Of vice-prcsi-
| dent a late speaker Of the House of Repre-
sentatIves marketing hrs rulings az pre-
/ siding officer; three Senators profitinp
secretly BY their votes rs Lawmakers; +;
| five ohairrnen Of the leading committees
of the House Of Representatives exposed
| in jobbery; late Secretary Of the treas
try forging balances in the public accounts
| q late attornev-eeneral misappropriating
public funds: a secretary OF The navy en-
riched or enrichmg friends by percentages
| levied off the profits OF contractors with
his department: AN ambassador to Eng
| land cengured in a dishonorable specula-
ton: the Presidents private secretary
| barely escaping conviction upon trial for
guilty completely in frauds upon the
revenue: a secretary OF war impeached for
Z L II. Il
demonstration Is complete that the first
step in reform must be the peoples
choice Of honest men ffom another party,
lest the disease Of one political organiza-
ton infect the body polite, and lest. by
making no change Of men or parties, We
get no change of measures and no real
reform
Upon this line the Democrats fought
their battle. Ii IS useless, perhaps, 20 go
muek-akIng INTO the past to tell of these
scandals m particular; let il suffice to
say that neither before nor since IN the
history of the country has the taInt Of
graft been so noisome at the seat of the
Federal government.
The Democrats nominated Samuel J.
T'ilden for President, after sharp but
unequal contest In which Thomas A.
Hendricks Of Indiana was his leading op-
ponent. Hendricks was named for vice
president.
b rAINE BEATEN.
Tie Republicans met at Cincinnati
James c. Blaine was the general favorite
for the nomination, and but for the.
chicanerv Of the administration would
have been selected. Blaine had already
become the popular idol of the Repuhli-
cans He was placed in nomination at
Cincinnati by the eloquent Robert G.
Ingersoll in the famous speech which have
Blaine the name Of The Plumed Knight"
On the FIRST ballot Ruther rd b. HAYES.
ex-governor Of Ohio, stood fifth. His
colorIess. although blarneless record caused
him to be selected as the favorite dark
horse, and he received the nomination
on the seventh ballot, although Blaine
had more votes than on any other count.
Hayes was held up by the Republicans
as absolutely pure and holy, a man who
would clean the Augean stables at Wash
ington If they needed cleaning which the
Republicans firmly declined to admit
Tilden was presented as a true refoTmer
with a reform record He had broken the
rule of the Tweed ring in New York, the
most corrupt political machine ever
known in the country up to that time. he
had run Boss Tweed out Of the country,
and he was the hero Of the good govern
ment forces. To the Democrats the slo-
gan, Turn the raseals outw meant lust
the same as let TIlden inf'
There was another factor in the cam
pagn which had its effect One Of the
chief causes Of the Liberal Republican
bolt of 1872 was the fear that General
Grant was too much of a military man 10
sympathize with civil governments The
whole south was ruled with bayonets and
the southern people were in worse con-
dition than when the war closed carpet
baggers were running the State govern
cments, and with the aid of legislatures
composed of ignorant Negroes and un-
principled white men, were hastening the
hday Of absolute bankruptcy BY 1876 |
half of the southern States had restored /
peace and law, but in many the bayonet |
still held sway and the Federal troops were |
forcing a corrupt government upon the /
people The north did not sympathize |
with this State of affairs
Many of the Liberal Republicans. |
however, disguised with the failure of the |
Greeley campaign, and believing that /
when General Grant retired there would I
be no further trouble flocked to the sup
port of Hayes. Prominent among these (
were Carl Schurz and Murat Halstead. /
Others of the Liberals, finding their own |
organization had no life ia 1t, went to the |
I'ilden side of the fight. Among these are |
men like Governor Curtin OF Pennsyl- /
vania, one of the two menswho nominated |
Lincoln for President in 1860, General. /
John IL Palmer, Charles Frances Adams, |