Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-06-11
TnG CAMPAIGN OF isis.

results snf their national Victory four
years before and the excellent record
of the Polk administration, which
many Democratic leaders Of that day
regarded as one of the most successful
and important in the history of the
country. Under Il the war with Mexi-
90 had been fought. with splendid
glory for American armies and navy,
and consequent large and important
addition TO our national domain. TN
der it also. the tariff policy of the
country had been settled upon the
basis OF n tariff for revenue only. by
the Walker Tariff law enacted in fsa6,
i and this settlement took the tarin
question out OF national politics for
more than thirty years. So Delaware
Democrats looked confidently for an
other national victory and hoped morc
artiently than ever for victory in their
State.
The questions arising from the
slavery agitation were dominant at
II this time. and tended TO seriously dis
rupt party policies. especially IN the
Democratic party. many of whose
voters were becoming restive over
Southern aggressiyeneas i'm hostility TO
tion. But compromises were the order
of the day, and SO the inevitable out
break was set back, time and again,
until the elimination. more than a
decade later.
fhe Delaware Gazette in 1sAs was
in the hands of Caleb p. johnson and
William Penn Chandler, the latter as
editor in chief. The paper earnestly
advocated the nomination of General
Lewis Cass of Michigan as the Demo-
cratic candidate for President The
Democratic campaign opened very
early with a county meeting at Della
ware City on Saturday. February %,
at which preliminary work was enter,
ed upon and resolutions adopted APP
proving all the acts of the Polk adj
ministration, especially its conduct OF
the Mexican War, and the peace ne
gotiations. then in progress. The
war was necessary and just in its in
ception." declared the Democrats OF
New Castle county in these resolutions.
and they added that il would have been
ended sooner but for whig hostility"
The Delaware delegation To the
Democratic National Convention. held
there instructed To vote for General
Cass, and he was nominated on the
fourth ballot, with William q. Butler
az Kentucky fot Vice President. The
Gazette was overjoyed at this out
come. C'ass and Butler, IL declared
are consistent Democratic Republic
cans OF the old school and will beyond
doubt be the neat President and Vice
President OF the United States" II
attached little Importance TO the de-
lection of New York at the convention,
although subsequently this led TO the
formation of the Free Soil Democratic
party. with Martin Van Buren, as its
candidate for President, which de-
prived the Democratic candidates of
votes enough to cost them the cleo
, ton. The Delaware State Journal ridi-
culed the selection of Cass for Presi-
dent. and also vigorously attacked the
Democratic party for its practical
abrogation Of the protective tariff. AS
/, the campaign progressed, the Gazette
gave more attention to the activities
OF the "Barnburners," as the followers
OF Van Buren were called, and set
them down as a miserable faction
whose ultimate object appears to be
to effect a dissolution of our glorious
and happy Union"
A New Fighter In the Field.
The Delaware Republican had been
established ia this city by that time,
and while 1t was not as ardently Wing
as the Journal, IL Joined with the latter
paper in making the editorial con-
test warm for the Gazette. The City
Council, then a Democratic body,
was denounced by the Delaware Re
publican for having turned out two
faithful iamplighters in order to give
their places TO two Democrats, and
the Gazette came back with singing
rebuke of the Whig Trustees of the
Poor for discharging Democrats who
We're employed in official places at the
county almshouse. But these triyiali-
ties only interyened occasionally, as
the campaign was fought almost en-
tirely on national issues.
The Whig National Convention at
! Baltimore, turned deaf ear to the APP
! peals of friends Of Henry Clay. and
/. disregarding also the claims of Daniel
| Webster and General Winfield Scott.
bestowed the nomination for President
upon General Zachary Taylor of
Louisiana, ''old Rough and Ready" the
popular hero of the Mexican War. Mil
lard Fillmore of New York was named
for yice-President. Delaware Wings
were not pleased at Taylor's nomina-
ton, as they wanted Henry Clay. They
iput forward the name of their own
leader. John NJ. Clayton, in ne con-
| vention, but he received only the six
votes of his own little State The
/ Gazette denounced the selection OF
! Taylor as ''the first instance of taking
, Immediately from the battlefield can
didate for the Chief Magistracy of the
) Nation 1t was a dangerous prece-
dent" warned the Gazette, and il sue
) lcessful surely would threaten the per-
!. petuity and stability of the Republic
5 Pause, then, fellow-citizens, and ponder
Y wei before acting in the premises
|. The .Wilmot Proviso was then an
I element of large Importance in political
: controversy. and the Gazette gave
: much space to the charge that Genera
] Taylor had written letters both favor.
] able to and against it.
Somewhat Quiet Campaign.
A review of the local campaign al
presented in the pages of the con
temporary newspapers fails to show
evidence of the intense earnestness
and the picturesque enthusiasm thai
made the campaign of 1910 so famous