Year: 1859

decidedly to be commiserated. III mas gotten
itself into predicament from whieh it feels
it is utterly impossible to extricate itself We
are sorry that we cannot give it any conso-
lation for we feel much for its unfortunate
condition.


For the mere amusement of the thing, and
to show what reliability belongs to a Lecomp
ton sheet, we shall proceed to give brief
history of the course of that paper, since the
opening of this campaign. 1t began by de-
claring that the Republicans and the Doug
las Democrats, Tor Broderickites, as it calls
them) were one and the same thing, In this
it has found itself contradicted, at nearly
every step of the campaign, by such over
whelming facts that it has become complete
ly staggered, and several times has as good
as acknowledged that there was no truth 10
lis own charge 1t loudly proclaimed that
Mr.. Broderick was no Democrat, and tried to
pick cut certain so called evidences of it in
his remarks at different times in the Senate
and in his votes. 1t even showed its gross
ignorance among other things) of the fact
that there are no "sides" lin parliamentary
phrase) in the Senate, by declaring that Mr..
Broderick in nyariably sat on the Republican
side" of the house. 1t soon found out, by
having little light poured into its under
standing from Mr. Broderick himself, that he
sat where some of the most distinguished
Southern Senators sat as well as he did in
close proximity to certain distinguished Re-
publican Senators. So it dried up" on that
poor string Anxiously did it look for and
predict, first a complete failure in Mr.. Brod.
erick upon the stump, and next, this hope be.
ing gone, for a confirmation, in his speeches,
of the charges which had been made against
his Democracy. No such confirmation could
it fnd, but the pure and unadulterated doc
trines of the party loomed up in every in
stance 1t is now terribly frightened because
Horace Greeley has in effect advised the Re
publicans to vote the straight Douglas ticket,
but it is deprived the consolation of saying
that this fact proves an acknowledgment of
identity of principle with the Douglas party
on the part of the Republicans, for Greeley
himself says that there is no such identity,
but that he advises his party to vote the
Douglas ticket for the same reason that he
himself voted for John B. Haskin in New
York, and that he voted for Hasllin, not be-
cause Haskin's views embraced lis conviction
but because under circumstances of trial and
temptation he had proved faithful to his own.
In other words, he advises the Republicans
not to suffer the Administration party to sue
ceed, because it is not honest in its profess
sions of popular sovereignty, while the Doug
las party Is, and has so proven to the world.


Not satisfied with thus getting itself into
the mire on all these points, it must plunge
heels over head into the naturalization ques-
ton 1t made haste to endorse the first Cass
letter, and the second and the third, and
finally quit endorsing any of them, at wink
from the Administration to the effect that old
man Cass was getting little imprudent, in
giving out such views just on the eve of the
Fall elections, and when the next Presiden-
tial campaign was near at hand. So it
plunged and spluttered and splashed through
the subject, until it succeeded in reaching
something like dry footing, and there turned
a dou6lesomersault unparalleled in the his
tory ofpoltical gymnastics. Cass was light,
and Black was right and Old Buck was right,
and they were all right, and foreigners might
be protected or they might not, just as it
should happen. The Administration was
right any how A sheet like this ought to
have weight, and probably has-a little too
much perhaps for the good of its party


Again. it started out by saying that there
was no Douglas party outside of California,
and winds mp by the ptiful subterfuge that
the Democracy are a Wna it those States which
we point to as against the Administration
True, they are a unit, because the entile or
ganization is Douglas organization. If this
is not having a Douglas party outside of Cali
foruia, we would like to know what kind of
thing it can be called. So the organ backs
down on this point also


The fact is, that no amount of ability can
make straight line out of the zig.zag fence
rail politics of Lecomptonism, and the Elk
press plumbs that fence-rail course exactly.
It is governed by one solitary purpose, and
that is TO sustain the Administration, right or
wrong,-and since the Administration is al
most invariably wrong, it is kept eternally
in torment about its positions before the
public If it would stop short and do it:
own thinking, it might get out of the difficul
ty, but then it would have to cease support
ing the Administration What miserable
] oonJ;t;on - :, L.