Year: 1877

Press Comments on the Ohio Election.


This is what Horace Greeley used to
call the off year" in politics. The Re-
publicans gave themselves upto off ques-
tions, and the election returns are off
color. The Democrats have carried the
State ticket, the Legislature, and Hamil
ton County AS to the lesson of this re.
suit, there may be different opinions. The
Democrats made the scheme of perpetual
and neutrality-suspicious. notes the great
and sole issue of the canvass, coupled
with repeal of the so.called Resumption
act, and this not to substitute practical
measure, but to postpone specie payment
indefinitely. We suppose they will claim
the result as a popular approval of this
scheme of paper money, and they seem
to have a prjmG, fGcie case.


The Workingmen's party had hand
in it, but the only distinctive principle
that party has put forth is a perpetual
and elastic issue of greenbacks. The
Temperance party also did something;
also the bigoted beer party-the two
working together, as is not unusual
Considerable noise was made about sill
yer, and we presume it will be claimed
that this had a hand in it, although the
Republican Convention declared for the
silver dollar, and some Republican
speakers tried to fool the silly believers
in cheap dollar to the top of their bent,
The credulous inflationists imbibed the
idea that they could have a cheap metal
dollar spliced on to the unlimited green
back so as to double the quantity of
oh nna1d hax &C i,tn
vertibility" without redemption.


So far as this result has been brought
about by any definite ideas, it was by
this shallow delusion of irredeemable
paper money, and cheap metal dollar
hitched to the tail of the paper kite, and
by the small ways with the small things
above mentioned.


But the returns will show what is called
the silent vote large enough to have
turned the result largely the other way
Several reasons will be alleged for this,
but it is way of the Republicans. An
nual elections are too great a burden for
large number of them. A government
of the people requires too much of the
people; so they have their off years, when
they have not political energy enough to
vote.


We suppose that they whose personal
aspirations have not been fed by Mr.
Hayes will charge this to Republican dis
affection because of the Presidents
Southern policy, as it is called; that is to
say, his continuance of Grants suspen-
sion of bayonet rule. To some extent
this may be true. There are some that
think the President could override Con-
gress, and that he has as absolute COM
mand of the army and of the issues of
peace and war as the Gear of Russia
There are also some that cite Grant as
having maintained Republican Govern
ments in the South by soldiers till Hayes
ordered them off; whereas, Grant had
neutralized the soldiers, and permitted
the Democratic Governments to take
possession, and was with difficulty re-
strained by his Cabinet from making full
recognition of Nichols,


Undeniably the manner of what is
called civil-service reform has had a con-
siderable effect in weakening the party
organization, by neutralizing a consider
able body of organizers. Under the long
regime of Grant the civil service had be-
come law, through his own favorites,
and through farming offices out to sub
servient Congressman. Reform required
as the first step a large number of re-
movals, and the filling of the places with
Republicans of high character. Such
men would take no improper part in
elections. But the attempt at reform by
retaining the most of these machine
men, and ordering them out of politics,
left in a large number who were disaf-
fected, and were only too willing to let
the Democrats prevail, and even to help
them. And this left the party without
such proper aid as it is entitled to have
from the officeholders as Republicans of
influence. And it has not yet got into
the habit of organizing without their
help.


But an off year after the Presidents
election is habit of the Republicans. 1t
is the custom to talk of government to
the people as thing the people delight
to administer; but in fact they regard it
as irksome, and want to shuttle it off most
of the time. 1t is too much work to turn
out and vote. There was great deal of
dissatisfaction among the Democrats; but
the thinking class of that party is only a





vote, like regular army, at the word of
command. OF course the negligent and
disaffected Republicans will now resolve
to vote and retrieve the State. And the
Democratic party has talent for dis
gusting the people in single term
enough to cause this reaction. Mean
while another United States Senatorship
will have gone to the Democrats. - CGn-
ciRnGti Gazette.


There was large falling off yesterday
in the vote compared with that of the
Presidential contest. Democratic gains
appear throughout the State, indicating
the election of the Democratic State tick
ct by considerable majority. In this
county the workingmen polled heavy
vote, which was taken chiefly from the
Republicans. The German Republicans
largely voted the Workingmen's ticket.
The Irish Democrats were comparatively
firm.


There is fine field open here fol
speculation. The Democratic victory
comes, in our judgment, from the failure
of the Cleveland Convention to make the
fight distinctly for the Administration.


In the absence of an exciting issue, the
third party developed strength, and
while Germans scratched West, Evan
gelicals scratched Vogeler.


The Democratic party, being the regu
lar army in our politics, held their voters
by the force of discipline in better shape
than the Republicans were able to do
Cincinnati Commercial.





The comments ON our defeat in Ohio
are prompt and various. So large tielC
for inference and conjecture has not beer
offered to the political theorists for som'
time, and they are improving the oppor
tunity. The New York Tribune think
that while the direct bearing of the Ohic
contest on national issues was very slight
"it may indirectly have an excellent eff
feet upon the Western Republicans.
1.-TWO years ago." says the Tribune
they met their adversaries in Ohio on
the high ground of national honesty, anC
after a hard fight they beat them glori
/ ,,,alrr Uk,sa uoat. fhaxy haua fallan kaOl