Year: 1876

Republicans with indifference; not with enthusiasm as they would have supported Bristow. The Democrats can play a real trump, like Tjlden. and win; or, they can present fair man, like Bayard, with just | about an even chance of success: Pursu- ing the very natural comparison of cards with politics, the surprise is, that. hold- | ing the ace of trumps in Bristow. the Con- vention plays a lower card at the manifest risk of losing the game? A little consid- eration of the men and of the views which controlled the Convention will, we think, explain the matter.

 With every variety of combination, and numerous minor distinctions, the men who compose conventions are of three principal grades those who believe in and work for themselves; those who be- lieve in and work for the party; and those who have little faith in parties but work through them for lack of better methods. If we should term these three classes the politicians, the partisans. and the patriots, we should bring derision on the last and best of the three. They are really the men of the most independent. liberal views consistent with acknowledging any sort of allegiance to party. Of these three class es the partisan is much the largest; the politicians are always few and always in- fuential; the liberals are apt to be power full in exact proportion to the weakness of the party to which they belong. With a party in indisputable supremacy they are powerless; with party in doubtful cir cumstances they have great influence; and with one whose only chance of success through ordinary means is small, they are supreme. Hence it happens that party which feels strong generally makes poor nominations; one that is little doubtful of success, seeks out unobiectionables and Great Unknowns; and parties which really feel weak generally put forward strong men.

 The struggle Tn conventions is usually between the first and third of these class. es. With both politician and liberal men party success is a subordinate considera- ton. The politician cares little for the defeat of party that offers him no per sonal advancement; the liberal cares little for political victory in which no princi- pie is in issue. Between these natural enemies lies the great middle ground of partisanship. Here the prevalent desire is the simple one of party success. The selfshness which controls the politician, and the doubtful allegiance which the lb- eral acknowledges to party are both hate full to the staunch partisan. He is eter nally trying to patch up a compromise be- tween patriotism and politics, and to nom- mate candidates and manufacture plat forms that shall satisfy both. But it is difficult to reconcile the irreconcileable, and the history of parties is scarcely more than record of more or less absurd fail ures, in this hopeless attempt. Now and then convention rises to the height of real patriotism; occasionally it drops down to the low plane of professional politics i; generally 1t occupies the unhappy middle ground of mere partisanship.

 In the case in question it would be un- just to class all the followers of Blaine as mere partisans; all the Conkling men as politicians; and to dignify all the support CTS of Bristow with the title of liberals. Still we judge that very few politicians were to be found voting for Bristow. and not many but politicians voting for Conk- ling. The difficulty with Morton was that he could be classed neither as fish, flesh, or fowl. He is a poor partisan beside Blaine; inferior as politician to Conk- ling; impossible as Reformer, and any thing but unobjectionable or unknown. The partisan's ideal is Blaine. With all the pluck, pugnacity, and ''push' which the partisan especially admires, he has shown such exceptional ability as leader and such wonderful capacity for routing and foiling political opponents, that we have no doubt it was all the partisans of the Cincinnati Convention could do to keep from nominating Blaine on uncon- trollable impulse. Hence the unusual care to delay the vote til the fervor of nominating speeches had been allowed to cool, and the adoption of rule to prevent ''stampeding" delegations by change of vote during the progress of ballot. Had the Republican party been sure of it's old ascendency, the nomination of Blaine al- most by exclamation would have. been an inevitable result. But the partisan who finds his way in such numbers into na. tional conventions is very shrewd ani- nal. He would have greatly preferred Blaine to the Unknown, great or little; but he would have preferred the Un- known, however little, to the Known, how ever great, provided the Unknown could be elected and the Known could not. Hence the politician also opposed Blaine. He knows no enthusiasm except for the man who can give him postoffice. He believes in his heart that Blaine was com promised with the railroads and he thinks others will be as suspicious as he is him. self. The liberal has his doubts of Blaine as we'll as the politician. He may not consider him guilty but sees grave gl ound for suspicion. The worst and the best elements, therefore, were against Blaine; and, adding to these the timid of the par tisan class, his defeat was accomplished in the face of personal following almost without precedent in the history of con- ventions.

 But If Bristow could almost surely win and no one else could claim any such cer- talnty, why fail to improve him? Sim ply because Partisanship. though too timid to nominate Blame, could not quite yield to the extent of nominating Bristow. A party convention generally overesti. mates the party strength. The unanimity 1 of feeling. the common enthusiasm. and