Year: 1876

| Speaker Kerr's position gives him good
opportunities for estimating the drift OF
democratic sentiment and he thinks it
inexpedient for the party to run Governor
Tilden. He doubtless thinks he has very
good reasons for reckoning Governor Hen
bricks the stronger candidate.


In the first place. Governor Hendricks is
more likely to unite and harmonic the
party on the troublesome question of the
currency. He is an elastic hard money man
who stretches his tolerance to include all
dissenters, receiving the devoted support of
both wings of the party in his own State.
He is the decided first choice. not only of
Speaker Kerr and Senator Mcdonald, who
represent the hard money sentiment of
Indiana, but also of Mr.. Holman and Mr.
Landers, who were rivals for the democratic
nomination for the Governorship and are
counting favor at home by soft money prop
ositions in Congress. Now. a statesman
who thus operates as political sol
vent in his own State and successfully
combines the mutually repelling elements
must possess qualities which would have the
same tendency in larger sphere. The
great problem of the democracy is how to
close up the chasm opened by the money
question, and Mr.. Hendricks seems we'll fit
ted to mediate between Ohio and New York,
In virtue of the same qualities which win
him the support of Speaker Kerr, whose
democracy is of the New York type,
and Messrs Holman and Landers,
whose democracy is of the Western
type. Neither Governor Tilden, nor Senator
Bayard, nor Senator Thurman has shown
this extraordinary faculty of standing equally
well with both sides in the currency dispute.


In the second place, with Mr.. Hendricks
as the Presidential candidate the democratic
party would have altogether better chances
of carrying Ohio in October than with Mr..
Tilden, and the October result in that State
will virtually decide the Presidential cleo
tion For success in Ohio Governor Tilden
would be the weakest candidate that could
be found in the democratic party with
sufficient pretensions to bring him
within the field of choice. The Ohio
democrats charge upon him their de-
feat last October. His organs in this
State were violent in their denunciations
of the Ohio democracy, and one of them
went so far as to openly and vehemently ad-
wise the hard money democrats to defeat the
ticket of their own party. Governor Hen
bricks, on the other hand, though hard
money man, went to Ohio and took the
stump for the ticket. There is no other hard
money candidate whom the Ohio democrats
would support with such united zeal It
may, indeed, be said that the democratic
party cannot elect President without the
vote of New York any more than without the
vote of Ohio. This is true enough; but here
is the difference, that if they are badly
whipped in Ohio they cannot carry New
York. If Ohio is recovered by the aid of
Hendricks New York will take care of itself
All the influence which Mr.. Tilden possesses
in this State could be utilized by running
him again for Governor as New York was
saved for Polk by making Silas Wright the
gubernatorial candidate.


In the third place, the democratic
leaders in all parts of the country
would rely with more confidence on Mr..
Hendricks for q fair distribution of the
federal patronage. Governor Tilden has
never served in Washington in any public
capacity, has never resided there and has
but limited personal acquaintance with
the minor public men of the different
States. He has all his life consorted chiefly
with the democratic politicians of New York,
and his personal preferences are SO singular
that the party leaders elsewhere would not
think it safe to trust him. Governor Hen
bricks is more widely acquainted, is more
tolerant and has none of Governor Tilden's
political eccentricity Governor Tilden
picks up unaccountable favorites he de-
lights in bestowing the chief posts of honor
on very young men and on party neophytes,
to the neglect of tried democrats. He die
tated the State ticket at Syracuse last fall
and put at its head q recent recruit from the
republicans, gave the second and most
important place to another republi-
can recruit and selected youngsters
of no recognized political or pro-
fessional standing for the offices of Attorney
General and State Engineer. The demo-
cratic politicians who have rendered the
party long and faithful services would not be
willing to see the federal patronage appor-
toned by democratic President in the same
eccentric and surprising way.


No Seat No Fare.