Year: 1876

The Independent Vote.


The scheme of a third party, of an organi
zation OF independents is every now and
then brought forward in the public prints,
and discussed half seriously. There is occa.
sionally journal which affects 10 believe
thatsuch amovement is among the probabil.
tiles; but the great majority are agreed in the
opinion that it is quite impossible unless both
the great parties give themselves over to the
control of their very worst elements and put
themselves in altogether untenable positions
and that is out of the range of probabilities


Under no other circumstances could third
| party draw to itself enough votes to make
its influence appreciable or seriously disturb
calculations based on the relative strength of
the old parties. Most of the independents
| concede this. There are few men in their
ranks who while in the Republican party had
their hopes of political preferment disap-
pointed, and whose 'independency" is based
on hatred of that party and a desire for its
overthrow. These men would gladly form
| an organization which should be merely a
tender to the Democracy, or which should
| hold itself aloof from both parties until the
decisive moment and then throw its whole
strength against the Republicans. There are
| others who honestly believe that a new party
would hold the balance of power and would
| dictate candidates and measures to the old
organizations. But the majority are strong
in the belief that their objects are only to be
effected by acting within the present party
lines, by throwing their strength from the
start with either the Republicans or the DEM
| ocrats.


What their choice will be admits of little
doubt They see that the existence of
third organization impairs the strength and
me naces the success of the Republicans only ::
for the members of that organization will be
drawn, with infrequent exceptions, from the
Republican ranks, and lis existence
strengthens the Democracy by so much as it
divides their opponents. tits an assurance to
Democrats that the opposing forces are hope.
lessly divided, and that in order to achieve sue
cess they will not be obliged to purify them
selves, to present men and measures worthy
the acceptation Of the people; but it is evil
dence that the condition of that success is
merely that they shall hold tLeir own forces
together by strict adherence to their old poll
cy under their old leaders. Nor is alliance
with the Democracy to be thought of for a
moment. That party has not drop of re-
| form blood in its veins. 1t is made up of two
classes: the one composed of honest but big.
oted men, who still cling to the resolutions OF
'9S and the ante-bellum policy, who are op-
posed to all progress and who are utterly in
capable of comprehending the spirit of the
times, who adhere to ancient prejudices and
who hold that every step taken by the nation
since 1860 has been mistaken one; the 9TH
er composed of tricksters who make promises
only to break them, who never hesitate to
sacrifice principle to expediency, who only
desire power for the opportunities of plunder
it affords, who know that should they
attempt to carry out their pledges to dissatis-
fed Republicans, the honest element of their
party, the great majority, would at once turn
upon and cast them out, but who are never
restrained from making professions by
the knowledge that they cannot be
carried out in practice. The independents
have tested the Democracy, and they have
no mind to repeat the experiment. They
have given the control of the House to the
Democracy; and they see the public business
neglected, necessary reforms impeded, officers
OF the late Confederate army controlling legis-
lation, vast schemes Of plunder brought for
ward and defended. They have given the
control OF many state governments to the
Democracy; and they see .inefficepcy and
NAL administration. They have given oppor-
tunity to the Democracy to fulfill its fine pro-
LESSONS; and they see pledges shamelessy
broken, and discarded policy taken up and
defended with all the ancient ardor. They
recognize now that in the Democratic party
there are no possibilities of reform.


On the other hand they see the Republic
can party exposing corruption, ferreting out
thieves, striking at offenders no matter how
high their position or how strongly they have
been entrenched in the party affection, carry
ing out to glorious fulGlment its old policy
and taking righteous stand on the new ques-
tions, and they have come to realize that the
only hope of reform lies in using the organi-
zation of that party. By that agency the
reforms and great measures of the past have
been effected, and by the same agency the
great measures and reforms of the future
must be carried through. They see that
they made mistakes in 1872 and 1874 by act
ing outside of the party, and the mistakes
will not be repeated. If the Republican
party only lives up to its history and avails
itself Of its glorious opportunities, it will COM
mand the whole independent vote.