Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1845-08-21
.Thc GuilIotine in mosion.,,

"The GuilIotine i'm Motion"
Under this CORY head the Journal groans the
"proscription for opinions SAKE" which it declares
" is going on ,nder the direction Of the President
The editor must certainly have forgotten the history
of the proscrptive course of his party in 1910,
and failed to recapitulation of it very recently
given by the Union" If he had seen the latter, or
had recoected the events of 1910, he certainly would
have too much Odesty to say word about the action
of President Polk in the same respect.
The very first demonstration of importance, obscrv
ell the Union, which marked the advent to power Of
the new wing administration In March, 1871, was the
celebrated proclamation Of Mr. Clay in the Senate, ut
tered with all the jeering sarcasm Of which he was
master, that the democrats IN Office already
tried and condemned, and icere about going, ike GRIM
inals in a cart WITH HALrERs ABOUT THEIR NEcKs, to
EXECUTION that If ONE remained in office, HE WOULD
BE LEFT AS A MONUMENT OF THE sPARING GRACE OF
THE WING PARTY" This is the substance of Henry
Clays own words in the U. States Senate, immediate
y after the Inauguration of Gen. Harrison, in 1911
similar ruthless spirit displayed by Granger,
Harrison's Postmaster General, who subsequent
y elected to Congress. In a debate, the following
passage occurred with Mr.. Weller, Of Ohio:
"sThe gentleman from New York Mr. Granger1
stands by his princplest What were the princi-
pies upon which that gentleman entered the cabinet
Of General Harrison Did he stand pledged to put
down prescription He, too, talks about the spois y
viii he be so good as to tell me how many victims
were gullotned hist he stood at the head of the
Post Office Department?
"'Mr. Granger. Does the gentleman from Ohio
desire an answer TO his question 2
as Mr.. Weller. Certainly do, and will be very
much obliged to him if he Will give it,
"' Mr.. Granger said he would respond with pleas
ure. There had been about ZOO
"' Mr.. Weller. SEVENTEEN HUNDRED. And
how many would have been turned out if that gentle
man had remained in Office two weeks loEgerp
as Mr.. Granger said he would answer that too. If
he had remained in Office little longer he would have
turned out 5000 more-making 400 in ALL"
Here is a frank acknowledgment from member of
Gen. Harrisons cabinet that four thousand and seven
hundred postmasters marked for prescription by
party who were pledged to prescribe prescription.
OF this number seventeen hundred were hurled from
Office in the short space Of six months.
The work of prescription did not cease on the death
of the wing President but proceeded with indscrim
mate fury, during the hundred and fifty days the Har
rison cabinet remained in power until the number of
victims, high and low, amounted to about THREE
THOUSAND "a greater number of removals than
had been made during all the preceding administra
tons from the foundation of the government
correspondent of the Journal of Commerce made
some remarks on this subject not long since, much
more sensible than those of our neighbor.
If there be any saving virtue in popular elections
it is in consequence of the frequent changes which
they bring about In the men who serve the public
Why should we have elections merely to change
Members of Congress, and to change the President
If the civil officers depending the Executive
be life officers, why not make the executive and the
Tori lafiv Of1c
1t has been wisely provided that, the end of four
years, the Executive term shall end. The incumbent
is constitutonally re-egible forever. But public
sentiment restricts his eligibility to two terms. The
public will has restricted it to term. The one
term principle is as we'll fixed as if it were part of
the Constitution.
can tell you, too, that the people have reasoned
this thing out and to the conclusion that all the
civil Offices in the Executive gift shall follow the
term principlell
The senseless and hypocritical cry of prescription,
from some few of the opposition papers, is as have
had occasion TO remark, met with utter derislon by
the public of both parties.
The want of in the cry about the 'guiotine''
could be overlooked il not utterly insincere and
did it rot from those who would have been the
most clamorous, in case of Mr.. Gays election for
office and spoils.
rotation in Office should now be applied, viz that
there have been extensive changes here since the
year 1929. Every thing the face of the earth al
most, has undergone change since that time, except
this official tenure.
If Offices to be perpetuated in the hands of in
dividuals and families if they TO be made hered
itary if the Government is to be converted into an
insttution-let so understand it;
and let u.s. in conformity with the same principle,
have perpetual and hereditary Legislature and Ex-
ecutive But understanding the principles of our
Constitution as they do the people, the young Democ-
racy are opposed to this official monopoly, and they
will break 1t up, if they have to win another
Presidential victory in order to accomplish it.