The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-12-09


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punished, as il seems to u.s. are those who,
knowing his character and antecedents, nomi-
mated him in the Convention; and the proper
remedy for his case is not to do the like again.
As long as the whole tenor of mans life
counts for nothing in the selection of oandi-
dates, or can be covered over by few
harangues or a few exeorations, such cases will
occur; and it is not the cheat, but those who
give him the chance of cheating, who ought
to be called to account for it.
When he removed the generals last sum-
mer, we feared, as we said at the time, that
he did so for the purpose of putting men ia
their place who would use their powers to
Illustrate the Congressional plan of reoonstruo-
ton. Had this proved true Mr.. Williams
would have charge to make on the strength
OF which we should be all agreed. But it has
not proved true. Nothing very mischievous
has followed the removal of the generals. 1t
confirms our bad opinion of the President, and
has probably exerted bad influence on the
Southern mind, but impeachment is not
proper means of Furnishing men for the remote
and indirect bad consequences OF acts IN them
selves lawful.
One does not need to possess any very ex-
traordinary amount of wisdom to be able to
say that now, as two years ago. no single
move in this reconstruction business, no single
man, possesses paramount Importance. The
essential thing is that the Northern people b3
kept earnest persistent high-minded and
satisfied with the Republican party. If for
any reason it is driven or seduced into taking
the power away from the Republican party,
we shall fear the worst for the future, The
freedmen will be endangered, the public credit
will be endangered, the national honor, and
even the memory of the Dead will be en1an
gered. Every consideration, high and low,
makes it desirable that the country be not dis
gusted with the present holders of power. 1t
| is for this reason that we have, during the
| last two years, declaimed incessantly, and at
constant risk of being misunderstood, against
the tendency of Republican leaders in Con-
gress to abuse or waste their influence. When
| Mr. Stevens was preaching confscation, gag
ging the opposition, and hurrying important
! bills through Congress without debates when
| Mr. Boutwell, was threatening the Supreme
| Court with abolition, and excluding the whole
| Southern bar from practice in the United
| States Courts; when Mr.. Banks was humiliating
! every sensible man in the country with his
| Fenian ''reports;" and when Messrs. Butler,
Ashley & Co. were crying night and day for
| impeachment, we felt satisfied that though
| these gentlemen fattered themselves they
were striking deadly blows at the enemy,
they were in reality alternating their own fol-
lowers, and that if they kept at their work,
| though they might succeed in pouring out
many vials on the heads of Mr.. Johnson and
the Rebels, they would probably end in tho
roughly sickening the country of themselves
and their performances, and bring the whole
process of reconstruction, as the Republican
party had planned it, to stand-still. 1t must
now be confessed those who were of this way
of thinking, and they were many, have proved
to be not very far wrong. 1t is not yet too
late for the majority in Congress to retrace its
steps and turn to serious things.
The work before it is to bring the South
back to the Union on the basis of equal rights,
and not to punish the President or provide
farms for negroes or remodel the American
Government. Even if it were well to do all
these things, it cannot do them. Would it
not now be we'll to turn to the essential, and
abandon all else The impeachment scheme
has apparently found a fitting grave in Mr..
Williams rhetoric, and it is a striking and
significant fact that General Butler, who was
sent to Congress with loud flourish Of trum-
pets for the express purpose of riding this
hobby has already abandoned it and is engaged
in the pleasing task of persuading Congress to
adopt course with regard to the public debt
which, whatever it might do "to tighten the
public burdens" would so thoroughly damn
American credit that the public would pro
baby never be troubled with any other bur
den in the shape of debt, let it want money
ever so much, within the next two centuries
at least