The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-12-31
Andrew Johnson ard the Gnme for the
Presidential Succession.

JOHNSON
Presidential Succession.
When John Tyler, Of blessed memory, at the
close of his eventful but happy reign in the
White House, went down with his "young wife
and his cid umbrella" his two boys and the
family luggage, to the Washington landing,
homeward bound, he found himself half an
hour too late for the steamboat "Fallen from
! his high estate" reduced to the common level
of Jones and Brown, ex-President Tyler stood
on the dock The captain could not wait for
him, and SO he was left behind. He had tried
the game for the succession OF an independent
Tyler party he had even tried Q844) little
independent National Tyler Convention at Bal
timore but it was an amusing failure. TWAS
absorbed by the regular democratic concern
"Polk, Dallas and the tariff of lS42"-and it
died and made no sign. Yet, having come into
the Presidency by accident, we may excuse
Tyler for desiring to be elected in his own
name and upon his own merits, instead Of
| going down to history as the tail OF another
mans kite.
| So natural was this desire under the crcum-
stances that when Willard Fillmore became our
second accidental President he, like Tyler, was
seized with it, and was foundered on the same
sandbar. Fillmore, however, not only got up
q third party, but actually (1856) went with 1t
into the fight and, though too weak to do any
thing better, he was still strong enough to
defeat Fremont, and thus to postpone for four
years the great Southern rebellion. Whether
the South or the country was the gamer or
loser by this operation the reader may judge
for himself Our present business is with
! Andrew johnson, the third of our accidental
Presidents, and his game for the Presidential
| succession
| As matters now stand Mr.. johnson, in this
| game, has some remarkable and powerful ad-
had nothing but their Offices and contracts,
the spells and plunder-and these to q small
amount-with which to build up o party.
johnson, on the contrary, has not only an enor-
| mously increased volume or patronage in his
| hands, but from the Generalization of the party
iii power, and from the ravenous appetite of
the party out Of power, he can master both.
| With the ingorious collapse of the impeach-
ment bubble he has already become the master
of the radicals, and it is clear that he means to
| finish them with their scheme of Southern re-
| construction. His game is to keep the ten
| outside rebel States and their negro radical
| balance of power out Of the Presidential fight.
| His scheme was to make these States, before
breakfast good and trusty Johnson States
| on white basis; but the radicals of Congress
| spoiled his calculations Casting him and his
labors aside. they set up their own scheme to
make those outside States good radical States
on a negro basis; and now he has them on the
hip. His recent reconstruction removals Of
Pope and Ord and Swayne, after finding that
Congress is powerless to remedy the removals
Of Stanton, Sickles and Sheridan, distinctly 90
to show that Mr.. Johnson intends to keep these
outside States unreconstructed till after the
Presidential election.
What for? Simply to cut off their vote on
negro basis from the radical Presidential ticket
But what advantage will this be to Mr.. John
son beyond the possible election of the demo-
cratic candidate? Assuming that the candidate
will be General Hancock, in Difference to Mr..
Johnson's wishes, what profit falls to Mr.. John
son? No much. But suppose that General
Hancock is only put forward as a stalking
horse, and that Mr.. johnson walks behind him,
looking cut for the main chance, what then +?
''Old Buck" they say, in 1850 was satisfied in
swapping Douglas at Charleston; Martin Van
Barren, we know, got all that he wanted in
defeating Cass in 1913; but is Mr. Johnson
man OF that pattern Does any one suppose
Tat he has settled down into mere cutter-out
OF coats and breaches, gratis, for the democratic
party {? No. Behind all these tricks of
strategy stands Mr.. johnson as the candidate
of Mr.. johnson. Nor is his case as blue
as indigo He has the whip hand over the
radicals. He is flashing them into a state Of in
describable confusion but this is not all. In
| his nomination Of General Hancock for the
democracy he has disguised the old copper
head leaders, though they pretend to throw up
their has for Hancock. Mr. Johnson is too
old bird to be caught by such chafE lie
knows that this old copperh,ad enthusiasm for
Hancock is all CANNON, and that, with the idea
that Pendeton or Seymour, or even Jerry
Black or Bobby Walker, can be elected, the
old copperheads will give the goby to
| Hancock. Mr.. johnson, in dsorganizing the
republicans, let US suppose, will establish this
idea Suppose, then, that in advance of the
democratic convention be gets up Johnson
convention under Mr.. Raymond, and that John
son is thereby nominated on the johnson Phila-
delphia platform, and suppose that every fed
eral oficeholder Is tried by this shibboleth,
what will the democratic convention do
What can ii do but second the motion Of John
Van Buren, and Mr.: Raymond in setting up
Mr.. Johnsons
On the blessed constitution, the glorious
principles of our fathers, the rights OF the States
and the people and the dangers of our be-
loved country there IA not democratic ex-