Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-09-19
TIE PRESIDENT ON THE WAR
pITL

The President who evades the law tram
, PIES upon t. For his refusal to exccIt,
The law in It's plain Intent there can be ~
excuse; even Ignorance cannot bc pieadet
in his case, for ignorance IS iDcapacity, CIT
that IS en- impe&cha6.e ofense. 3ir. John
son may therefore take his choice Of expl4
nations. with the certainty that lie car
make none that the country Will accept
When we find in the long course OF his oc
fetal action, year after year, nothing bu
direct opposition TO the laws, the cORc,u-
sion is inevitable that he i criminal or in.
capable. and IN very respect for the Presi-
dencJ the people VII not permit it 10 be
filled by a law breaker or en- imbcci.e We
may think it wiser TO wait and endure as
we have endured but, wise or imprudcnt
no man can dOIbt th- great fact that the
indignant spirit OF the nation Will not LONG
tolerate the moDslrcuS anomaly OF Presi-
dent whose sole business is to defeat the.I
Will. The issue between the President and
the people is upon the Immediate execu-
ton of the laws, and cannot bs postponed
I'll 1869. We wan. Peace nOto, not two
years hence; and If the nation cannot OBJ
tain it through the President, it is unmis-
t2kably resolved 20 sc: il over him.
Unfortunately for the majority of the
people, who would mIr.i prefer to find
him obed.en;, the Presi,len. prefers 10 re
sist. lie seems resolved 10 force them 10
measures which they are still DESTROYS 20
avoid. His new organ, Tie Boston Post
tells US that ''he has determined 10 be mss
ter of The situation; that he has exhausted
every eiioit at harmony and conciliai;on
and is resolved TO resist 10 the utmost. Mr.
Johnson declared 30 party Of friends to
day that, having exhausted every effort al
Cancellation, he should now uHiiinchingly
enforce every Constitutional power TO save
the country from. impending ruin: that the
simple Issue WIS C0Asi .tuiional Govern
ment or military Despoiism, and lie had
fully resolved upon the course he should
adop; 10 fliiiN the plain requirements oi
his Office" And i actually assures Us ihgi
1.-The President has taken the War Path in
earnest" Is it any wonder that these semi
official declarations OF papers which arc
known to have the confidence of.he Prcsi-
dent, and which enjoy monopoly OF his
news, should have aroused the people TO q
sense Of new danger. Without them the
removals OF Stanton, AID Sheridan, and
Sickles would BE enough TO prove that Mr
j OhnsOn is not yet ready 10 abandon hi:
hopes of defeating the will Of The people
Politically, we may be ikened TO 4 pcople
stricken by q pestilence or by some other
great and general calamity, of which the
limits axe underlined and the end whereof
no man knOweth truly. We know TO what
sore and Lloody struts bad Government
long continued and too tardily circumvent-
ed, brought Us; and now, when we have Z
President with al the political vices of M
Buchanan, we have too much reason tC
fear that SCI will I've at least rs bad as
1861. That vague, ill-begotten ndIybrid
monster baptized MY Policy" TO which
no man. not even lis begeiier, can attach
fixed form and purpose, is the natural psr-
ent Of a progeny of minor doubts. OF ugly
and swift-running rumOrs, of Threatening
pOrterts, and OF continually shifting panics
This Is the mischief which one man in 9th
er lands and in other times has been able
to do, but from which this Republic during
nearly the century OF lis existence has beer
exempted Mr.. Johnson is our first thor
oughly bad President In those Estates
/ lately in rebellion" in which lus;y hopes o.
q bloody coup detdt are beginning e
develop thomSelyes-in Maryland, which
/ IL not q Rebel State, o. least swarms witt
1 Rebel spirits-we are told that the enenie.
OF peace and order have taken heart o.
grace. They anticipate nothing less THAI
The declaration of martial law Throughout
the United States. Congress is 20 be pre-
vented from assembling next November b,
force Of arms. The President, in short. i.
TO assume supreme authority These
hopes and rumors may be partly unbound
ed but the bitter question Is, how the,
came to- be entertained and promulgated a
all? The Governor of a State might give
an impression that he intended to pardon
all the thieves; but could he do so withou
some act or speech unworthy of the digni
ty or the equity Of his office? When In,
President has arrayed himself with the full
impressivensss and power of his plac,
against the loyal masses, we do not blame
the unregenerate, political sinners of the
South for supposing, vaguely enough per
hsps, that he has gone over TO their side
/ They would be less or more than men /
they were not instantly encouraged ant
melted 20 fresh acts of persistent disobedi
ence. The grief of genuine and unsullieG
! loyalty must be the JOY of treason.
! In this emergency, we wish TO hear moth
I ing of the purity of the Presidents inten
tons. We must Judge public men by theil
acts, and the quality of their acts Is to bs
determined by results. The irresponsible
and ill-.empered exercise of power Is {
phase ofpoii:ics 20 which in this country
we have never been accustomed, and God
forbid that We should ever become so
The quarrel of the President is with The
people, through their representatives, and
in this struggle it is TO be determined
whether Presidents shall be our servants OF