The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-12
CRbinet-Making as a Fine Art.

CRbinet-M0Iking as a Fine Art.
From the ~. Y. Tribune.
AS the result of the late election, it is again
announced that the President contemplates an
entire change in his Cabinet So far as the
functions of Cabinet are purely clerical and
ministerial, consisting merely in carrying out
in detail the will of the Executive, in putting
the Cars utaSe into grammatical language,
and clothing the despot's passion and rant
with the forms of responsibility, we do not
see that any Cabinet Ministers could serve
the Presidents purposes better than those
now in Office 1t seems q pity to turn out
such plant premiers not for a failure to serve
a President whom they despise and policy
they disapprove, but from failure to serve it
zealously, and to believe in it enthusiast
cally. Even the worst of religious despots
allow their devotees to believe what they
choose, provided they profess and do what is
required Of them. The President should make
some allowance for the early education and
fe-lOng antecedents and associations of most
of the members of his Cabinet.
II an official like Mr. Seward, whose entire
previous reputation had been won in the SER
vice of freedom, has proved himself willing to
endorse policy which would have restored
slavery in fact after it had been abolished in
law, temper so convenient should be held in
high regard by President who needs tools of
that stamp, and may some day want more of
them than he can find. If men of clear intel
lectual acumen, who cannot fail to see the
folly of policy, will silently ignore its folly,
and speak and vote for il as often as called
upon, what more oN.N tho president oalz Rut
the President does want men of different
stamp; men who do not see through his crudi-
ties and are capable of sincerely believing in his
blunders. A hypocritical Difference TO stu
pidity does not satisfy him; he must have stu
pidity itself. We hope the change, if any,
will be square, tiat-footed, and thorough. The
abilities and semi-repu blicanism of his present
Cabinet have sheltered the President from
contempt long enough. Unless they stand
combined with a iirmness that will bravely
oppose his errors, their accomplishments be-
come merely the sugarcoating to his fatal and
mischieVOus errors.
Let him surround himself by men of his
own grade if he would utterly unmask his
own character and purposes. Let no states
men, no patriot, no sober man come into his
new Cabinet. Let him eschew the negative
quantities, Blair, Reverdy Johnson Cowan,
DoOlittle, Steedman, and the like. These men
would say and do no more for Johnsonism
| than his present Cabinet. What the President
wants to enable him to resist Congress and
the laws are practical reVolutionists Cabinet
officers who will give opinions in favor of turn
locate and order the troops to that end; SeOre-
tary OF the Treasury who will use the financial
power in his hands to defeat the law making
power; a Secretary of State who will sign any
! required proclamation. For these purposes he
can trust no renegade Republicans or CON
servative army officers None but Demo
Gratis who had all the animus of the Rebellion,
but who did not participate in, and therefore
were not cured by it, are trustworthy. Jere-
oh If cv1 ,trl,n oh
treason to subdue the Rebellion, would prove
as true as steel to any political vilainy. He
might not have the physical courage to take
part in a coup dftdt, but he would lack none
of the necessary rashness. His lack of physical
courage as also that of other Cabinet officers,
might be supplied by ordering several iron
clads TO some rendezvous in the vicinity of
Washington, ON board which the new Cabinet
might take refuge and fight to foreign lands,
in the event that any revolutionary policy
that the President might inaugurate should
miss fire. With ready means OF escape at
| hand, in case the policy of 'cleaning out"
| Congress should fail, it is impossible to fore
shadow what prodigies Of valor might not be
accomplished.
With Mr. Black as Secretary of State. and
an iTon-clad on the Potomac to facilitate
escape from all consequences of rashness, no
man for Secretary of War would be so eligible
as Clement l.. Vallandigham. His Christian
name is happily expressive Of the executive
clemency. His experience as an officer of
the militia Of Ohio, and his military observa-
tions within the Rebel lines, and at the
Clifton House during the war; would be of
vast service to our War Department. Never
theless, the claims of Mcclellan, r. e. Lee,
and 7. g. 4. Beauregard to this Office should
receive due consideration. Notwithstanding
the average sagacity generally attributed to
Flovidential dspensatious we are compelled
to regard ii as a great mistake that two 50
available Cabinet candidates as Vallandigham
and Pendleton should come from the same
state. Whether this difficulty is TO be got over
10y dividing the State or the Office, or by honor
ing that State with double appointment, we
are at loss TO advise.
but certainly the Cabinet of Mr. Johnson
cSuld no more dispense with Mr.. Pendleton
thah the establishment of Mr.. Turvey-
UI,oP tInP could dispense with the "model of gen
uo"auly @ department" Mr.. Pendleton has
Sn economical mode of maintaining the
naS0nai S credit by repeating all the taxes
ne tbe u%aia IpoiaS now existing, and collecting
he H whoie revenue of the Government from
ue noi1ers oil It's bonds, which will simply
enable the Government to alive on the interest
| Oh what 1t owes" Such a scheme renders
ms appointment as Secretary of the Treasury
ana financial Premier foregone conclusion