The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-09-26
SPIRIT or THE PRESS.
EDITORIAL oFIEIovs OF THs LEADING JOURNALS
uPoN CURREST ToPICs-cosiPILED EVERY
nay YoR TEK EVENING TrLBGBAPH.
uno H.p,,blican Party ln Council.

Ubo RepubIican Party in Council.
From the ~ y Tunes
Ia the Republican party in this state so
stronp thatit can aifori to ALLEVIATE any por-
t;on of its members and force them into a
,ss;tion of Indifference, ifnOt hostility Is the
tino nronitious for such an experiment Is
there necessity for reviving iormer diner
ences. vitalizng dissensions which events
have in great measure healed, aud provoking
ouarrels in the presence of united and
powerful enemy
These Inquiries are suggested by the efforts
of tbe Tribune and the Albany EUening Journal
TO induce the renewal of proscriptive policy
by the Syracuse Convention. These news
papers insist that section of the party shall
be excluded from its councils, deprived of all
but partial fellowship, and stigmatized as un-
worthy of confidence. Individuals who never
voted otherwise than for the Republican ticket
are branded as untrustworthy, because in the
earlier stages of the reconstruction question
they differed with prominent members OF the
party. II is not pretended that they departed
from its formally established principles. The
mere fact that they entertained other ideas as
to the duty of Congress and the interests OF
the country than those which the Tribune and
Journal advocated, is made by these oracles
pretext for demanding vindiotive punishment
The Convention is asked to begin its business
by an exercise of intolerance-to prepare the
way for harmonious and successful canvass
by ostracizing and insulting every Republican
who has at any time dared to doubt the right
or dispute the expediency of the course pur-
sued by others more radical than themselves.
On this basis of bigotry and jealousy the
party is called upon to construct its organiza-
tion for the campaign now to be inaugurated.
With the personal feeling which the Iri-
bune and the journal have introduced into the
discussion we shall not for the moment med
die. 1t were easy to hurl back the stones
they have thrown, and to turn upon them
selves the epithets they have used. Mr.. Ray
mond might confidently challenge a compari-
son with Mr.. Greeley on all essential points of
party fidelity and service. But the question
to be disposed of by the Convention, however
it may affect the status of individuals in the
estimation of that body, derives all its i'm
portance from the spirit it involves, and the
influence it may exercise upon the future of
the party.
SO far as the past is concerned, it were folly
to ignore the differences of opinion that have
existed within the party ranks. Nothing can
be gained by shutting the eyes to the fact that
there have been moderates and extremists
or by forgetting the circumstances in which
the distinction-Was maintained. If disposi-
tion to favor Mr.. Johnson's course towards the
South, during the beginning of his quarrel
with Congress, is to be treated as an unpar-
donable otfense, it should be remembered that
Mr.. Johnson was the nominee of the Republi-
cans, and holds Office by virtue of their votes
Whether one section of the party adhered to
Mr.. Johnson month more or less than an
other section, is question which does not
afford either valid reason for impugning the
fealty, denying the honesty, or assailing the
patriotism of the other. The pretensions of
the Union League Club, when sitting in judg-
ment on Mr.. Greeley for bailing Jef Davis
were not more preposterous than would be
the claim of the Convention to eXcommuni-
cate those who have not in all things agreed
with the majority of its members.
The duty of the Convention is with the pre-
sent and the future rather than with the past
In the appointment of officers and the selection
OF candidates, bygone services must be con-
sidered in connection with character and
capacity On this subject let the rule acted
upon be as rigid as the most censorious desire
1t to be; none will complain because the
minority are not permitted to dictate candi-
dates to the majority. But in constructing the
platform on which the party shall stand and
in organizing the machinery with which it
shall carry on its work, a spirit of greater
moderation and liberality is of the highest i'm
porance. As between Mr.. Johnson and Con-
gress, no difference of opinion now exists in
the party. On the question of sustaining the
authority of Congress in the matter of recon-
struction, and upholding the law in its
integrity as against the interference of the
President, the party is unit. Not since the
commencement of the war has it been more
- thoroughly agreed than it is now upon this
subject. Is not this enough for the Con7en-
tion? Is not this reason sufficient for the
adoption of a State policy comprehending the
whole party, and pointing to the hearty co6pe-
ration OF the whole in organization and work