The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-09-07


been commanded by the Republicans to stay
The Secretary Justly declines but, in view of
superior force, retres under protest. General
Grant, to the astOnishment of the country
voluntarily accepts Mr.. Stantons vacated
Place-a place which, in the circumstances no
member of the Republican party could accept
without forfeiting his standing in the party,
and without losing the confidence of the coun-
try. The new Secretary's first act is then an
order for the removal of one of the faithfulest
OF his old oficers-a gallant soldier, who bet
ter deserves retention at New Orleans than
the President deserves retention at Washing
ton. Greatly TO General Grants praise. he
protested-warmly and nobly-against the
displacement both of Stanton and Sheridan.
His letter in behalf of Stanton was marked
''prlvate;" and though the Injunction of
privacy has been removed by the author,
the President seems to be too great coward
to exhibit the letter to his fellow oountrymen
The protest in behalf of Sheridan was so honest
indignant, and manly that it thrilled the coun-
try, and gave us all a sudden hope that the
renegade of the White House had found his
master in the hero of Vicksburg. General
Grant justly insisted that, If Sheridan were
removed, Sheridan's orders should neverthe-
less remain in force. The exact language of
General Grant on this point Gin the order to
General Thomas) is as follows:-"To continue
to execute all orders he might find in force in
assuming command OF it, unless authorized by
the General of the Army to annul, alter, or
modify them.h General Grant had a plain
and unmistakable legal right to issue such an
injunction, or any other which he saw fit His
legal right to do this was expressly vested in
him by act OF Congress, March, 1867, in these
words:-
the commander of any district named in said
act shall have power, subject to the disapproval
OF me General OF tie Army OF the United
States, and to have effect until disapproved
whenever In the opinion of such commander
the proper administration OF said act shall re-
quHe ~, TO suspend or remove from office, or
from The performance of official duties and the
SAeIclse OF oHlclal powers, any officer or person
holulDg or exercising, or protesting to hold
or exercise, any civil or military Office or
duty in such district, under any power,
election. appointment, or authority derived
from, or granted by, or aiming under anv So
called State, or the government thereof, or any
such suspension or removal, such commander
subject to the disapproval OF the General afore-
salu, shall have power to provide from time to
time for the performance of the said duties of
such officer or person so suspended or removed
by the detail of some competent officer or SOL
dier Of the army, or by the appointm emit of some
oJher person to perform the same, anu to All
vacancies eccasioned by death, resignation, or
section 8. And be it further enacted, That
the Ger eral of the armies of the United States
shall be invested with all the powers of sus-
pension, removal, appointment, and detail
granted Ia the preceding section to district
Now what is the meaning of these two Sec
tions OF the Reconstruction act The plain
English of them is that the district COM
manders should be subject to General Grant.
since he was a man whom Congress could
trust; and not subject to the President, since
he was man whom Congress could not trust.
The act expressly took away from the Presi-
dent certain powers which, if no such act had
been passed. would have been his; but which,
as soon as the act was passed, became Gene
raj Grants. And this was the Presidents
own view of General Grants powers under
this act, as expressly set forth in his veto
of the act Thus, the President saws. in
his veto message, dated July 19, 1S67:-"This
act vests in the military commanders, sub
Ject only to the approval of the General of the
armies of the United States. -unlirntted
power 10 remove any civil or military officer in
each of these ten States" He says, more
over, in the same message:-"The military
commander is, as to the power of appointment,
made to take the place of the President, and
the General of the army the place of the
Senate" Further he says:-''Military officers.
looking to the authority given by these laws,
rather than to the letter of the Constitution,
will recognize no authority but the commander
of the district and the General of the army.
The power of the President is effectually taken
away" Exactly SOL And when this act of
Congress, thus vetoed, was passed despite the
veto, 1t was so passed for the very reason
which the President assigned, namely, that
military officers IN the ten States should ''re-
cognize no authority but the General of the
army" and that "the power of the President
should be 'effeotually taken away"
Such was the Presidents own interpreta-
tion OF the act when he vetoed it; but, now
that he wishes to use the law for his own !
tyrannous purposes, he has found out diff |
ferent interpretation-an Interpretation by
which military officers shall not "recognize |
the authority OF the General of the Army" |
and by which the 'tpower of the President" |
shall not be ''ettectually taken away"-an in
terpretation, too, which he has even persuaded |
General Grant to accept. But General Grant |
might have said to the President, "Sir, if the |
text OF the law is not, of itself, sufficiently |
plain as to what are my powers, have, in |
addition, your own official Interpretation of |
the law, dated July 10, to warrant me in |
my resistance to your schemes" Perhaps |
he did say this in that conversation |
In which Gas the Iri6unes CORES |
pondent informs us) "he told Mr.. |
Johnson very plainly that correct interpre- |
tation of the Reconstruction act gave the Pre- |
sident no authority to override the Generals |
instructions to Thomas in res pect to carrying |
out the orders of Sheridan" Or perhaps he |
said something like it in that letter to the |
President (snce withdrawn and cancelled) in i
which we are told that she made a direct /
issue with the Executive in regard to the as
signment of General Hancock'-the same |
letter in which Gas we are also told) he states
"that the Reconstruction act vests in him the
power to see that the District Commanders /
fotk f..lI n - o,,A