The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-07-17

Congress refuse thus to shoulder the load he
| prepares for IL, he suggests that the country
may perohanoe be held guilty Of repudiation'
II is difficult TO believe that the PRESIDENT
himself attaches the slightest faith 20 tnese
representations. There Is no warrant LOT
them in the law as IL is, or as II will pe ateer
the enactment Of the bill now In his hands:
The Interpretation of Mr.. Stanbery was not
more obviously at variance with the lnten-
tions of Congress than is this Interpretation
of Mr.. Johnson. All that is intended-au
that is done--is TO make the so-oalled provi-
sional governments of the South bject to the
respective district commanders The local
machinery will work as usual. The local ex-
penditures will be met as heretofore. Local
taxation will be relied upon to maintain local
civil authority, and on the latter will still de-
volve the duty of upholding the State credit
The fact that this authority is for the time
subordinate to the military does not affect the
question. II will not be permitted to thwart
the purposes Of the law or to hinder the pro-
gress of reconstruction but otherwise it will
operate as now.
Neither morally nor legally does Congress
make itself responsible for the support Of the
State Governments or the preservation of the
State credit; and any estimate based on the
contrary supposition is simply absurd.
For the Presidents sake, we trust that the
expected veto will rest upon more accurate
and a more reasonable understanding of the
policy of Congress than that which pervades
the message of Monday. That policy has
its faults and difficulties, we admit, but nothing
can now be gained by attempts to misrepre-
sent either its design or its tendency. The
President will commit very serious blunder
if he make his far-fetched fallacies the ground
of opposition to the action of Congress.
Ben wade and Old Thad stevens,
From the Herald
These two distinguished men seem to be in
volved in some trouble with the newspaper
correspondents. The one has made the letter
of correspondent of the Herald the text of a
speech in Congress, and the other has united
with his friends in trying to whittle down to
the little point of nothing certain statements
in letter from correspondent of the Times.
Ben Wade limited himself at first to disclaim-
ing the inferences which had been drawn from
a speech made by him at Lawrence, Kansas,
under the influence of the electric atmosphere
of the West, or under other equally inspiring
influences. But he has since complimented a
Western editor who said that he could not have
used the language attributed to him, by de-
claring that he was quite sure he had not used
it, and the editor had Caught the spirit" OF his
speech much better than those who had heard
it. Moreover, the correspondent of another
Western paper, Mr.. Smith (Which, to be sure,
is no name at all) testifies that he was standing
within a few feet of Mr.. Wade and ''heard
every word" but heard nothing of the kind'
alleged, and saw nothing like it in the notes
which the Tunes correspondent showed him
! the next day. Unfortunately, however this
| Mr.. Smiths report of the speech contained
substantially the same account as that of the
Times correspondent, although less detailed
and full. Mr.. Smith reported that Mr.. Wade
"entered a protest against the present method
of dividing property between the laboring
man and the capitalists, saying that the terri
BILE evil must be remedied. The capitalist
destroyed both the mind and the health of the
laborers. They ought not to stand it, and he
thought they would not" According to the
editor of the paper in which this report ap-
peared the reporter declares this to have been
exactly what Mr.. Wade said. Even those
friends of Mr.. Wade who. have been most soli-
citOus to explain away his speech, admit that
he advocated more equitable division by law
of the avails and profits of labor. Now, the
only law which is legitimately concerned in
this matter is the law of trade, which is wholly
independent in its action of all the fne-spun
theories of radical reformers of whatever
school.
Old Thad is altogether different man from
Ben Wade, and, naturally enough, treats his
case with the Herald correspondent in an
altogether different manner. He ingeniously
denies nothing of general or a personal
nature in the letter of our correspondent. He
simply intimates that certain personal state
ments might as well have been omitted, and
perhaps he is right for everybody knew well
enough already what he thought of his col
leagues. He is brave old man, who has
never minced matters in expressing his opinion
ofthem. A bit of wag withal, he may not
have been sorry of the opportunity to give
more point and importance by his Congress
sional speech to what our correspondent had
faithfully recorded.
We cannot hesitate as to which of the two
men-Old Thad or Ben Wade--should be put
on the same ticket with Grant. We know
always where to find Old Thad. AS for Ber
Wade we must excuse him from coming for
ward as a candidate for the Vice-Presidency
He is a sort of bushwhacker and fights too
shy. Moreover, what can be expected from
J one who confesses that he worships Greeley
. as the wisest OF menl We ask Mr.. Wade
himself, in the language of DIR. Johnson
"What must that man be whose god is I
monkey ?"
misconceptions RecIted.
From the Tribune.