The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-18


Buchanan. Tyler and Fillmore each signally
failed in their main object, but they had some
satisfaction in the success OF their next pur-
pose which was the defeat of the party they
had deserted; and the same may be said of
Van Buren,, in reference to second term, as
the lineal successor Of Jackson.
Johnson has, then, been more unfortunate
than Van Buren,, or Tyler, or Fillmore. His
independent Johnson party movement OF 1856,
and bis efforts to secure the Democratic nomi-
nation of 1868, were loves labor lost; and
quite as frutless were his efforts az the
eleventh hour of the day to turn the scale by
pronunciamento in favor of Seymour. Worst
of all, however, for Johnson, in his policy to
make the Presidential Office subservient to his
election as President in his own right, by a
third party or by the Democratic party, his
administration from beginning to end may bs
pronounced failure, and q failure compared
with which that Of Tyler was a great enjoy
ment and that of Fillmore great success.
The first step of Mr.. Johnson after he was
sworn in as President of the United States was
the blunder to which his whole budget Of sub
sequent blunders and failures may be charged.
We refer to his primary blunder Of undertak-
ing the reconstruction Of the subugated Rebel
States without the assistance OF Congress. As
the law then existed, the two houses, which
had adjourned on the 4th of March, 1866, would
not, without a special call, meet again till
December. The Rebellion april 15) had just
been suppressed, the conquered Rebel States
were all in chaos, and to Congress properly
belonged the work of reconstruction. Why,
then, did not Mr.. Johnson call the two houses
together in an extra session Because he had
resolved upon a reconstruction plan of his
own, from which he expected such an amount
of political capital as would make him Presi-
dent for another term, whether supported or
opposed by Congress. He had Congressional
~ aio he hafor ht,vo ~
that time he expected to complete his work,
and that accepted or rejected, in making its
acceptance. his ultimatum to Congress the sue
cession would be within his grasp.
This theory Of the inspiration of Mr.. John
sons Southern policy makes it clear and con-
sistent from first to last, foolish and pigheaded
as it appears upon any other theory. But so
much has he been absorbed ia this great game
of ''my policy of reconstruction against Con-
gress that he has not paid sufficient attention
to anything else. Otherwise the Mexican
question would have been settled according to
the policy suggested by Grant and Sheridan,
the Alabama claims would have been settled
according to the policy suggested by Andrew
Jackson, and the internal revenue frauds OF
all sorts, especially the whisky frauds, would
have been thoroughly overhauled by general
suspension Of officials charged with or sus-
pected Of dishonest associations, and by COM
plote sitting of their cases before the courts
preparatory to submission of the facts to the
Senate.
To sum up the administration OF Mr.. John
son, 1t amounts to this:-His mind was set in
the beginning upon the experiment of securing
the next Presidency through his scheme Of
Southern reconstruction, and he has been SO
deeply absorbed in this business, and 30 in
different to anything else, that our interests
abroad have been permitted to run to seed,
while plundering whisky rings have been
depicting the Treasury at the rate not of a
few paltry hundreds of thousands of dollars,
but to the tune of a hundred millions a year.
| So it is well that but short remnant is left o
the turbulent, costly, and improbable admin
| istration of Johnson.