The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-07
Last Days of the Administration,

From the N, T. Times.
In three months, less day or two, we shall
be called to "welcome the coming speed the
parting" Administration. During this brief
interval nothing of Importance is to be looked
for from the Government in the way of new
measures. Its brief remnant of days will be
most fttingly employed in preparation for its
closing scenes and final exit. Aud yet amid
the general harmonious acquiescence in Grants
election, we find a few hOarse, harsh, discor-
dant voices, calling upon Mr.. johnson to "stem
the tide OF radicalism" to the last, aud to pre-
pare for his successor a bed of thorns.
1t is advice extraordinary, inspired, of
course, by pure patriotism, but at least of a
''zssl not according to knowledge" In the
game of billiards, as everybody knows, one
aim OF the skilful player is to 'Ieave" the
balls, after his last shot, so that his rival can
do nothing with them, and when he can effect
nothing more for himself,he bends his mind to
putting them into such positions that his ad
Versary cannot Count" So in chess on the
same "dOg- -in-the.manger" principle, one
great aim OF each player is to block the de-
sired move of the other. Were the science of
government game of billiards, or the Presi-
dents duty to play chess bout with his
opponents, We freely admit that Mr.. Johnson
might be expected to throw every possible
obstacle in the path of the incoming Admins
tration.
But what could the outgoing President do
even were he so disposed 7 Some wit sug-
gests that he would probably UetO Grants
election. And this is just about all he could
do. So far as Congress is concerned, we can
not see the wisdom or the use, to say nothing
of the dignity, of Mr.. JOhnson's continuing
his four years struggle any longer, now espe-
cially that the people have, for the third time,
and more strongly than ever, set the seal of
endorsement on the course of Congress and
hat of dam inn tI,a al.
of the Administration. Yet it is precisely to
this sort of child's play that handful of his
more fervent supporters exhort Mr.. Johnson,
urging him to adopt Lawrence's motto, "Don't
give up the ship"
This sort of language, aud this sort OF idea,
Seem to us to be very foolish and utterly
futile. The work of Mr.. Johnson's Admins
tration is, for better or worse, substantially
done. 1t only remains for it to wind up its
business and straighten out its affairs, while
the people prepare TO "ring out the old" and
''ripg in the new" 1t is not customary, as
we have before said, for an outgoing admins.
tratiOn to inaugurate any new measures what
soever which can compicate the incoming
Matters there are, indeed-and these, gene
rally, chiefly of foreign pohcy-which will moi
brook delay. Thus, for example, our quarrel
with Paraguay cannot be ad ourned merely on
the plea that a new administration is coming
on. This was Mr. Buohanan's mistake. Act
ing on the recognized principle that the elected
President should be free to direct his own
policy, he hesitated to initiate measures for
crushing the Rebellion; but he carried the
principle to excess.
What we can confidently expect of Mr..
johnson is that he will not waste the remain
ing days of his administration in final and
of course, futile measure of strength with
Congress; nor will he be likely to initiate any
new policy designed to make trouble for his
successor. Those few hot-heads who seemed
to expect him to do this ought to be ashamed
of their own advice,