The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-01-21
The Muddle mt WnshingtOn-NIr. Chase Still
Master of the Radical Camp.

Master of the Radical Camp.
There have been lately and are still going
on some tremendous shakings Of the dry bones
Of this old planet Of ours, from the islands
of the West Indies to tho sacred volcano
Of Japan-perturbation in the earth and
signs in the heavens which are waking up
again the believers in the prophet Miller.
But remarkable a. are these connections
among the elements of nature, the stimuli
taneous disturbances among the political
forces Of the nations, from Pekin to Rome,
and from Rome to Mexico, are still more
wonderful, as indicating the operation of
the same mysterious influences upon mind and
matter. Most remarkable of all--whether con-
sidered in connection with the hurricanes
and earthquakes, or with the troubles Of
England, Napoleon and the Pope-most re.
markable fall, we say, is the present inexpli-
cably mixed up middle among the politicians
at Washington. 1t reminds us of The Mexican
muddle, when nobody could tell whether Ma
poleon would fight it through forthe empire or
back out and leave poor Max in the lurch. It
reminds us also of those late upheavals Of the
sea among the Virgin Islands, which left all
sorts Of sea fish high and dry among the bushes
on the hill sides, SO that men hunting for birds
went home with fish.
This Washington middle is, in truth,
most extraordinary thing. The old figure Of
tempest in teapot does not meet the case
nor does the bull in the china shop. The
nearest approach to it 10 "the devil among tho
tailors" 1t is what Bowery Dead Rabbit
would call "a regular muss." The late terri
bic commotion, however, has subsidized almost
into calm but we are warned that it is only
brief suspension OF "the ruction." President
Johnson is fixing up bombshell which will
blow the radicals to Halifax, on the one side,
while on the other "Old Thad Stevens" and
Stanton are setting a steelirap in which they
expect to catch the sly fox of the White House.
General Grant, it appears, is nightly bothered,
and his right hand man, Washburnc is com
pletely befogged. No one can positively tell
whether Grant has advised or intends to advise
the resignation Of sold Ben Wade," Stanton,
McCulloch or Seward or whether, in the last
radical platform Of reconstruction. sandy
Johnson they say. under the pressure of oil
his perpiexiiies, has taken to cold water in
order to keep cool, while Grant, they insinu-
ate, is so worried by the politicians and the
lawyers that he finds 1t necessary to add to his
cigar an occasional snii.er Of whiskey. With
such state OF affairs at Washington can we
wonder at the noise and confusion among The
gold gamblers of Wall street!
But in the midst of all this dark and mol
ancholy muddle among the conflicting Pest
DENTAL elements in the Cabinet and Capitol
there is q streak Of light. Il is sort Of blue
light, to be sure but still it brings out the
spectacle in the arena into pretty bold relief
This radical light brought into the mds. OF
this radical darkness Is Chief Justice Chase.
While Johnson. Stanton, Grant and all con-
cerned In this Tenure OF Olicc imbroplio,
radicals and conservatives, are engaged in u
sort of Punic war against each o.her Chase is
busy as bee making honey. lie has his
Presidential rctainers among the engineers of
the republican machine he has them in every
branch Of the financial and revenue service,
from the national banks down to the whisley
warehouses; he has them at the head and
front OF The social system and social reunions
of Washington and last, though not least, he
has them in the radical majority of every one
OF these negro reconstruction conventions Of
the South. The upshot, then, OF all this fuss
at Washington will most probably be tho
shelving of johnson, Stanton and Grant, and
the blooming out into full flower OF Mr.. Chase
as the radical candidate, on his Southern negro
supremacy platform and balance Of power, for
the succession.
On the opposition side, we understand, there
are impediments in the way Of Mr.. Johnson
which the Chicago democrats of 1864 fatty say
cannot be removed or surMounted; and similar
| objections are urged against General Hancock,
styled by certain coppcrhead journals "the
hangman Of Mrs. Surratt." On the other hand,
the war democrats and republican conserve
tives, inclining to fusion with the democracy,
| do not like the copperhead flavor of Pcndle-
ton. All theso difficulties, however, II 10 sup
posed can be settled by settling upon General
Sherman, and Sherman's "march to the sea-"
and the conservative reconstruction platform
| Of Sherman's txeaty with Joe Johnston, repu-
| dated by Stanton with the consent of Andrew
Johnson. There can hardly be doubt that
General Sherman, as tbe ticket of the opposi-
ton forces agans. Chief Justice Chase, would
march again victorious over all distractions
from the great West to the Atlantic coast; and
from his position as umpire or rcfsrec in all
this late squabbling at Washington he ray
yet cut out Pendlcton as the democratic favor.
lite in Ohio, Seymour and Mcclellan in New
York, Andrew Johnson In Maryland and Ken
/, lucky, and carry or the prize Of tho demo-
cratic convention.