The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-09-19
The Meeting of Consress-What Is to BE
DOnee

D0nee
The republican leaders have made great
mistake in calling for the attendance of quo
rum of the two houses of Congress on Mon
day next. They will commit yet more dam
aging blunder if they pay any heed to the I'M
easy radicals who are pressing for resump-
ton of general legislative business for the pur-
pose of interfering with the action of the Geor-
gia Legislature and further tinkering up the
unfortunate Reconstruction laws. The people
are well aware that all legislation that may be
attempted at this time will be designed to aid
the dominant party in the approaching Pres-
Dental election, and they fail to discover any
necessity for extraordinary measures to in
sure the election of General Grant to the Pre-
sidency. They are weary of the violence,
passion and excitement of these repeated ses-
sions, and are heartily sick of the whole ques-
ton of reconstruction, which has kept the
country in state of turmoil ever since the
close of the war. The radical leaders fail to
comprehend the popular sentiment if they do
not know that their policy of military rule and
negro supremacy at the South is offensive to
the people of the loyal States. The great
strength of General Grant lies, first, in his
well known conservatism; and next, in the
stupid blunders of the democracy, and not in
any hearty endorsement of the policy of Con-
gress hence the less that is seen or heard of
the Washington agitators in the campaign the
better. Senator Sherman in his speech at
Cooper Institute on Thursday night announced
that he was on his way to the national capital
to watch Andrew Johnson. This of itself is
very small piece of business yet it will be better
for Congress to sit still, with all eyes fixed on
the President, than to attempt any agitating
partisan legislation in the very midst of a holly
contested election.
If the politicians could be made to under
stand that this campaign is run by the people,
and not by few superannuated or selfish
leaders, they would save themselves much I'M
necessary trouble and spare the country a
| great deal of annoyance. But on both sides
the same error prevails. The democratic ma
chine managers supposed that they were strong
| enough to take the nominations into their own
hands and to defy the popular will. They now
begin to see how fatal mistake they made.
| Some republican leaders imagine they discover
| a chance of one or two Southern States voting
with the democracy, and straightway they set
on foot an agitation for more legislation to
avert the contemplated evil. Others persuade
themselves that they have nosed out design
on the part of Andrew johnson to help Sey-
mour with the federal patronage as soon as he
gets rid of Congress, and they are restless and
uneasy until they can reach Washington and
watch the President. This is all puerle and
nonsensical The election of November next
will be decided by the voice of the great
North, and the Lincoln States, that made the
republican party and held it up during the
war, will vote with greater enthusiasm than
ever for Grant, who fought the war out to a
| successful termination. A few Southern cleo
toral votes and handful of patry Offices will
sink into utter insignifcance in such grand
and magnificent victory as the hero of the
Appomattox apple tree will achieve at the
polls and the radicals who suppose that any
Congressional tinkering is needed on one side,
or who stand in mortal terror of President
Johnson on the other side, are simply political
noodles, who fail to appreciate the situation or
to understand the true sentiments of the
people. The next best thing Congress can do
to not meeting at all is to adjourn Immediately
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