Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-01-24
The Situation


Commenting on JohnsOn's threatened
arrest Of General Grant for yielding at
the behest Of the Senate his place to
Stanton the New York Tribune says
Because General Grant declines to do
Mr.. JOhnson's dirty work, to be his
creature and catspaw, and cover the in
famles of the Administration with the
luster of his great name, the President
hOWls with disappointed rage, and his
followers foam with indignation. We
honor Gen. Grant for what he has done.
We regard these attacks upon his truth
fulness as the baying Of so many
hounds. In question of veracity be-
tween Uslysses S. Grant and Andrew
Johnson, between q soldier whose hon
or is as untarnished as the sun, and a
President who has betrayed every
friend, and broken every promise, the
country viii not hesitate. Let this fight
be open and manly. II Aq1dTe1O John
son means to Olefy this Isg1sTe-0J-O Office
td1U, and make q lgdT' 2CpOTJ the country
( let hiH5 do 1t II he dare, and take the con-
sequences Edwin NJ. Stanton is Secre-
/ tary of War, and he can only be remov-
ed by the operation of law. OF course,
the President does not desire him in the
/ War Office but neither does he want
Mr.. Stevens in the House, nor Mr.. Sum-
ner in the Senate. He wishes their alb
sence so badly that he has publicly ex-
+
hung. Still, they are in Congress, just
as Stanton is in the Cabinet they are
officers of the Government, and must
be respected,
Let Stanton resign" say some, ''and
sthus tide over this trOu bIe." We beg
Mr.. Stanton not to resign. If we are to
have a contest with President johnson
of a decisive character, the sooner it
comes the better. We have had enough
Of patience, comprise, fOrbearance. Our
cause is that of justice, and we owe the
millions of helpless lOyalists in the
Sonth too much to see them sacrificed
to the spirit of Slavery and Treason
which now rules incarnate in the person
Of Andrew Johnson. Therefore, we say,
let the President, If he dare, put finger
upon Mr.. Stanton or Gen Grant. We
have sacrificed too much for freedmen
to see it stifed in a night by these con-
f5frsttOrs aiEgsi4IsB-t3at Jtt5liCJ good These
men are enemies of the Republic. IN
der the pretense of the country and exc
cutting the laws, they are laboring to
bring anarchy upon US. They seek to
make the South a hell, to have race to
be arrayed against race and vengeance
to take the place of justice. Every step
that the loyal men have taken toward
reconstruction is opposed, and the Pres
i6ent of the United States, the sworn
executor of the law, stands to-day in the
position Of its most persistent and pow
srfuI foe. But for him every Southern
State would be in Congress, and the
country would be satisfied.
''Yes, but we will lose the elections, :"
say some, "and the COpperheads will
triumph" Well, we have heard that
before, and we find no terror in it. If
loyal men Of the South are to be reman-
ded to the mercy of the men who tried
to ensIave and murder them for five
years, let it be done by the Copperheads
when they come into power, and not by
our negative consent. Defeat may come
with honor, but let it find us standing
sternly by the right, yielding no princi-
pie, making no concession. we are bea-
ten to-day, if defeat is our destiny.
Rather than see the Congress Of Ameri-
ca tamely cOncede one element Of JUS
tice, or surrender one man to the tyran-
ny Of the Rebel power, or permit the
President to put finger upon Mr..
Stanton or Gen. Grant, we would accept
any political fate. This Congress can
D OF recede. 1t cannot shirk its respOn-
sibiliLy, and it must not be paralyzed
by concessions to a President who, find
ing he cannot rule the country, seems
bent upon running it.
Therefore we admonish the President
and his midnight, back-stairs eOnselOrs,
like Black, COyle, and Blair to be eau
tiOus The next card that Congress
may play is impeachment. 1t is for
Mr.. johnson to say whether it shall be
played or not.
The Democrats, when out of power,
are great on promises of retrenchment,
but they are poor in the line Of per-
formance. The New Y ork Times furn-
ishes the following illustration:
The Democrats who have control of
the Assembly are making a splendid
beginning in the way of retrenchment
and reform We have been told over
and over again that the only way to
promote economy, stop corruption, and
secure a wise, just and pure admins
tration of affairs, is to turn the Repub-
licaus out aud put Democrats in. The
first act Of these splendid reforms is
to double the number and of course
the cost of officers of the Assembly,
and the second is to pass a bill author
izing the Comptroller of this city to
distribute half a million Of dollars
among the poor This is certainly
promising. IF it is followed up vigor-
ously, as it is quite likely to be, our
Democratic reformers will exhaust the
public funds and public patience in
very short order.
THE EIGHTH DIsTRICT.-It would be
well for our Republican friends in the
Eighth District not to rely too much up