The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-04-30
5,rv Vow-THE EARLIER AND La
inAN TER PRESIDENTS

~. hes, man in the country, Charles 4
n... ,opld probably come in towards the
s,gom Of the sltefnates. Yet from good OF
BAD motives gratitude or revenge he some
,,no. writes come plain and strongly put
t,p,b. even against his own Partizans' His
unsuccessful campaigns for office have sour
.5Ia.,af,,e. and have been the means, or
8, Isa., furnished tie occasion, for his max
inc some very just criticisms upon public
- aud measures. Had GrauI made
him Collector Is, New York, some
things he has written would not have been
credited to him. The fact that be has been
proyoked to write thus does act necessarily
detrsct from the value Of his contributions
90 the truth Of history By being raised to
prva.e station. which is said to be the
nos, of honor al certain periods in the his
tory of nations, with no hope Of public sta
zion left alive in bis bosom, he has been fa'
yo-ei With a view O. his party from more
elevated plane than most Republicans have
command Of. Under the above caption, his
yapcr, the New York Sun, Ola recent date
contains the following historical contrast
Ifi,wsre a loaded shell iusteal!o'a ncwspa'
per article and it were 90 reach the object
aimed at, /. would probably 90 crashing
through the roof of the White House aud eX.
y.o1e in one Of the reception parlors Of that
establishment:
On the fourth Of March, ls0l, Thomas
Jefferson rode on horseback unattended to
the Capitol, h.tched his sober grdinR At the
gate, asteuded the steps, took the oath Of
oLse from the lips Of John Marshall, aud
delivered that inaugural address which has
since been the keynote Of the Democratic
party. John Quincy Adams when his Pres
dental term expired, mounted quiet nag,
mailed pJrimsuteau behind him, and
weuied his way from Washington 10 Gum,
Is, declining 10 receive any demonstrations
from bis admirers along the route. At the
close Of Gen, JscksOn's long and rcmarka.
bic administration, he departed from the
Federal capita seated in the fmoking car
O. a railway, clad 10 a simple garb, waving
grsce.4, farewell 70 the friends who
crowded the depot aud drawing consolation
from democratic clay pipe.
Zach Of these eminent men on several oc-
casions some Of them Of historic celebrity,
refused to receive presents as testimonials
OF regard for public services, both previous
t. and Wien filing the Presidential chair,
excepting that State Legislatures voted two
or three swords aud medals 20 Gen. Jack
son White b. was IN private life, as tributes
g. lis ga.antry IN the battle Of New Or.
leans. Neither Of them ever bestowed Of
Hee afon relative, while both jefferson
aud JACKSON especially declined to do So the
'.Fmer 10 = letter which rebuknd tho prac.
t-" with marked mphAsis.
We have fallen on their times. Arc they
better times? On Wednesday, the Sd Of
Aa,uh, lsb9, the President elect accepted
th',WJo ont Of a sum of money raised in
Ne" York Of his own pressing solicitation
iof zen Sherman, to pay him lthe Presi
lsalI for q house which be desired to sell
Il Thursday he took the oath Of Office, an,
ia lis inaugural address pledged himself t
tAe ggl execution Of the laws, whether b
liked them or not. lie then spent near,
The entire first week Of bis term in trying T.
,aie the plain provisions Of salutary stat
Lies, because they blocked the way for IT,
admission TO the most important seat in hi
cabinet o! tie a.uOugr Nno Ind lrstOwr
tl's dazzling present. Ba4.rd "a this by tn
Armuess Of the Senate aud the fyowus Of Il
pubic, he nevertheless Installed among h
constitutional advisers other individuals VIII
AUugh not obnoxious 90 thi, particular O
Jeeuonr we're chiefly distinguished for havil
conferred upon hun costly and valuable be
eiacuons. Along with cher appolutmer
bearing this sort OF trade mark. ne appol,
ed as has Secretary OF the Navy a gentlem
wholly incapable Of filling the place. "
bad taken the lead in giving him a fl
thousand dollar house IN Philadelphia, sor
three years before aud he surrendered Il
baton Of General Of the Armies to o renow
ed soldier, who, with his knowledge and a.
probation, lifted one hand to take the oa
of ohce, while receiving with the other
tempting gift valued at 100000, uf whu
the sixty.tive thousand dollar house in Was
iugton formed a part. Not to 20 back
Jefferson, or Adams, or jackson, for yirtuo
examples, even Andy johnson had sen
and decencv enough to refuse the present
carriage and horses with the President
oath lingering on his lips.
such evil practices OF men IL high place
whose past achievements have dazzled Il
popular Imagination, tend 10 demoralize I
pubic service, and debauch public opinio
Determinations displays and prohtgAte exp
dtures come to be regarded as necesss
concomi,auts Of official station and It Is
that the main object Of office IS not to d
charge ones duties 70 the country, but
thereby attain sudden riches and indulge
4 shoddy magnifcence. The natural res,
Of all this must inevitably be, that corfu
ton and venality will walk unabashcd ~
almost uurebuked through every dcpartme
Of the government. Moreover, such evil @
smples not only shed their pcruicious inf
ence through the place hunting and pla(
holding classes, but reach the very roots
society. They intiame the young men
the land with passion for wealth as I
great object Of life. They tend to make
ere the badge Of honorable distinction, a
the possession Of riches the sole passport
power, eminence, or even responsibility.
Is it not high time that the masses Of t
people, who neither seek nor hold off
should labor for the return of the good
times Of republican simplicity, when stat
men felt a staip as q wound when the q
peuser Of patronage would scoru to feed
poor relations from the public crib a
when President would cut off his rig
hand ere 1t should sign the commission OF
man Who had bestowed upon him D gift?
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