The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1869-04-01
SOME QUEER ADMISSIONS.

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: course of its remarks says:
The neople look to General Grant to reform tn
lcorrupt abuses which have long held sway, to tn
great detriment OF public morals and the Unite
States Treasury. They expect to have honest an
capable men placed in offices OF trust rms canno
be done until the Tenure of Office Law is repealed
General Grant informs his friends. In converse
ton with some gentlemen, the other day. speaking
of the BILL he said: 1--WE all know what the Tenur
of Office Law was enacted for 1t was passed to pre-
vent an Executive from using the offices at MS ais
posal for corrupt purposes, but from what they QUO
in Congress yesterday, am disposed to think tina
the Senate will desire to be the judges as to what
shall do" Pause. "WeI, if they do not repeal TIT
law certainly cannot make any changes canno
remove man without making charges of a character
which would blast his reputation, ana that would no
that the men who hold office now Will continue Il
hold them until the end of the term no matter wha
my desires may be-.
To which the Commercial adds in concu
sion:
Here it is in nutshell-if Senators desire to have
honest men in Office they should repeal the law
If we understand the plain English of the
above, in the first place the Commercial de.
clares, substantially, that the abuses and cor.
ruption under which the country labors are
attributable to the present batch of dishonest
officials who prey upon the Treasury. Most
of these leeches were appointed during Mr..
Lncolns term, and when President Johnson
attempted to remove them and to put better
or honest men in their places, he was estopped
from doing so by the Tenure of Office law which
Congress passed over his veto And when the
Commercial says "if Senators desire to have
honest men in office, they should repeal the
law" it not only admits that the men in office
are not honest but it also indirectly admits
that they have been retained in office, in spite
of JohnsOn's wish to remove them, by the OPP
Grafton of the Tenure of Office law; and con-
sequently, the responsibility of the wrong must
rest upon the Radical two,thirds in both
Houses of Congress, through whom these cor
rupt officials have been retained in office
against the Executive will
AS to the remarks attributed 10 Gen Grant
very little need be said, but that little cannot
be otherwise than damning to his name and
honor He has declared that he would re-
move no capable aud honest official, merely
for political reasons. Now, il he believed at
the time Of the passage of the Tenure Of
Office bill that it was necessary 10 pass il Ia
prevent President Johnson from removing the
officials then holding important public posi-
tons, he must have also believed those officials
to be honest and capable. Otherwise they
ought to have been removed. Til" greater
portion, if not quite all, of the official, who
were retained III office by force of the Tenure
of Office law, still occupy the same stations
they held when the bill passed. Therefore,
agreeably 10 Gen. Grants own words, If IL
were necessary for Congress 10 pass that law
TO prevent President Johnson from removing
these capable aud honest men from Office. he
prove that Congress ought not 10 continue the
aw IN force Ia prevent President Grant, or
my President who shall succeed him, from |
enoving the same officials On the other
land, if these officials are corrupt and il is |
through their corruption the Government is |
,eing defrauded out OF large aggregate sums,
PASSING the Tenure of Office bill to prevent
President Johnson tron removing these cor
upt officials, Gen. Grant proved himself to be
ctuated by motives which are never the
Of great, or honest, or good
men. He must have acted therein through
pleen, or spite and great General or no.
lie -souled man never acts from such base
motives If the office holders were incapable
n dishonest. even though General Grant had
personally quarreled with President Johnson
10 ought to have aided rather than to have
prevented their removal from Office And
congress stands equally guilty with General
rant in the wrong.
Gen. Grant ought to reflect that an Execu
i've who is 50 ready to cast the imputation of
using Offices at his disposal for corrupt pur-
Oses," upon q predecessor, should not find
iut when Congress chooses to keep himself
nder the same strong check from so doing
which it imposed on that predecessor-espe
tally, too, in the case of an Executive who,
t the very outset of his administration, to
ratify Il merely personal desire, deliberately 1
SKIS Congress to repeal a salutary law which ;
Tas passed by the first Congress of the United .
tates, in September, 1882 and which re-
eived the approval of President Washington
md he asks for the repeal too, after having {
imsef remarked, in his Inaugural Address,
regard to certain Objectionable laws that ,