Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1870-11-30

nr..asarnnrrrraFTr1rs Tr1rssIN'HIrrEEnrEr'rtr'Is ~
10 carry MGarrahhms claim through |
Congress, finding that they could do
nothing With the Interior Depart |
ment and The Attorney General They |
succeeded 40 far as 20 induce Secreta
~ Cox to wait until the House Judi.
oiary Committee had passed upon
MGarraham's business, which was
done, last summer, by a vote Of seven
to three, rejecting his claim, About
this time, Mr.. Cox, having seen let.
ter from one of MGarraham's attor-
ncys offering to dispose Of part Of his
claim for "infuence' in the depart
ment, thought it ,ime to act upon the
repeated decisions of the courts and
of Congress and dispose Of the case
finally. In this decision he strength
ened by the opinion Of Judge Hoar,
which, though dated June %, was
probably known in substance to Dent
a fortnight before, may have helped
Gen, Grant to mako up his mind as
to when his Attorney General should
resign. 1t is, at any rate, very sin
gular that both Hoar and Cox should
have resigned so near their decisive
action on this job OF Louis Dents. On
tho 18th of August last, Secretary
Cox wrote to Mr.. Wilson, of the Land
Office, long letter on the subject Of
tho claim, closing as follows:
"You will therefore proceed in the
ordinary course of business to take
up and dispose of the application of
the New Idria Mining Company for
a patent, notifying M'Garraham or
his attorneys that tho same will be
done at an early day, to be fixed by
you, prior to which time testimony
or arguments may be filed by either
party, and at the expiration of which
period your decision may be rendered
as your views of the law and the facts
may warrant, and proceedings had
thereon in the usual manner"
No sooner was notice of this served
on Dent, one of the attorneys of the
swindler, than off be posted to Long
Branch, where General Grant was
bathing, driving and smoking, and
called upon him to interfere, which he
did, in the letter of August %, al
ready published To this the Secre-
tary replied in private letter, which
General Grant has seen fit to publish,
also, and in which the President was
urged to consult the Attorney General,
if not the whole Cabinet, on the point
at issue. But, apparently, General
Grant was satisfied with the advice
Of Dent, for he took no notice of the
letter whatever. Six weeks after
Secretary Cox resigned, carrying with
him into retirement the respect and
good wishes Of nine tenths Of the
American people, but followed by the
"liltle digs" from Dent and Fornoy,
who, latterly, seem to have enlisted
the President in their service. If all
this is calculated to increase the pub.
| lie confidence in General Grant, we
arc very much mistaken. When he
finds such spokesmen as Butler on
the San Domingo question, Russell
Young on the Alabama claims, Chan.
dler and Cameron on tho Indian poll.
cy, and Forney on the MGarraham
claims, be suffers q loss of respect
which it is difficult to measure aecu-
rately. He has no experience as a
politician, and he is in a bad school
for learning it in tho right way
There is something to be said in OK.
cuse for him, but little or nothing in
his justification. The sooner he learns
his blunders from the impartial voice
of the public, the better it will be for
him and his administration.