The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-05-13
A GLANCE AT THE POLITICAL
HORIZON.

GENERAL GRANTS administration has now
been in power for fourteen months, and
politicians are beginning to form judgments
in regard to its success and to devise plans
for their future operations. Up to this time
he has done nothing which has provoked the
decided censure of any considerable body of
Republican partisans, although there is, in
some quarters, lack of enthusiasm in his
support and feeling of disappointment.
Whatever else he may do, he evidently has
no intention of playing part similar to that
assumed by Andrew Johnson, and he is mani
festly animated by an earnest desire to
crafty every just expectation of the organi-
zation which made him President. On the
general question of reconstruction he has
maintained thoroughly radical record, and
the bold stand he took at an early period in
favor of the fifteenth amendment gave a fair
claim to the gratitude of the large body of
newly-created colored voters which they are
disposed to acknowledge. On the eight-hour
question: after his Attorney General had given
deliberate opinion that the law of Congress
did not entitle mechanics employed by the
Government to ten hours pay for eight
hours work, the President very
promptly overruled this opinion, and
thus averted the threatened danger of
trades union movement against his admins
tration. In the Mississippi election all the
efforts of the conservatives to entrap him into
an endorsement of the pretensions of his
relative, Dent, proved unavailing. These
incidents, although of subordinate import
ance, prove that despite the limited expe-
rieHce of General Grant in the wiles of par
tisanship, he is too we'll versed in military
strategy to be misled by any bald device or
to fail in the performance of any palpable
political duty. The Cuban agitation threat
ened for time to become da-
maging, but the course of
events has vindicated in large degree the
sagacity of the administration, and the people
are not disposed to complain of his refusal to
help insurgents who have shown but little
capacity to help themselves. The most posi-
tive action of the administration has been its
infusion of increased energy, efficacy, and
integrity into the business of collecting the
national revenues, and its Improvement of the
public credit While all due praise is cheer
fully awarded for proper attention to this
important duty, however, the President will
commit a serious blunder if he permits HIM
self to be identified, in popular estimation,
with the efforts of some of
his subordinate officials to resist
reductions or abrogations of odious and unne-
cessary forms of taxation. A Washington
correspondent recently alleged that the Pre-
sident favors the abandonment of the inter
minable discussion of the Tariff bill by Con-
gress and speedy consideration of the In
D. Al, - 90 - H.
tic industries may certainly and speedily be
extended, even if high rates OF duty on
foreign manufactures are maintained. This
common sense course would meet with gene
raj favor, and its adoption would exert salu-
tary influence in maintaining the unity and
popularity of the Republican party. 1t may
be grand thing to pay off the national debt
at the rate of one hundred millions of dollars
per annum, but the claims to merciful con-
sideration of generation which has suffered
and sacrificed SO much to maintain the
unity of the Republic cannot be safely or
Justly disregarded. To reduce the tariff and
maintain high internal revenue taxes would
infict a double and disastrous blow upon
American industry. Millions of voters would
ayenge, at the polls, its sacrifice on the altar
of fanciful financial theories. If the Presi-
dent and Congress can devise satisfactory
solution of the problems involved in the
tariff, internal revenue, resumption, and the
management of the debt, there is fair pros
pect that the Democracy will continue to
suffer succession of stunning defeats; but
to secure this end it is highly desirable that
the prevailing RepublicaH divisions at Wash
ington on these subjects should be healed up,