The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-10-12


and conservative Republicans, and who
are as eminent in their party as anybody,
Justify the reconstruction measures on purely
party grounds but without any such private
and individual testimony, the whole public
history of the period Immediately following
the close of the war, and the entire conduct
of the Radicals in Congress and out of it,
establish it as fact that the extraordinary
and exceptional powers which have been as
sumed aud exercised were not accepted re-
luctantly," but were ''seized ambitiously.'
But let us look into this matter little fur
ther. We do not doubt that there have been
those in the Republican party who like our
neighbor, have deprecated the exercise of
powers by the Federal authorities which be-
long legitimately to the local governments"
We know many well-meaning men, who sup
ported the Lincoln and still support the
Grant administration, who have hoped TO ses
natural shrinkage within the true limits of
the Constitution. They admit that its nor
NAL powers have been greatly stretched by
doubtful interpretations, and that they have
even been greatly overstepped under dan
gerous plea of necessity. They have
hoped for a restoration of sound constitu-
tional doctrine. But the difficulty in these
individual cases is, that when a political
party by extreme latitudinarian constructions
of limited powers or by bold and unscrupu-
lous assumptions, have deranged such poll
tical system as ours, they are not the right
men to effect a return to sound doctrine.
The love of personal power is very strong
passion; the love of power that animates such
a party as the Republicans is more vigorous
than its spirit of patriotism and self-denial
and when q body of public men have long
been accustomed to lead party by the teach
ings OF strained and lax Interpretation of a
written constitution of government, it is the
most difficult thing in this world to fall back
upon principles and determinations which
contradict their former professions and seem
to take away the foundation of their past
legislation. When to these embarrassments
arising out of personal and party consistency
there is added the tremendous corruption of
a wasteful expenditure of public money, the
laxity of public morals that springs up when
an enormous revenue is collected and dis
bursed by party controlling all the revenues
into and out of vast public exchequer, it is
not easy to overstate the tendencies to GEN.
tralization from which such party may find
it impossible to eXtricate itself, as it is i'm
possible for its leaders to assist it in the
direction of q sound reform Let any one
take the statute-books of the United
States for the past five or six years,
and, without lookiug q. all at the powers
which have been exercised over the South
ern States in the matter of reconstruction,
let him note how the habit has grown up of
legislating in Congress on subjects over
which Congress has no rightful jurisdiction;
or, if Congress can by ingenious interpreta-
tion be said to have concurrent power over
the particular matter, let him observe how
entirely inexpedient and improper it is not
to leave such powers to be exercised by the
States. The amount of this kind of legisla-
tion that has been accumulated during the
past SIX years is very great, and its existence
is one of the most striking proofs of the GEN.
tralization that has been effected in so brief
period, and that has no excuse in ''the re-
quirements and experiences of the civil war, /"
although it is the natural fruit of doctrines
and practices springing up in time of tur-
moil and danger, and pushed beyond all the
eXigencies of even such time.
1t is as an antagonist to this Capitalization
that the Democratic party presents itself, with
its better record of constitutional doctrine,
it's traditional care in discriminating between
the Federal and the State powers, its habitual
economy in the use of public money, and it's
sound principles of public revenue, finance,
and currency. If, in the issues which it
makes on these subjects, the people of this
Union cannot perceive where their political
power ought to be lodged, the tendency to
Capitalization and corruption will not be
arrested. But if that tendency is seen and
acknowledged, we may look for a restoration
of eur Government to the paths of true con-
stitutional Interpretation and pure exercise
of constitutional powers.