The Lincoln County herald., 1871-08-03
The Impending Ruin or the Republic.

::From she New Yord sun (Rcputlican).
What The country now needs to save i
from destruction is party of sound con
stitutionat principles, and strict integrity
in mOnoy matters. Under ahe pressure
Of sn extraordinary 'exigency. The Re
publican party ddriug the war aud tn,
reconstruction era adopted loose ideas il
their construction Of the Conjtitution
and, invoking the authority Of that in
strumcnt, they exercised powers po,
droatned Of by the fathers Of the Re-
public.
The vast expenditures incident 10 the
war, and the immense fortunes hastily
accumulated by individuals during chat
period, accustomed office holders and the
masses Of the people to look with indif.
ference upon annual outlays Of MONEY
that would havo amazed the country
twenty years before. The suppression OF
the rebellion was followed by u political
chaos in the South, which opened wide
field for the operations Of unprincipled
adventurors from the North, who rushed
in. seized the reihs Of power in the late
insurgent States, and have since ruled
and plundered them, with the protection
of the national Administration, as Warren
Hastings oppressed and robbed British
India.
Almost every body who holds an Office
or obtains contract under the Federal
and State governments, or under any
municipal corporation, has become intox
icated with a passion for suddenly getting
rich by his position. The natural con.
sequence is insatible greed irrespective of
law, and wide spred corruption in spite
Of exposure, among large portion Of
those who live upon public patronage
These arc the two evils which afflict
the country. Lax interpretations Of the
Constitution, and tho wrestling therefrom
Of anwarranted powers, are gradually
changing the form of the Government.
Lavish and needless expenditures by
Congress, by State Legislatures, and by
city authorities, and loose notions Of of,
fetal integrity, are steadily bringing
governmental economy into contempt,
aud rendering honesty among public SER
wants almost an obsolete phrase. So far
has the current drifted that politics is
rapidly becoming the synonyme of cor.
rupton, and stainless virtue in the ad-.
of affairs is getting to be
about as rare In America as it was in
England under the corrupt rule of Robert
Walpole, who boasted that every public
man had his price.
Does any we'll informed person presume
to dispute the truth of these statements p?
Where lies the remedyf Is Gen. Grant
the man TO initiate and carry through
reform that shall bring the Government
back to the solid ground Of constitutional
whereon out fathers placed
it? Is he the man to enforce scrupulous
abstinence from the reception Of gifts
and bribes by oficeholders? Can his
own personal conduct in the premises be
pointed to as a standard worthy of imita.
tion by all, whether high or low, who
public affairs and feed at the
public crib! Far from il His ideas Of
tho Constitution ore so latitudinarian that
one may we'll doubt whether he possesses
doggseSS' SS's viii !: to hm the law Of the land
and he does not hesitate to WELD almost
kingly powers without warrant from the
Constitution. AS to money matters, his
is notoriously the most
venal in our history, while he himself has
grown rich since he took Office by means
of gifts lavishly bestowed upon him in
return for patronage, which an honorable
man would have scorned as brbes.
The first and paramount duty Of the
people then is to terminate the reign Of
Grant at the earliest possible moment,
oithcr by preventing his denomination. or
by defeating him at tho polls if the Re-
publicans should be so infatuated as to
again present him as candidate. Will
The Hon. Horace Greeley. who, with the
exception Of Gen. Grant, is the only
Republican now in the Pros
dential field for 1872, speak out on this
subject? He cannot afford to be silent.
Honest men arc eager for the onset and
inpatient ywait for the trumpet blast of
their great leader.