Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-01-04
The President and Mr.. Sumner.


some editorial notice of our last week
article on Party Discipline" while agree
ing to the general proposition that it is nj
party crime for Republican Senator tt
criticise President Grant, says that is no
the issue in the war now waged on Senator
Summer. The Free Press says
THE Presidents recommendation In referenc,
TO San Domingo, was an open and square one, ano
opponents. Senator Mortons resolution asked
simply for investigation-and it was in oul
humble judgment, the true policy for Mr.. Sumner
and of the opponents of the treaty to second rather
than TO resist 1t.
Again the President Is of course as open to crit
cism as any other mortal and by virtue of high
position, is subject 10 il than other men. But
he has the same night 10 fair and unprecedented
criticism that other mon have The weakness OF
is thar he has cearIv shown 10 the nnbIIc thai he Is
in state of pers nal evaporation, in which fair
and unprejudIced criticism on part is impossible
He attacked not the san Domingo scheme, but a
perfectly proper measure OF inquiry into the mat
ter He attacked the President personally and IN q
sympathles Of unprejudiced persons on the side Of
the one assaIled. senator Sumner has no rlghl
to permit his personal grievances in the matter Of
the removal OF his friend Motley, to influence his
came I,Iain tht ba ITas ti0ing SO he iost his nfn
euce with the party, IN and out of Congress; and
ne stands to-day practically Alone
Does not our cotempOrary lose sight OF the
fact that the annexation of San Domingo hae
been once acted upon after full hearing,
and after the President had used his per
sonal influence with Senators to secure favor
able action, and been rejected? The Presi-
dent did not pretend in his message that he
had any new facts regarding the value Of
the acquisition but he did say that re-
ilFal to accept his project was an act Of
Il" folly" Was not Senator Sumner justified
in opposing the revival of this scheme al the
very threshold
We agree that the President s recommend
att N was entitled Co " respectful treatment,
but that does not, we hope, render it neces
sary that Senators should refuse to discuss
either the merits of the project or the meth
DDS by which it has been advanced.
Senator Morton's proposition to send a
com Emission to San Djmln5o il search Of in
formation, ought to blind no one While it
is apparently fair proposition, the course
of it's promoters shows what is intended
The President is to appoint the commission
and is any one foolish enough to suppose he
will not select majority, at least, favorable
to annexation? Every amendment offered
looking to an impartial investigation, was
voted down \ proposition that the names
of the commissioners should be sent to the
Senate for approval. was summarily rejected.
It Is notorious that this commission is not
expectedto be absent from Washington more
than a month. What can they learn about
the people, climate, mineral resources, and
productions of the island, in that time ?
The Congressional library contains hundred
times the information on these subjects, that
can be obtained by the commission in the
brief period which they are to use in this
search for knowledge The commission is
only device, and through its predetermined
favorable report it is expected that votes
heretofore against the treaty may be changed
- votes for it, That is all there il Of it.
Senator Sumner did attack the " San Do
mingo scheme" That was the burden of
his speech; and he opposed the resolution
as a part Of that scheme" Nearly the
whole Of his argument, however, was devoted
to the " scheme = itself, and it was for that
be was called to account.
Bnt the E%e4 P-ess saya Mr S....,,e- 49,
. in state of personal evaporation, and
therein he was weak and wrong We agree
that g state of personal evaporation NAV
not be becoming in a Senator and when it
is INDUCED in against the President of the
United States, it may not only be unwise but
impolitic. But if Senator Sumner showed
some of this unchristian spirit toward the
President, the Presidents senatorial cham
pions exhibited it, with interest, toward Mr..
Sumner; and we have not heard that tbey
have found less favor at the White House on
that account 1t might be said, in excuse
for Mr.. Sumner, that the President had de
sired his removal from the position Of chair
man of the Committee on Foreign Relations
Mr.. Sumner knew this fact and il cannot
be denied. The President had also said. i
he were not President, he would call Mr.
Sumner personally to account for his course
In respect to the treaty. No one who know
the facts, denies this. The Presidents pr
Yate secretaries had, also, been runnine
over with abuse Of Mr.. Sumner. and it wa,
not easy for the Senator not to connect thi.
in some way with the President Mr.. Sum.
ner is not the only Senator who would. il
such state of facts, be Z" in state of per
sonal evaporation - indeed, judging from
the debate, this % state of personal exaspera
ton - was pretty general at that time IN th
Senate.
But this has, after all. little to do wit
the real question. Mr.. Sumner charged tn,
President with nothing, In his speech, e1
cept what the facts warrant. His facts wer
not disputed; the opposition contente
themselves with assailing his motives, an
his manner. 1t is true that Baez has bee
kept in power in san Domingo by the nav
of the United States. 1t is true that Bae
and Fabens and Cazneau, the chief figures i
this treaty business on the part of the Dc
miniesn ms, are mere " Jockeys, as Mr.. Sun
ner called them. 1t is true that the Pres
dent has used the power and patronage {
his Office to " influence - the judgments {
members of Congress on this question. Ii
true that Mr.. Sumner has been threatene
with personal violence. 1t is true that a
attempt has been made to reconstruct ii
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
order to help the {" scheme - through tb
body 1t is true that this project menac
the independence of Hayti, and that a nav
officer threatened to make war on that r
public if it interfered against this project
annexation. 1t is true that Pierce and B
chanan and johnson were severely CRITICS,
and denounced by Republicans for no mo
extraordinary use of executive power al
position than these acts Of President Gran
Is the truth less true because he who ute