Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-09-18
ANDREW JOHNSON.

mage IN tennessee" from which the fol-
lowing is an extract:
ANDREW JOHNSON.
The element that two years ago regarded
his re-entrance upon the stage of national
affairs with something of horror is now
clamoring for his election. He will be
elected undoubtedly; because, aside from
his really unattractive character, and his
lack of the deserving quality, he has a
"caseu which can not be successfully
overcome, because it is directly in the line
of that advancing liberalism which is des-
tined to revolutioniZe all the old party or
ganisms. The meaning of the struggle in
Tennessee, as far as it can be disentangled
of its local and personal attributes, is this,
that the people there, as everywhere else,
are tired of the Hunker politicians and
organizers, and are willing, SO great is
their weariness and disgust, to take typi-
cal Hunker, like Andrew Johnson, boss
organizer and premium, king bee Hunk
er, as their instrument for breaking into
the nest and scattering the birds that in
habit it.
Andrew Johnson has been fortunate all
his life in his circumstances. He has the
genius of adaptability highly developed
There is nothing liberal or elevated in his
character, for he is both selfish and insin-
cere. But he has often managed, as in
| GQlS uRnl, W lucHUlIy ululScll Will lue
most opposite elements, and to put his for
tunes upon the turn of the lucky chance.
1t will win this time, as it has won before
and we shall see the young manhood of
/ Tennessee, in spite of its natural detesta-
ton of johnson, following him to the
overthrow of clique of professional par
tisans, who derive their title from the old
school, holding on by sort of inheritance,
without much regard to the wants and
Io ~f t1,oS Toto
The old parties are all dead or dying.
The old party leaders are passing away.
| The new generation can not afford to sad
die itself with the antecedents of the last.
Issues are altered. Purposes, motives and
associations are altered. 1t is the coming
of the deluge; aud, whilst the ark is be-
| ing builded on the mount, it is not sur
prising that the principle of self-preserva-
ton should move the Liberals down in the
| lOwIands to seize even rotten plank, like
Andrew Johnson.
The fresh current of moral principles
which the spirit of reform has already
thrown into our political life-the flood OF
national and liberal ideas which has been
| poured into the South-will animate the
material growth and organized existence
of such measures as revenue reform and
| the establishment of a civil service. We
must look to the development of these for
our redemption. To be sure, Andrew
Johnson cares nothing about them, and
| knows almost as little as he cares; but the
movement of which he is the chance lead
| er has the import, that it is a popular pro-
| test against Hunkerism and the Hunker
politicians, and in favor of such combus-
| ton of parties-of such complete dissO-
luton of the old, rotten shell of effete Or
| ganism-as will enable the people directly
to begin the work of party reconstru ction.
| We had, here in Louisville, a touch of this
popular yearning. Presently we shall find
| it more palpable and diffusive. Our own
local legislative canvass next year will turn
upon it; and the Hunker politicians had
better be getting their life preservers ready,
for they will have to walk the plank. We
give them notice in time so that they shall
not be able to say that we took them un
awares.
INDICATING THE CONSTITUTION.
The Memphis 1Ppeay pushes the Sur
ratt business on Andy as follows: safs
A. Johnson, amid his many subterfuges
to shelter himself from official responsible
| ty for the murder of Mrs. Surratt, and per-
haps as salve to narrowed conscience,
with shameful, egotistic disregard for
popular intelligence, urges the opinion of
| Jim Speed, Attorney General at that time,
| that military commission had jurisdic-
ton to try this innocent woman for the
| imputed crime. He claims that Speed,
notoriously the poorest apology for an At
| torney General ever vOuchsafed to the
United States, told him that military
commission had jurisdiction to try the
accused. Suppose Jim Speed did "opin-
ionu him, as he says, how does it help
Johnson? If the eX-PresideDt had SO lit
tie knowledge of the constitution, as to be
imposed upon by constitutional interpre-
tation so tame, so stupid, is he fit to be
constitutional expounder, as he pretends
to be, and as he imperiously claims to- be
| held by the people He insists that he is
par excellence the vindicator of the consti
tuition. The only instance in his life when
his sincerity, in this regard was put to the
test, was in this Surratt tragedy. He
shamefulIy failed. To escape conscious,
intelligent guilt, in base, cowardly MUIR
der, he throws before him the ignorant
opinion of an ignorant Attorney General.
Johnson is, by his own defence, impaled
in one of the horns of dillema. He is
either too ignorant to vindicate the Con-
stitution or he has, when exposed to the
first trial, shamefully betrayed his pro-
fessions. Either attitude units him for
the service of free people who have so
lately suffered from oppression. Tennessee
has always asserted for her population
high standard of honor. She has always
1 demanded of those in place, except when
her voice was hushed beneath carpet-bag
rule, the courage to meet official duty and
the integrity to dischargeit fully. If her
people now restore to power and influence
Andrew Johnson, whose hands are drip
ping with the blood of foul and cowardly
, murder, the outside world can not ne
blamed for regarding them as having
: reached the lowest ebb in manhood ard
virtue.
EXPLANATION WANTED.
The AppeaE, which leulogized An drew
Johnson as a pure patriot and statesmar-
the highest praise that can be awarded
public man-one month ago, and seven
| years after Mrs. Surratt was hanged, and
now denounces him as a murderer and
, tyrant, fails to explain why it so suddenly
| changed its opinion of A. J. The exJla-
: nation would be interesting. 1t is Looked