The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1872-08-08
A FEARFUL INDICTMENT.

a FEARFUL INUIt l MEAT.
Hon. Reverdy Johnson shows how Il
Avoid the Peril which Threatens tn,
Country from Grants AdministrA
lion.
BALTIMORE, July 10, 1872.
MY DEAR SIR: Your letter Of The
18th of July was duly received. The
delay in answering ii | do not now re-
gret, as what has since occurred will
enable me to do SO to more advantage
than | could have done before. The
question with the people now is
which Of the two Will they have for
their next President, L. :. Grant or
Horace Greeley? The former during
the past three years, in the Judgment
Of all impartial men, has proved his
utter uniitncs1 for the office the latter,
during a period Of more than thirty
years, as the editor of II leading journal,
has proved himself, in the judgment OF
all impartial and competent men, to he
II man of extraordinary ability, perfect
patriotism, and incOrruptible integrity.
Has not Gen. Grant demonstrated
his untitness for the Presidency? His
election to it in 'GS was owing to the
confidence the people rcposcd in him
for what they believed ne possessed
good scnsc-and because Of their graft
tudc for his military service dulimg the
war. In his good sense, with the cX
pcrience of the last three years, it
seems to me impossible that confidence
can now be placed. His whole career
as President has been full Of biundcrs,
to use no mildcr term. a few in
stances will establish this statements:
|. His selection of his Cabinet was
made without consultation with amy
! honest and experienced friend, and
without regard to merit. He nOmina-
ted as the head of the Treasury high
ly respectable merchant Of New York,
in ignorance OF the fact that hy the $ h
section Of the act Of "a Scptember
1889, such an appointment is expressly
prohibited, and this upon grounds of
the clcarest policy--thc provisions be-
ing that no person n'cOnCcrned in trade,
directly or indirectly, is eligible to amy
office created by that act; aud after
finding his error, he foollshly requested
Congress to modify the provision 50 ~
to enable him to make the appoint
ment. In this he was properly rolled,
although his friends constituted largo
majority Of both Houses. In the APP
pointment he actually made, lie seems
not to have been influenced 10y any re-
gard to the fitness of his appontcca,
but, in many instances, 10y Il wish tot
show his gratitude for valuable pres
cntS received.
>. His selection of his relatives for
high and important trusts, ut home and
abroad, obviously without asccrtaiuing
whether they were fit, and his refusal
to remove many of them after their UNI
fitness had been painfully exhibited.
B. His negotiation for the anncXa-
ton Of the Dominican Republic,
through no minister selected with the
approval of the Senate, and his unlig-
niiied lobbying with Senators to pro-
cure its ratification; and his impertincnt
and insulting message to Congress,
after the treaty was rejected, in which
he designated the rejection ~ an act Of
"tOiy." His usurpation Of the war
power in threatening Hayti, having
the means ut hand OF making good his |
threat, if they continued their hOstili-
ties against Dominica, and doing this |
not only whilst the treaty was under
copsideration by the Senate, but after
they had rejected it.
4. His open and shameless use of his
power Of patronage to support his per-
sonal administration and to secure Il
reelection. And, with this view, not
content with his first appointments,
removing them and making others,
not because the legal duties of the first
Were not properly performed, but be-
cause they had not proved themselves
as able to serve him us fully us he de-
sired.
5. His compelling Secretary Cox, n
gentleman of ability, who faithfully
served his country during the war as
general officer, and who was admin
lstering the Interior Department to the
satisfaction of the country, to resign,
because he had refused to tolerate the
assessment upon the salaries Of hi,
clerks for party purposes, thereby cOun-
tenancing the legality and propriety of
such assessments. No greater violation
Of duty could be perpetrated. The
official salaries are of course paid out of
the public treasury. 70 compel the
officer to give II portion of it as II fund
ioi NiSN.'o'eci'hS 4 VI p''Oo. i'i III i't't, |
using the public funds to that end.
And in this instance the object of the
assessments was, and continues to be,
to secure the reelection of Gen. Grant,
and the election of his party friends to
Congress.
6. His not only permitting, but virtu-
ally ordering, the members of his Cab
met and the bureau officers to canvass
the States where elections have been or
may be depending, in his bshalf-thus
seriously interfering with the public
business which they alone were ap-
pointed to attend to, and for which
alone they are paid.
I. In not only not disappearing OF
the acts of Congress known as the En-
fOrcement Acts of 1870 II, but in rcck-
lessly carrying them out by means of
the military. And, although the con-
dition of things alleged rs an excuse
for those laws no longer existed, and
quiet prevailed i'm the two Carolinas,
not an arm being raised against the
authority Of the General Government !