The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-08-21
The Great Question OF the Day-Can
the Elements for CDsarism Crystal
lie Heref

The Great Question OF the Day-Can
lie Heres
The various stages up to the present in the
national discussion on the possible coming of
Caesar we regard as satisfactory from many
points of view. We may first notice that the
attempts made in the beginning to dispose OF
it summarily were confessedly unsuccessful
In the next place, those who, admitting the
potency of the argument, said it was too soon
to agitate the question, have come, with the
mass of the people, to look on it ana
discuss it as something worthy OF
the gravest attention. We were well
aware that the plain statement of how the
liberties of our great nation were imperiled
could not fell to evoke an expression OF
thought as wide as the nation itself We
were satisfied that there was no time to be
lost in presenting this statement to the people
The very quiet in the political world made it
duty to put our fears and our hopes in
circulation, that the danger in the present
nav be avoided and its recurrence in the
future made impossible. Three years may be
good deal IN Presidential term OF
four, but they are very small fraction
in the life of nation. ''Three years too
soon, said those who did not grasp the vast
importance of the problem to be solved. Why,
time cannot be counted on the ''too soon" side
of such q question while oil the tragedies of
history hang upon the ''too late" Minutes
count on that side where years would on the
other.
In the present number of the HERALD will
be found series of interviews with men of
greater or lesser influence throughout the
United States, but all possessing at least local
influence They include far-seeing politicians,
members of the professions and journalists, men
of party, most of them, but the significance
of whose utterance is palpable; the opinions
of the political lights OF Illinois, republican
and democratic representatives of opinion in
Maine, opinions from Ohio and Virginia, the
views of editors of the city religious press and
of other city papers for lay circulation are
given. 1t would be impossible to review each
of these or those which we have published
from day to day previously. In each will be
found views which bear out our former
comments if taken in connection with
the political standpoint from which
the various gentlemen speak Among them
we will at present refer to ex-senator Doc
Titles remark to our Chicago correspondent
After stating the national tradition respecting
the limitation of Presidents to two terms, he
says:-"The cry is now, if the people choose
him it is the peoples matter but there is
the danger. Republics have lost their liberty
most frequently by the insidious ambition of
o plausible hero. The farce of an cleo
ton was continued in Rome long
after Caesar had become absolute in
power and was maintained even after the
Empire was firmly established under Angus
tus." We must in the end place our reliance on
the people; but before the people are awali-
ened and aroused they may lie helpless under
chains that will become visible and palpable
in their lettering constraint only when they
attempt the overthrow of power that slipped
from their grasp. We arc fully impressed
with the force of the ex-Ssnator's expression,
ssthe insidious ambition of plausible hero !"
but we distinctly state that we by no means
clothe President Grant with such sinister
designs, or that we would belittle,
even for suppositon's sake, his great
services as soldier of the Union or Chief
Magistrate of the nation. We have the strong
est hope that he will justify his record and
perpetuate his patriotism by standing between
the danger and the people and crushing the
former. 1t is in class more than in an indi-
vidual that the power for harm will be found.
The man may not yet have arisen with unscru-
pulous ambition and far-reaching craft enough
to strike down his co-operators as he and
they would strike down the people; but
while the people look dazedly on the
forces are gathering that must, if not
checked, produce him. They had Pompey,
Crassus and julius Caesar as triumvirs first.
Caesar destroyed the first two and then fell
himself Antony, Lepidus and Octavius be-
came the powers after Caesars fall Octavius
repeated the tactics of julius, and Augustus
Imperator was the result. AS the reins Of
government are grasped in fewer and fewer
hands; as rich, strong, moneyed interests con-
verge toward common centre as the citi-
zens in their local groupings find them
selves tightly held and they more
and more incline to the laisser aller
in politics, are not the most alarming
signs of capitalization into C@sarism
visible to the eye. There are certain satur-
ated saline solutions which but need the
touch of rod to cause complete crystalliza-
ton Of their particles. If political concentra-
ton be allowed to proceed as it has done and
is doing the point of saturation will be reached
in time. Could we dare to hope, then, that
the hand holding the rcd of power
would refrain from the touch which
xvould erive him control Of all in fixed reo1l1ar