Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-02-13
Louisiana and Texas.


Prejudice blinds people TO every obiec,
save that which they most desire to see
We do not doubt that the time will sneed.
ely come when the action of President
Grant toward Louisiana and the other
Southern States will be regarded as the
most fair and impartial exercise of execu.
tive power. Even now, the very men
who make it the business of their lives to
condemn the President are unwittingly
vindicating him by continued indorse
ments ofa course which he has pursued
but which they seem to think has never
been adopted. The case of Louisiana is
an example of this. Laying aside all
prejudice, what could the President dc
that he has not done? An election was
held, and each party accused the other OF
gross frauds. The question as to which
OF the candidates was elected went TO the
courts. The latter decided in favor OF
kellogg, and, in accordance with this de
clslon, the latter was installed and be
came the head of the de frctO government
of the State. The President could
not go behind this decision. He Is
an executive officer simply. He
is there to enforce the laws, moi
to make them, or to promulgate the de
crees of court. If any power can inter
fere and go back of the record thus made
up, 1t certainly is not the Executive. He
therefore simply does his duty in the
premises. He maintains order, and re-
CARDS the de tact0 the prinad facte govern.
ment as the only one until the highest
legislative power can pass upon the mat
ter. There is not an unpreiudiced per
son in the world who would not commend
this action. He was forced to recognize
one of the parties. Now, which should
1t beI The one which had possession
had the certificates, and had the support
OF the Judicial tribunals, or the one which
had none of these claims to recognition ?
Why, to have recognized the other party
IN this contest-nO matter what its eouf.
table claims were-wOuld have been such
a wanton disregard of every principle OF
law, and such tyrannical assumption OF
power by the President, as would have
righteously merited his impeachment.
Accused of partisanship and selfish
seeking after power, the President has
the tirmness and good sense to 90 straight
ahead doing his duty fearlessly, regard
less of praise or blame.
Take the Texas difficulty as another
example. Here the parties were changed
IL was the Republican OK which had been
gored. And it must be said that there
were many legal grounds for doubt as to
the right of the Democratic candidates
to take control of the State; but the Pres.
ident took the plain, common sense view
of it, and decided as seemed to him fair
and honorable. He said to Governor
Davis: "If the election was illegal, you
ought not to have taken part in it. Hav.
ing done so, and having been defeated by
~, 600 majority, you are estopped from de.
nying its legality" And upon this de.
clslon of the President the Democratic
candidates entered upon the various offices
to which they had been elected, and a dis.
turbance was avoided. Is it not wonderful
that the Democratic Senators in Con.
gress who so highly commended this
non-interference of the President or Con.
gress in the affairs of Texas should
gravely propose to pass law setting aside
the election in Louisiana? Yet this is
the miraculous change that partisanship
can effect in the principles of State
rights Democrat.
1t is time that this reckless and silly de.
nunciation of the President should cease.
Senator Carpenter has been widely com.
mended by the Democratic press for his
course in the Louisiana matter, but he
had the wisdom to perceive, and the good
sense to assert, that the President could
not have safely done otherwise than he
did. The country will yet appreciate
most fully the inestimable service rem
dered by General Grant in civil as well as
military life, and, conscious of his vindi-
cation, he can afford to wait.-ChtcagO
Inter Ocean.