, 1875-06-26
The Office and the People.

The keynote of the discussion attending
the letter of the President III reference TO the
proposition TO nominate him for third term
is involved in the idea that the Office Of the
Presidency is greater than the people One
difficulty with President Grants letter is that
he so regards it. This applies in a large
degree to the political leaders of both parties
1t has been the tendency of modern political
( discuSsion-at least since the close Of the war
I to regard the President as u some respects
! the father Of the people Va address the ia-
cumbent at the White House very much as
Spotted Tail and Red Cloud and the Indian
chiefs do when they come to beg for blankets
and corn and rifles. He is our Great
Father" This arises partly from the central
ization that has crept into our politics as Il
neaaezarY Ca1azZ1e0ce uf the HaE. 1t azzsas
also from that sentiment Of aGulation with
which time servers and office holders and
politicians generally surround the Chief Mag
istrate OF the country as the dispenser of pat
government, especially in America, was it
ever intended TO make the President anything
more than the chief ministerial officer of the
people, and not in any sense the ruler.
The whole danger of C;esarism in this
country does not arise from any attribute in
tte charaU;er of General Grant or any special
incident of his administration, but from the
adoption of this political heresy, that the
office Is greater than the people. Unless We
can eliminate this from our politics We shall
drift steadily on TO imperialism. II viii only
be question of time, a generation or two,
before We are directly confronted with it.
Imperialism viii grow from this root rs sure
" as the oak tree from the acorn In an ad-
Ininistration based upon this heresy the ten
dency is to regard the patronage of the peo-
pie as a military force, TO drill it, 20 WELD
it for party purposes Place any man at the
head of this vast power, and teach him that
he is the pOssessor of an authority above and
apart from the people, and it Is not in human
nature that he should not WELD it for his am
bition or his re-enge or his pleasure, even as
Napoleon and Caesar. Therefore the danger
of Caesarisrn is not a personal danger, but a
frui,age of the war. President Grant in his
Ietier shows int ne has thoroughly embraced
this beresy.
We have yet TO learn of any distinguished
republican leader who has taken courageous
ground on tho third term. Air. Sumner
tried TO do so, and many democratic states
men during the urgencies OF the canvass last
year indorsed him. Mr. Summers efforts
died out, and when the democratic leaders
succeeded in Debating the republican party
upon the issne of Casarism they ignored the.
subject as soon as they came into Congress
We do not end this controversy, therefore, by
simply discounting General Grants prospects
for a denomination That Is simply 10 chop
off limb or new few branches from the
tree The root and trunk remain, with all
h ir life-giring ju1cesi We shall have the
strife over again III the next generation.
What we want, therefore, is that this should
be a distinct and emphatic issue IN our next
election-that we should have an amend
m Mt imposing one term and no reelection.
What We desire is not a President who Is
nee essary TO the people, but people who are
strong enough to govern themselves in spite
of the PresIdent.-N /. H5a!d.