New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-06-08
POLITICAL PRECEDENTs.


in medicine may be useful or dangerous,
according to the surrounding circum-
stances. Neither can be relied on as a
safe principle of action, or set up as an
unerring basis for practice. A political
precedent may, no doubt, be properly
invoked when all the facts and circum-
stances are the same, but it might be
fraught with danger or inconvenience II
| otherwise.
| The doctrine of rotation in office was
derived from precedent. 1t became at
last political dogma, and has been
affirmed by several Democratic conven-
tons. It is to-day one Of the traditions
of the party, and proudly referred to now
and then by orators and writers, who for
get that it led to the civil service reform
| bill, which does not mean rotation.
Many Democrats voted in Congress for
civil service reform who at home shouted
for rotation. Here, then, is case
wherein it has been found difficult to
reconcile theory, or what has been
thought a principle, with practice
The precedents are numerous for
turning public employees out Of Office
every four years and oftener, and filling
their places with raw hands, unused to
public or any other business, whose high
est recommendations were that they had
worked hard for the winning party in the
last campaign. Hence the public bust
ness suffered and complaints ensued, until
Congress, with the approval of the whole
country, applied partial corrective. In
doing this the people virtually reversed
the precedent established by Washington
and Jefferson, by declaring in favor Of
the practical in preference to the abstract
and sentimental. Perhaps precedents
may afford excellent general rules for our
guidance, but until they are crystalized
into laws they are liable to exceptions.
Even laws are repealed when they no
longer answer the purpose for which they
were enacted, and customs not founded
on law are peculiarly subject to similar
changes. A correspondent of the New
York Graphic has given some excellent
views on this subject, which We present
elsewhere. We think he efectually dis
poses of the objections which have been
urged against a third term per Sc of the
Presidency.
There is, however, debatable phase to
this question, which naturally comes up
every four years, and will attract the at
tention Of the Republican party from now
to the time of the meeting Of the national
convention next year. 1t is, though,
purely party question, concerning Repub-
lcans alone, in which the Democracy can
have no great interest. 1t relates exclu-
sively to party patronage, and as the
Democrats intend to vote against any Re-
publican who may be nominated, they can
not reasonably expect to have any voice
in the initial proceedings. They will sup
port their man in any case and go in for
a grand rotation from top to bottom. OF
course they are not likely to nominate
any person who has served before, as it is
SO long since that party was in power that
there are no survivors of the time when it
was able to make Presidents. The rule is
not applicable to Democrats, therefore,
and need not necessarily disturb their
meditations. If the Republicans nomi-
nate man in 1876 who has served one or
more terms, the Democrats can vote against
him upon that ground if they can find no
better But as it is one exclusively of
party policy, We think those Republicans
who may or may not be opposed to more
than two terms would be bound by the
decision of the majority, as they would in
the matter of a choice of candidate or any
other solution which the convention might
present.
The question of who shall be nominated
to run on the Republican ticket will be
submitted to the national convention in
the usual manner, though we shall expect
to see something more substantial urged
against President Grant, to defeat him, in
case he permits his friends to use his
name, than that he has already served his
country faithfully for eight years. His
intimation of a wish to retire from public
life at fifty-ive years of age ought to have
more weight than the irregularly estab-
lished precedents on the subject. We pre-
fer Grant for any number of terms to
Democrat for one day, as we are not yet
ready to trust the Confederate party in full
power. Already, we notice that the return
of some eighty Confederates to Congress
has aroused hopes of bringing Union Off
GERS to account, and provoked suggestions
of future aggressive and offensive pol
icy. Weare safe enough from any serious
results with Republican President and
Senate, but were these swept away in
1876. we should have repetition of the
miserable scenes of Buchanan's admins
tration, with traitors plotting treason in
in the Capitol, and using the public prop
erty to arm and equip the enemies of the
government.
RAILROAD TO TEXAS.
The decision Of the Supreme Court in
the matter of certain intervenors against
the purchasers of the Mobile and Texas