The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-12-15
The Presidents Message.

We transfer toour columns the fol-
lowing article from the Vicksburg
Herald relative to the message trans
mitted to Congress by President
Hayes at the opening of the regular
session:
This state paper will force favora-
bic opinions from all fair minded
men. Coming from a professed Re-
publican it will be praised by many
Democrats. All Southerners will be
particularly pleased at the tone in
which the Southern people are men-
toned. For the first time since the
war Republican President speaks of
the Southern States as equal States
in the Union, and congratulates him
self that his policy of kindness and
justice has borne good fruit. In this
particular Mr.. Hayes has made good
President, and the South can have no
just cause of complaint. He is the
more to be praised for this by our
section from the fact that his course
has been bitterly opposed by his own
party. Nothing but consciousness
that he is right, and determination
of purpose that is admirable, could
have caused him to persist in this
line of policy in opposition to nine
tenths of the party that secured his
position for him. His bold, true
words about peace and kindness to-
ward the South will prove gall and
WoTmwood to the Radicals.
The President reiterates his deter
| mination in regard to the Civil Ser
vice. He thinks that, though perfec-
ton can not be reached, the Civil Ser
vice can be greatly improved by the
enforcement of the rules he adopted
on his Inauguration. Allowing for the
complications under which he was la
boring from the manner in which he
was placed in Office, We must ac-
knowledge that he has made many
good appointments, but we must be
excused from approval of some he has
made in Louisiana and one or two
others of the Southern States. IG is
an insult to ordinary intelligent peo-
pie to expect them to believe that the
Returning Board scoundrels were
cared for in pursuance of any honest
system of Civil Service. It would be
hard to convince any one that these
men would have received any recog.
milton if they had not been members
of the eternally infamous Returning
Board.
These facts will cause the public to
still feel many misgivings notwith-
standing the Presidents weH-written
sentences. 1t will cause many to be-
lieve that theoretical system of
Civil Service is difficult Of perfection
by one who received his own Office by
crooked methods.
The President, in our opinion, is
all wrong in regard to the financial
policy of the Government. He favors
forced resumption, and he is opposed
to silver being restored to the posi-
ton it occupied before interested par
ties secured its decentralization. If he
has not yet seen enough bad effects
of the present financial course of his
administration, we can not imagine
any thing that will convince him of
his errors. The sad wrecks caused
by this attempted forced resumption
are to be found on all sides; in the
East, in the West, and in the South.
Yet he says this plan is the proper
one.
His argument in regard to silver is
no better than that about forced re-
sumption. He is in favor of silver only
upon the difference in relative values
between it and gold that was caused
by the demonstration of the old stan
dard dollar, being recognized. In
other words, he is opposed to silver
being given the same value as money
that it had prior to the demonetiza-
tion act, that the creditor classes had
smuggled through Congress. We are
extremely sorry that all his leanings
are towards the bond holders and
that he is thoroughly imbued with
the opinions of the East, and of the
money-lenders of Europe.
The balance of the message is de-
voted to various other important
matters that will need the attention
of Congress.