The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-11-01
The Source of the Trouble.

The Source of the Trouble.
The difficulty with President Hayes is
that he has been found too honest for his
party. 1t has been the practice with the
Republicans to have declaration Of prin-
ciples for the campaign, and quite other
rules of conduct for the administration,
after it should have beenplaced in power.
The plan of the leaders was to play the
same old game over again, with Hayes.
But they found d man who said, II was
elected upon certain declarations, and it
is my duty to abide by them, as far as
possible" The leaders had not reckoned
on that After the easy acquiescence OF
former Presidents Of that party, they were
astounded at finding in the Presidential
! chair a man Of principle and trmness.
| And when we come to look back and see
what it was that the party, in its nomi-
mating convention, really directed the
nominee to do, it is difficult to see how
one honest man could have acted other
wise than the President has done.
1t will be found that the convention re-
solved in favor Of the pacitication of the
south, saying that the party lis sacredly
pledged to the permanent pacitication of
the southern section of the Mon, and the
complete protection Of its citizens in the
free enjoyment of all their rights" Any
radical denouncer of the President would
choke seriously over those words, and
could only parry their force by bald
declaration that the platform was a cheat
and fraud, and designed to be such.
There is portion of the party who do
not find their chief objection to Mr.. Hayes
in his adhesion to the above declaration,
but consider the abolition of the old rule
for making appointments to office, and the
civil service reform as much more obnoX-
ious. They have only to turn to the res
olutions passed at Cincinnati to find the
following declarations
As under the Constitution the President and
| heads OF departments are to make nominations for
| office the Senate is to advise and consent to APP
pointmcnts. and the House is to accuse and pros
ecute tathless officers. the best interests Of the
| public service demand that these distinctions be
respected that Senators and Representatives., who
NAV be Judges and accusers should not dictate ap
polntmentS to office.
That certainly is plain enough in re-
spect to the source from which appoint
ments should not come. SO is the decla-
ration is respect to civil service, which
! announces that
The invariable rule in appointment should have
reference to the honesty, fidelity, and capacity Of
the appointees, giving to the party in power those
places where harmony and vigor of administration
require its policy TO be represented but permitting
all others to be filled by persons selected with sole
reference to the efficiency OF the public service
and the right OF all citizens to share i'll the honor
| Of rendering faithful service to the country"
Viewing the Presidents course in the
light of these plain rules, laid down for
| his guidance, it will be seen that he has
got his party in Il very tight place, to use
a slang phrase. He can appeal to the
record, and bring to confusion all his ac-
cusers. He has simply done that which
he was directed to do; and less than
what he has done would have been faith
| lessness to the pledges which the party
itself enacted from him.
In short, the parties to this controversy,
the President on the one hand and the
party leaders on the other, have got up
a very pretty quarrel. How long it may
endure, or With what result no one can
safely predict. There are signs that the
tremendous pressure brought upon the
administration to lift from the office hold
ers the Introduction against interference
in elections, is having some effect. The
alarming state of things in the fall cleo
tons, with the strong probability of a gen
cral sweep by the Democrats, has caused
a panic that has reached even to the
| White House. One of its fruits is the
letter of Attorney-General Devens to his
Massachusetts friends, in which he 'learns
with surprise and regret that any Repub-
lican official hesitatcs either to speak or
vote" Which means that the numerous
body of officials are expected to unfold
their arms and help to save Massachu-
sets to the party. Undoubtedly a like
intimation has been conveyed to Pennsvl-
vania, where similar danger to the party
exists. The resultwill probably be to oil
up and set in motion anew the rusty party
machinery, and to place on record the fact
that the Presidents intention to carry out
in his administration the dress parade
down. The Democracy meantime look
on in amused interest, counting with GER
tainty on the coming time when their
complete and mdisputed triumph in the
nation will leave their discordant Oppo-
nents nothing to quarrel about.
fares between Boston and the towns in
Maine The fare from this city to Boston
is increased about one dollar, while that
to Portland is reduced. The local fares
on the Maine Central have been reduced,
and the managers say that further reduc-
lions will be made. The reason given for
this change is that the railroads have suf-
fered greatly from what is called "ticket
scalping' That is, person desiring to
go only to Portland, say from Bangor,
would buy ticket to Boston for six dol
lars, and after it had taken him to Port
land, could dispose of it to a speculator
at price that would make his own fare
less than the regular rates, and leave the
purchaser handsome margin on which
to sell again. This speculation has been
a constant drain upon the companies, and