New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-12-28
TIE PRESIDENT And HIS TENpTERS

The opinion is expressed by n prominent
Democratic Senator, according to recent
Washington dispatch, that if the President
should again send in the names of Messrs.
Roosevelt and Prince for the positions of Col
lector and Naval Officer for this port they
would be confirmed. We are notA in
formed as to the grounds of the promi
nent Democratic Senator's belief, but we
can readily understand why any Demo-
cratic Senator, prominent or obscure, should
be quite willing to adopt such belief, even
upon inadequate grounds, and to see the Presi-
dent sufficiently influenced thereby to try the
experiment For we do not observe that
Democratic Senator puts anything at risk by
it. lie loses nothing and his party loses moth
ing if the experiment should fail and the
nominations be rejected. There's an old
story OF man i'll a bar-rOOm, who said
he could take a gold watch and put it in
mortar and pound it to fragments, then cover
it up and repeat an incarnation over it, and
restore it whole and uninjured. A person of
confding nature having furnished him an ele
giant gold stem winder, it was proceeded with
az proposed, and mashed into iufinltesimal
flinders The amateur magician then covered
ND the pieces and repeated his incantation.
But it didn't restore the watch. Then he
changed the form and tried it again, but still
without success. After several fruitless trials
he handed back the pieces to the owner,
with the remark, 81 must have forgot
"ten word. | saw man don't just by saying
ga few words over the mortar, and thought
"rd got the same words. Perhaps | left out
something" These prominent Democratic
Senators seem very willing to try experiments
in necromancy and sleight-of-hand; but it re-
mains to be seen whether President Hayes
has curiosity and confidence enough to furnish
the watch.
President Hayes in sending in the nomina
tons above referred to, has acted as every one
comedies from an honest and sincere purpose
to carry out what he cOnceiyes TO DO true
Interpretation OF that part OF the Republican
platform which relates to the reform of the
public service No one doubts the honesty of
his intentions or the purity of his motives. 1t
is simply question of Interpretation. The
Republican Senators who voted against
the confirmation of these nominees, did so
because, IA they say, their notion of
reform in the Civil Service is to estab
lish something like permanence in it
they are unwilling to consent to removals ex-
cept for satisfactory cause. So, as the case
stands between Republican President and a
Republican Senate, it is simply difference as
to the construction of an article of Republican
doctrine in u Republican platform. The Pres
ident might well enough offer to the Senate
his own Interpretation Of its meanings and
with no greater improperly the Republicans
in the Senate offer theirs. The latter do
not by any means ask the Executive to aban
don the doctrines of his party be false to
his own professions. What they have done
is simply to offer their own construction of
the platform as opposed to his The differ
ence between them upon this question has
taken concrete expression in the rejection of his
New iOrk nominations. There can be no doubt
to the factthat the voteupOn these does express
the almost unanimous opinion of the Republi-
can majority in the Senate. Under these cir
cumstances, the temptation offered the Presi-
dent by the Democratic Senators who promise