The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1877-07-12
Chns. Il. Adams and the Presi-
agnU

In one of the rooms of the Adams
homestead, at Quincy. Mass, hang por-
traits of two Presidents of the United
States. In that room Charles Francis
Adams received the Sun reporter, n
talked for an hour about the methods
by which Il. B. Hayes attained the seat
once occupied by John Adams n
John Quincy Adams. Impressive
&c were the surroundings. they were
not SO impressive M the way IN
which Mr.. Adams gave his views. The
quiet dignity with which he began be-
came intense ea~rnestness rs he spoke
of the fatal results which a repetition OF
the Electoral Commission fraud would
entail. Both his manner and his words
belied the common impression that he
was cold and reserved. The scorn with
which he referred to the course Of the
three Republican Judges on that Com
mission was whitening Equally notice
able was his anxiety that measures be
taken Immediately to make the repe>
tition of the crime impossible.
II am now simply a private citizen
Mr.. Adams began. II have no wish
to go before the public. NV duties as
President of the Board of Trustees OF
Harvard College required that l should
he in Cambridge and appear publicly
with Mr.. Hayes. But the suggestion
that because l did meet him in public.
and extended to him civility which l
think proper to he extended to any one
who holds the Office which he does
because I did this that I had changed
my views as expressed in the letter to
Mr.. Tilden, which was published, is
wholly false. I have not changed
those views, MOI can I. did feel q Its
tie peculiarly when / thought OF meet
ing Mr.. Hoyes. 1t is q hard thing to
say of any man that he bears the stamp
of fraud upon his brow. and, therefore,
if Mr.. Hayes saw the letter, he must
have been tonched by it. I did not
write if for publication, but only to K
press to Mr.. Tilden some sense OF my
respect for the manner in which he had
acted, while the wrong was being done
him. But what I then wrote | still ad>
here to. Still. MI. Hayes came here.
He is the acting P~resident-not the
rightfnl President, but still he holds
the office. A certain respect is due that
office; that is all that my appearance
with Mr.. Hayes means"
"Were the oivilities paid MIR. Hayes
by the authorities extended in the same
spirit?'
massachusetts has always extended
civilities to the President. In this case
the State extended such civilities to the
acting President. She did what was
right to do. and no more"
"Can Mr.. Hsyes's trip and the evils
ty shown him be taken as an endorses
ment Of him or his policy"
1.-The trip can do him 20 harm, and
no good. One fact stands ont promin~
ent-nothing can o~vershadow it; and
that is the method by which he receiv-
ed his office. No policy of his can
atone for that"
"Then, in your opinion, the attempt
at civil service reform will not offset the
means by which he obtained the Presi-
dencv?"
"Not ct all. Civil service reform!
What is it--a mere matter of detail.
insignificant beside this n great mat
ter. Policies, reform and such things
are mere side issues. Important
enough in themselves, to be sure. But
this matter goes away down to the cues
ton of our existence. '-NeW York
San.