The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1877-03-09
The Duty of the Hour.

me Duty OF the Hour.
The Inauguration of Rutherford b. Hayes
is now an accomplished fact, and if he lives
lie will continue for four years to draw the
pay and enjoy the emoluments of the Office
and his acts rs President will he as valid as
though he had been the clear and unequvocal
choice of the people.
No man everbetorc entered upon the duties
of the high and responsible position of Pres
dent under such adver- circumstances and
it will require more mind and nerve than
Hayes has yet shown to avoid the breakers
which lie before him. Two paths are open
TO him, and in choosing either he may find
himself so beset with difficulties and dangers
that he will wish he had taken the other
One of these is to follow in the footsteps of
his immediate predecessor and thus continue
the evil and corrupt system of misgovern-
ment which led a majority of the people to
condemn Republicanism at the polls last
November by electing Tilden. Following
Grants course he will still further ALLEVIATE
from Repubicansm thousands ofvoters who
see no necessity for keeping up sectional
strife, 'sapping the foundations of the gov
eminent, and destroying the Southern States,
in order to benefit n horde of carpet baggcrs,
who alone thrive amid the ruin they have
created.
Another course is TO cut loose from ma
jority of his party, and institute an entirely
new and satesmanlike policy towards the
T., lao will ln
very men who raised him to power, and pro-
claim to the world that the Republican policy
of the last twelve years has been one of de-
struction instead of reconstruction. Such
policy will cost him the support of large
and influential element in the Republican
party, who, finding themselves and their
views ignored, will turn upon and rend him.
Thus hated by a large PORTION of his own
party and despised by the Democrats, he
will find his path anything but peace.
Nothing can be predcatcd of President
Hayes's future course from his inaugural ad-
dress. No words however fair, or promises
however specious, can be relied on when
they come from the lips of man who &C,
ccpts the Presidency against the wishes of
a majority of his fellow countrymen. He
must be judged by what he does rather than
by what he says.
The Democrats can afford to leave him to
his own devices, feeling assured that his
troubles will be neither few nor light, and
his wrong will bring its own punishment.
If any benefit 10 the country should come
from his administration, good men of all
parties will be thankful. At the same time,
no act of his, however praseworthy, can
ever wipe out the guilty stain of the stupen-
dous fraud by which he reached the seat OF
Washington, and although the people OF the
country may render a pessive respect to him
rs the occupant of the Presidential chair,
they will neither forgive not forget and in
good time will administer n crushing rcbuke
to the men who set aside the plain dictates
of justice and law in bis behalf
Continued agitation can no longer be benc-
fetal to the country, and it is therefore the
duty of every patriot to endure with patience
the wrong that has been inflicted, and endeay-
or to make the best out Of the situation
VIC DellcNC w III NC Il ICNlN III vi INC ltll-
gushing industries of the country, not be-
cause Hayes is President, but in spite of it.
Ever since the panic of 1878, the people OF
the United Suites have been praclicing econ
omy, paying their debts, making no rash
ventures and bringing things generally into
sound and safe condition. Wildcat spec
ulations and unsafe business enterprises have
crumbled to pieces and the pulse of business
now beats in even and measured tones
The reaction from the terrible excitement OF
the last few months may occasion tempo
rary depression, but II revival will come and
the pent up business of the country will burst
its barriers and flow in its accustomed chan
nels
If Governor Tiden had secured the place
to which the people elected him, an era OF
prosperity would have Immediately begun
the parallel Of which the country has never
before witnessed. He would have occupied
at the outset no doubtful or equivocal pc.
siton. His views and policy were well
known and assured. There would have been
an end Of military interference with lawful
CbNlt ltlOllDS III every depart
ment of the public service would have been
instituted and vigorously pressed economy
in the expenses of the government would
have been vigorously enforced the burdens
of the people would have been lightened
and the Federal government restored to its
legitimate functions as the agent net the i'm
pera ruler of the States. Under the admin
istration of Hayes all these results are more
than we can expect; but good or bad, as it
may prove, we nevertheless believe there
will soon be restoration of business TO some
extent, and an approach to better times. AT
any rate we can hope for The best, and when
ever an opportunity occurs, express at the
polls our condemnation of the wrong that
has been done. Thus hoping and working,
with every man doing his duty in his ap-
pointed place, we may reap whatever of good
is 10 be obtained by patiently bearing the
unavoidable, and earnestly striving for better
things.
The Triumph OF Wrong.