The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-04-01
President Hayes and the RePubiicsn
Senators.

| done or said in the caucus Of republican
Senators on Saturday. There are, doubtless,
| good reasons for the discreet silence which
is observed by the participants The pro-
csedings are hidden from a sense OF their
emptiness. Had they amounted to any
thing, had they foreshadowed any political
result or any strenuous attempt to reach
result, the Senators who were present would
| not have practised so much reticence. They
are silent because they have nothing to tell
because the proceedings were mere gab-
BILE, which started from no premises
and came to no conclusion. The
secret caucus of Saturday Is significant
only in this respect, that it betokens ner-
vous anxiety respecting the future OF the
| republican party. II was a council OF polit-
| ical physicians resulting in disagreement as
to remedies The only thing it proves is
| the desperate condition Of the patient. 1t
reached no conclusion as to whether DIR.
Hayes shall be dismissed or retained, much
less as to any course Of treatment which
ought to be adopted, either conformity with
him or in spite of him. The republican
party has lost it's grip of the situation. 1t
drifts in the waves like n ship without
rudder.
In the present embittered state Of feeling
reconciliation with Mr.. Hayes is improb-
able but if the republican crew were to
throw him overheard as o political Jonah
there is no certainty that they would be
able to bring their ship into port. The
democrats are in fair way to gain complete
control of the government--'.not that them
| selves are wise, bat others weak" During
| the last two years Of President Hayes term
the democrats are almost certain to have a
| majority Of the Senate, and they have moro
! than an even chance for retaining their con-
| troll Of the House. When the democratic
/ party comes to have majority In both
branches Of Congress it will cease to be OF
any consequence to the republicans whether
the President is with them or against them.
| This is the result toward which our present
politics tend, and when it is realized the
last two years Of President Hayes admins
tration will be equally uncomfortable for
him and his party. 1t is probably too late
to avert this catastrophe, and an abortive
caucus, like that Of Saturday, is only
note of despair.
Who is responsible for the impending
| downfall Of the great, powerful, and in
some respects glorious republican party?
| The blame will have to be shared between
the leaders of the party and President
Hayes, although, perhaps, in unequal pro-
portions. DISTINGUISHED spectators, who
watch politics Us a game to estimate the
skill Of the players, are likely to regard Mr..
Hayes as a bungler, although he had truer
| perception than his party Of the impotence
of spent issues. He has ruined his party
| By misapplication Of correct principles.
The most successful politicians have gener-
ally been those who did not proclaim their
i ultimate ends. The republican party sue
ceeded in abolishing slavery by concealing
or disavowing this aim while it was seek
ing power and protesting that its only OBJ
| ject was to prevent the extension Of slavery
into the Territories Our Revolution
| airy !, fathers restrained themselves for
years from claiming anything beyond
their rights us English subjects, and there
by gradually educated the colonies up to
the point of asserting their independence.
| President Lincoln took unwearied pains to
bluff the abolitionists until he became salts
fed that the country was ripe for his i'm
mortal proclamation. But Mr.. Hayes, by n
surprising want of tact, has attempted 10
drive the wedge butt end foremost. He has
made mistake like that which Mr.. Lincoln
would have perpetrated had he issued tho
/ -: - he
break OF the civil war. A ruler who has not
the moral confluence to "bide his time" and
wait for the fruit to ripen on the tree be-
fore attempting to pluck it was not
born TO achieve great results. Fore
sight and patience and capacity to
wait for the harvest before thrusting in the
sickle, in other words, "a wise and
mastery inactivity" is among the first
requisites in statesman. Mr.. Hayes
might have been very successful If he had
not insisted on baking his loaf before the
! oven was heated and even before the wheat
was ground into flour.
He displayed this impractical turn Of
| mind at the very outset of the Presidential
canvass. by the advice of Mr.. Schurz, or
whoever counsellcd him in preparing his
letter Of acceptance, he collected from the
republican platform the things which had
been put in for buncombc as the points for
him to emphasize. The consequence was
that his letter was utterly ignored in
the canvass, which was conducted on
the old republican issues. Mr.. Schurz
was the only republican speaker who fol-
lowed the letter of acceptance, and in the
midst Of the canvass protest was made
against his speeches which compelled him
to tack ship lest no should be discredited
and silenced. Had the canvass been pur-
sued in Seizures vein Mr.. Hayes would not
have come within sight of an election. But
though ailapt uudpr the rebuko which