New-York tribune., 1878-04-13

fence that the best friends of the Administration
can bring is that the President means well. IN
douhtedly he means well. Undoubtedly he did not
design, when he wrote his letter of acceptance
when he delivered his inaugural address to forty
millions of people, to ignore all his professions
and promises in twelvemOnth. Undoubtedly he
has always looked little way ahead to time
when he eould and would begin to put his reform
into motion, and make appointments except for
merit, and no removals except for cause; but al
ways. before he got to it, there would start up an
Ohio man who had not a place, or irate South
erner who must be appeased, a Northern maicon-
tent who might be secured, and he has said to Re-
form, go thy way for this time; when / have
convenient season l will call for thee
But we, the people, judge of what
the President means only by what he
does. When he removes an efficient officer
we infer that he meant TO remove him.
When he instas an untTied man over the heads of
faithful and experienced officers, we do not think
he meant to promote the old officers. When lie
makes and changes appointments at the beck and
call of Democratic Senators, we do not see in the
act his intent to maintain the independence of the
separate departments of the Government And we
resent not so much the things done as the
afront put upon our intelligence by the loud
resounding declarations that these things should
II
their drums and sounded their gonCs and
chanted their protestatons of unselfsh states
manship as if the clang and clatter would
prevent us from discovering that they were all
the while ndustriousy and indecently dividing the
spOls among themselves. President Grant brought
the methods the Army into the State and outraged
the country by some disastrous mistakes but in
nothing did he do MS much harm as in this that
his bad appointments, due whether to the blindness
of personal friendship to military habit to
whatever cause made possible the present carnival
and chaos of sham reform.
While l am writing this the newspapers tell lis
that at least the approving word has been spoken OF
Administration reform. The Hon. Charles Foster
in the privacy of a party caucus, has yentured to
say that at least the wear has produced scandals
Very true. The scandal-mOngers are in office. AS
Mr.. George c. Gorham declares with a rather pre-
Raphelitic vigor which the Reformers will find it
hard TO forgive "The swilltub is the especial prop
ertv of the Reformers7 They are still, because
they are there The men whose sole political ques-
ton was Office and whose sole political capital,
SANDER: who gloated over all the scandal they could
find, invented all they could not and proclaimed
both with equal zest have got possession of the Ad-
ministratton and from the moment of their first
clutch silence like pOutice came to heal the blows
of sound.
am willing to grant what shall presently show,
that the President alone is not fault but that II Is
also the fault of the situation. 1t is not necessary
to ascribe the wreck of matter and the crash of
worlds TO deliberate design. 4 President might
have a great deal more "forcc or independence"
than The Boston advertiser attributes to Mr.. Hayes,
and not be able to collide with Mr. Eaton's re-
form without crash Of something
The Websters and Clays and Calhouns, to whose
early warnings of peril Mr. Eaton calls our attcn-
tion, did indeed disapprove of General Jackson's
way of doing things; but when they had the chance
they did not let the grass under their feet be-
fore walking in the same way themselves And
where Webster went what course should expect Of
Hayes who if not second in ability is yet far below
Webster in political experience But Mr.. Eaton
announces that Mr. Hayes is faithfully following his
path Mr. Eaton's position is that there has been no
crash. Mr. Eaton maintains that every thing is rum
ming smoothly. Mr. Eaton says that the President
has Justly interpreted the pledges given And King
Solomon furnishes ground for believing that though
Mr. Eaton were brayed in mortar among wheat
with a peste, he would say the same thing with
every thud.
"'And everybody praised the
Who this gfpat fCht Gld win
But what good came Of IL at last 4
QuOth little Pcterkiu
why, that cannot ten said he,
. But twas a famous victory" "
GAII. HAMILTON.