The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1879-07-11
Friday, July Il, 1879.
Republican Inconsistency.

And now comes the Union with the an
nouncement that the republicans never
framed any such theory as charged by
The ARGUS, namely-that as yet no at
tempt has been made by the republican
editors to explain why it was right to pass
appropriations with riders in the Kansas
matter and wrong now. The Unlo"
further says we claim for the President
the Same right to disapprove a
rider" as he has to veto the same legis
ation in a separate bill, and that when
objection is made that the Democrats
should either pass their bill over the veto,
or being unable to. abandon the riders
and vote the appropriations necessary
to keep the wheels Of government in
motion"
The Inconsistency Of the position of the
Union is apparent, 1t admits the right oil
Congress to pass riders on appropriation
bills, and then 10 the same sentence says.
they cannot, or virtually so, for ii the
executive has first to be consulted before
congress passes an appropriation bill, the
latter body would appear to be mere
machine to do the bidding and conform to
the ideas of the executive. In other
words the Union takes the position that
the congress, or legislative branch of the
government IS subservient to the exec.
utive. According to the theory of our
republican contemporary, the executive is
the power that controls.
The Union again hopelessly blunders,
for when Andrew johnson was the presi-
dent of the United States, and congress
was republican, he exercised what the re-
publcans so frequently term his constitu-
tonal prerogative,. and there was an at
tempt,made to impeach him. Now if he
was aorong, will the Union explain by what
law Hayes is riqht? The Union, in fact,
does not attempt to answer the charges in
The ARGUS for the simple reason that
the statements are indisputable. But the
Union must say something to satisfy its
readers and strings out lot of balderdash,
palming it off as an argument to sustain
an untenable position. 1t is idle for the
republican party to charge the democrats
with failure to provide for the marshals
and their deputies, because the record
shows the contrary. The democrats passed
all the appropriations; provided for al
of the legitimate expenses of the govern
ment; aud the blame for blocking the
wheels of the government rests with The
pretender Hayes and his political wire
pullers. The fact is the Union in its yea
to crawl out of corner uncovers the rea
spirit of the republican programme. anC
that the aim and intent of that party i
Capitalization, The expression ''the indie
pendence of the executive has
deeper and more significant meaning
than appears on the surface, TO
it means that under Grant regime. the ex
ecutive would be the supreme ruler Of tn
nation; that the states would have no re
cognized rights; that an attempt on th
part of congress to object to ar bitrary ez
ercise of power by the executive would b
tending to destroy his independence,
aud sufficient cause for the issuance of a
edict dissolYing congress and the assump
ton ofentire control by the one man powe
under that peculiarly republican schen
the so called national supremacy.
This is no fancy coIored picture as mar
may imagine, and as our republican frienC
will Of course tell you. but an entirely pc
sible result of what could easily happt
under the law of national supremacy. I'll
Union has not explained that when IL
Kansas matter was the topic of disput
the republicans then considered it pc
fectly legitimate Was it revolutiona
then? If it was not, is it revolutiona
now? The Union is still at liberty to e
plain il it can, this little conundrul
Again The ARGUS asserts, without fear
contradiction that the republicans d
Tended the Kansas matter but denoun
the present democratic position. T
question of legal right in each case
identical one with the other, The Uni
knows this to be SO The repubica
know it to be so, and their party papt
have not attempted to answer except
lodging. The true position or rather t
true-nwardness of the republican positi
is that, the executive has the right TO d
tate TO congress how appropriations sh
be expended, and the further right to ;
sumo that the said appropriations sh
not be passed except in such manner
the one man power may determine.
this is not Capitalization, what is it?
-