Daily Republican., 1881-07-28
j. Nhe Lsssom Tau&ht.

every thing that transpires, tuea'te'hpt-
oh assassinatiou of President Garfield
teaches great lesson which snouio DC
immediately learned and pract,ceo ny
the American people. 1t shoaid De 'eofe
impressed upon the public welfare now
that its thoughts are turned IN inst d.
rection and that IL is trying TO i'"i"
the causes which led to 1t. lp1 SUI
stance of the lesson taught is, 'i'"t II lS
,;me to stop caHseless and mstlsnant
sbuse of our public servants such a'
has been going on in the case Oh our
,H;.+ea ruler. ever since hf- lnaugu'
ration. four months ago. 1t would
saem that a campaign of six months,
info which were emptied out all the VI
ais of vituperation and raieVolehce
which one party could bring against
another should have been period long
enough to exhaust this kind ofwarfare'
and that when duly eSacted of''cer'
ware installed into place there woia
be a cessasion of such hostilities ana
consequent submission te lawfully con-
stitutel authority.
i Without pretending n implicate any
individual! or clique or faction IN 'h1s
general arraignment, we do say tha'
there Is a lesson to be learned in TINS
which Republicans and Democrats aiike
may take to neart with considerable
proft. The aeaseles> warfare upon
those invested with high trusts and
grave responsibilities should be discon'
mnued At least, as in the case OF Gen
e,al Garfield. the chief executive officer
ofthe nation should have been given a
chance before having been 50 viclously
denounced. He had been probably the
best abused man that ever run for the
Presidency. He was vilitied aud de
cried like a niCkpocket and denounced
as a perjurer and public plunderer
Grave and terrible as were these charS-
es. the shafts OF malevclence aimed at
his character fell harmless at his feet.
Almost unpardonable as they We're,
even in hotly contested campaign,
there was still some excuse,
though no justification for such
conduct under such circutn-
stances. This was done mostly i'll the
phrensy Of political excitement and in
the great struggle for power which was
the imprlling cause But there are
papers, one OF them in this city that
kept up the relentless warfare upon the
President until the time of his attempt,
al assassination. If what this paper
said against the President was true,
and it believed it to be true, even the
attempt to take the Presidents lit
should have been no excuse to stop 1t!
warfare. II it believed that Genera
Garfield took bribes and was Il corrup
dishonest man before he was elected
and that he wrote the Chinese More.
letter, the fact that his life was at
tempted to be taken does not wash gu
his crimes, and therefore the silence o
that paper now upon that subject i
not so much sign Of penitrncc as II i
\ dread of facing the popular Will.
But it seems to us that having hrcl
duly elected and installed into office
there should have been an end 10 tn
Ders.stcnt detraction and systenati
abuse which have charac' eriZed til
conduct of certain of his opponent
since his Inauguration. President Gai
field has done nothing in his Oi'lrla
capacity to incur the disappcoval
anybody save, perhaps the Star Eo'it
thieves, whose rascality he and ever
other good man is anxious to lay ha'
in the interest Of reform and good goN
ernlnent. We would like to see lnor
respect for autborlty-a greater rcIar
for law and order, and more Of Il g ole
fashioned reverence for our rulers. IL
us do all our fighting before an election
and after it is over stop this wholeSal
abuse of those in authority simply b'
cause they do not happen to appoir
this or that man to office There is Il
doubt that this growing disrespect ft
the powers-that be - this muc
vaunted American puffcd up idea o
'I'am just as good as anybody els
even if he is President of the Unite
States" is what is working out hi
chief, Just the kind of mischief til;
breeds bad blood and discomfort, an
that stimulates conveniently crazy to
lows like Guiteau to deeds Of horror an
blood.