New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-04

cent,uce of the Chicago nomination wrote,
q" To select wisely from our vast population
" those who are best fitted for the many
Offices to be filed, requires an acquaintance
far beyond the range OF one man, ana
" the Executive should therefore seek ana
" receive the information and assistance OF
those whose knowledge of the communities
in which the duties are to be performed best
" qualities them to aid in making the wlSest
" choice" it was generally understood that he
had III mind the subO dinate Offices i'll the sew
eal departments of the public service. Ii
there was any reading between the lines in
these utterances it was a courteous but firm
dissent from the view of this subject taken
by President Hayes at the beginning of his
administrator. 1t was a natural Inference
that he looked upon President Hayes's policy
of appointments in the early part OF his admin
istration rs failure. That President Hayes
himself has reached the same cOnclu-
sion is manifest from the course he
has pursued with regard to several
recent appointments. The wisdom and sound
sense of General Garfeds views are accord
ingly attested by the experience of President
Hayes as well rs by popular approval But
no one supposed that in speaking OF the
Offices to be filed which required, for wise
selection, Gan acquaintance far beyond the
range of one man," he referred to Cabinet
positions, or that he had reference to the
Heads of Departments when he said the Ex-
ecuive "should seek and receive the informa-
| " ton and assistance OF those whose k Owlcdge
"of the communities i'll which the duties are
" to be performed best qualities them to aid IN
"making the wisest chOice.U
But if we are 10 accept the construction of
The ACu- FORK HNdH, whose acknowledge
of the communities In which the duties of"
Cabinet officers are to be performed Is only
exceeded 10y its willingness to volunteer its
information, we have all been wrong i'll Civ
ing this extract from the letter of acceptance
too narrow Il scope and too limited an appl-
cation. 1t seems that the PrcsIdcnt-elcct in
tended to put himself on record az lnvit-
ing the information and assistance of those
best qualified, etc., in choosing, not
only Postmastcrs and Collectors, but the MEN,
hcrs OF his Cabinet Citing the letter of accept
ancc accordingly as its commission, and mod
c>lly assuming that the call tor the information
and assistance of the best qualified Is directed
10 itself. it has been devoung itself Of late
with uncommon as>duity 10 the Sclt-mp0Scd
TASK of "mIhiuS the wis"St choice" OF IL Cab
met for the Prcsdcnt-clrct. Laborug under
tho dclu-ion that the Pr",dcut-elcct did have
sucicnt acquaintance with public men to be
able 10 choose Cabinet advisers for himself
though he mi-ht not know all tho candidates
for Postmaster in the county, TIE TRIBUNE
ha~ not volunteered It's adv cc IN the matter
On the contrary, It has expressed tie opinion
though bc"orc or contemporary had put IL
new gloss upon the letter OF acceptance, OF
coulsc-thlt General Garfield would probably
select q Cabinet to suit himself a task tor
which We believe h,m to be fully competent.
We understand now that TIL, was all wong
1t WAS in TAFT " sycophantr toad ism,' and
that General Garfield II he knows his bust
ur>e, will smile cOHtcmptuOuSy upon 1t while
hc accepts, the Information and assistance OF
the brst qualified.
We accept the rrbukc with mccknesS and
look on with wonder and admiration while
cur "bcst qua if'd' contemporary, The
toc- iork Ht,aH makes, uumatc> and rom@kr,
the coming Cabinet. Aud now that il Is -ct-
a. Il that ITS niormlti,n and assistance were
formally invited. We cannot but Icjoicc mt
the cainc,tncs- it displays. We do not per-
NIT ourselves 10 doubt that the President
temporary will finally "as,a'' HIM To. If he
should not-,ud in this scrptical age there
may be those who doubt-Hc shall still say
that our contemporary HIS discharged high
public duty with a socmnity and seriousness
that entitled il opinions 10 great weight, and
that il il not Our contemporaries fault if the
Plc-idcut -clrct maxi, mistake. But it CALI
not he that the Information and assistance"
OF the best qualified" ,mptied out
upon him a. it were 10y the column.
will bo di,lcgaldcd by General Gar
field If he sees it-ah. fearful thought :
suppose he doesn't see 1T And now 1t comes
back to lis that, early in the last campaign, our
contemporary told General Garfield in its own
earnest way that If he did not publish new
defence against the charges affecting his per-
sonal integrity he would surely be de fcated.
There is no evidence that he ever received
the message. 1t may bc-we shudder ut the
thought-that he does not read our contcm-
porary. In that case, he may be driven TO
select Cabinet for himself. Wcpause before the
horrors that contingency entails. And yet-and
yct-nOw we think of 1.-THE did not answer the
call for n new defence; and he was motif our
memory serves us-was not defeated. All may
not even then be lost Let us hope then, first,
of course, that he will appoint the Cabinet our
contemporary assists him to but ii he should
not happen to hear of it IN tme-why, then,
that he may be as lucky in escaping the con-
sequences az he was last November when the
call for a new defence failed to reach him.
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1t is gratifying to learn that the project of
Geological Garden in tina city IS by no means hope
auIt
the work Of arranging the grounds and putting up
Inn hnIInra IA 49, le will