Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1881-05-19
Win ngton, Thursday, May 10, 1881
The Resignation of the New York
Senator'S.

hut war, AMI war to the kuife against |
The President he and his friends put into |
the White House after considerable hest |
tstion, and who they think has treated |
them with ingratitude and bad faith. |
The Joint letter Of Senators Conkling and |
platt to Governor Cornell is simply the |
formal declaration of war, and is intended |
as all such declarations are Ia set forth |
the reasons and justification for beginning |
hostilities. Reading the letter in the
light which recent history throws |
upon it we must concede that the |
provocation is ample and that the war
was to be expected. 1t is known to
everybody familiar with politics that Mr.. |
Garfield could not have been made Presi-
dent without the electoral vote of New
York, and it is equally apparent that
without the arrangement made by Conk
ling, Arthur 4 ca. with Tammany Demo
Gratis Mr.. Garfield would not have got the
vote of that State. He and his
friends actively and urgently sole
tied the aid of Mr.. Conkling, and,
there is no doubt from all
the evidence, obtained it by promises
which Mr.. Conkling certainly believes
have been violated. But aside from this
the events that have taken place as set
Orth in the joint letter show clear acts of
aggression by the President against Mr..
Conkling and enable the latter to present
stronger case than we were disposed at
first to admit that he had.
There was no public reason for making
any change in the New York Custom
House. Collector Merritt was capable
and faithful officer, and, withal, no special
friend of Conkling's. The Presidents
own pretended principles forbade him dis
turbing such an officer in the middle of
his term of Office. All he had to do was
leave him alone to have peace. Instead OF
doing this he made nearly a dozen
changes in office simply to get the oppor-
tunity to put into the Custom House a
man who is claimed by no one to be more
competent for the place than Mr.. Merritt
was. Why! There is but one answer
anywhere to this. Mr.. Robertson is the
leader of the faction of New York Repub-
licans hostile to Mr.. Conkling
and was as such offered the
most important New York Office
within the gift OF the President as a
reward for acts of defiance to Mr.. Conk-
ling and the majority of New York Re-
publicans supporting the latter. There
is no denial of this by anybody. But it
further appears that this easily avoidable
breach of the peace of the party was no
hasty act, into the maintenance of which
the Administration was forced by the indis-
erection and arrogance of the New York
Senator as was supposed by many.
Mr. Conkling and his friends evidently
desired and endeavored to establish
peaceful and pleasant relations with the
Administration. Instead of denouncing
the act roundly from the first he
quietly and with perfect courtesy and tenn
perance protested promptly against the
appointment as one offensive to himself
and likely to injure the party. In this
he was joined by his colleague, Mr., Plat.
Vice President Arthur and the New York
member of the Cabinet, Postmaster
General James. This was such a r.pr..
sentation as almost any President would
have accounted sufficient reason for with.
drawing nomination. but, insured bv
Blaine, Mr.. Garfield refused to make auy
concession, whereupon Mr.. Conkling he.
gan the fight which has eliminated in
these designations.
We have not particle of respect fo,
the political motives and methods of Mr.
Roscoe Conkling, but he is no fool and is
moreover, We believe, no coward. I'm
less the friends of the President hav,
some rebutting evidence to offer w,
think he has in his manifesto mad
It clear that he was not tn
aggressor in this fight. but that it wa
deliberately forced on him bv the Pr.si
o'eAA uo"h ana destroy Mr. Conkling'
ieaoersh'p IN ms own party IN New York
uhuer the circumstances, since Mr.. Conk
ing Is not coward, We cannot see tina
mere was anything Tor him to do but