The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-02-26
The Next President and Lord Roscoe.


Whether or not the President-elect
will faithfully adhere to the stipulations
made by him with the representatives
of the ..'stalwart'' wing of his party in
the treaty of Mentor is question which
at present excites considerable specula-
ton. Some days ago Mr.. Hayes sent
to the Senate two nominations to Fed
eral offices in the State of New York,
one for the Postmastership at Albany,
the other for the Collectorship at Buff
falo, which are regarded by the politi-
cal wise-acres at Washington as indica-
tive of the determination of General
Garfield to ignore the Conkling faction
in his distribution of the spoils. The
present incumbents of the offices re-
ferred to are friends of Senator Conk-
ling and their terms of Office will not
expire until the latter part OF next Feb
ruary. The persons named as their
successors are known as opponents of
the Conkling faction. The fact that
Mr.. Hayes has made such exceeding
haste in sending these nominations
to the Senate is calculated to excite a
suspicion that something more than
his weli-known devotion to Civil Service
reform moved him in the matter. Put
ting this and that together the political
soothsayers at Washington find that Mr..
Hayes sent these nominations to the
Senate at so early date in order that
Senator Conkling may not defeat their
confirmation by dilatory tactics, that
because General Garfield had a personal
and secret conference with Mr.. Hayes
just before these nominations were
made they were inspired by the Presi-
dert-elect, and it is therefore predicted
that the leader of the New York a. stall
warts will get the cold shoulder from
the incoming Administration Whether
there is or is not any warrant for such
prediction IT is certain that General
Garfield's predictions and sympathies
are for the anti-stalwart wing of his
party. He likes to be regarded as a
''scholar in politics." He affects ut
once the dilIettanteism of Curtis, the
scholarship of Sumner and the nation
alism OF Winthrop. What can a man
with such tastes and feelings have in
common with the Conklings, the
Camerons and the Logans? But, on
the other hand, it is true that his public
career is utterly void of any evidence
that he is a man of strong convictions or
that he possesses the courage of such
convictions as he has professed. In Con-
gress his course was not governed by
any fixed principles of political science
or public morality. He was all things
to all men, On the tariff question.
amnesty. troops at the polls, Federal
election Marshals, it was "Good Lord,
good devil" as best suited his purpose
at the time. 1t is therefore not unreal
sonable to believe that he has been play
ing fast and loose with the s'stalwarts'
and that he will cheat them as he will
cheat anybody else ID he concludes that
the deceit will prosper. If he suggested
to Mr.. Hayes that the appointments for
the Federal Offices becoming vacant be-
fore the fourth of March should be
made at once, he probably did SO to re-
lieve himself to the extent of those APP
pointments from any difficulty with
Senator Conkling. But the imperious
and petulant nature of the New York
Senator will be aroused by this exercise
of Punic faith, and he will refuse to be
pacified until General Garfield shall
surrender to him the control of the
Federal Offices in the Empire State. In
deed conflict between Conkling and
the new Administration will be inevita-
Bile unless the Cabinet shall control the
Chief and not the Chief the Cabinet
Harrisburg Patriot.