Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-28

I
FoIger has been on the bench. and his ac-
quirements and tastes are said to be legal
principally, but since he has never been in
position in which he was called upon to
discuss financial questions, it cannot be
asserted positively that he is ignorant con-
corning them. Judge Chase was a lawyer,
but when he was placed at the head of the
Treasury he showed that he had studied
fuance as well as law, and had all his
recommendations been acted upon the
country would have saved great deal of
money, and not irnpossibly have ended the
rebellion much sooner.
But Mr.. Conkling has been for years il
a position where he was actually called
upon to discuss financial questions where
he was under obligations to inform himself
on the subject; yet where he never ex-
hibited the least comprehension of or in
terest in the problems which the whole
country was considering. During the
whole period of his public life he has
never made one speech on finance. The
country must judge public men by their
records, and Mr.. Cenkling's record shows
that he has absolutely ignored the mo-
mentous questions with which Secretary
of the Treasury has to deal. Everyone
knows perfectly well where General Car
field stood on this and all other issues of
Importance. His financial speeches will
always live, because they embody lucid
and vigorous expoaitions of great economic
Secretary of the Treasury, had he lived,
and there is no doubt that Mr.. Window
was indebted to the President for very
much of his financial knowledge. But no
man can pretend that Mr.. Conkling knows
anything of finance. He has had not
alone the opportunity but the need for ex-
hibiting such knowledge, had he possessed
it. 1t was his duty to his party and his
country to fortify the cause of honest
money when that cause was being assaulted
on all sides. But he never uttered word
in its defense. He never raid anything
that indicated even a passing acquaintance
with the subject.
1t must be assumed that President Ar
thur desires to make a creditable Admins
tration, but he cannot do this unless he
surrounds himself with men who possess
go ne higher capacities than that of run
ming the "machine." 1t has been said
that he will make his Administration
"stalwart" But it must be remembered
that stalwartism " is not principle. 1t
is merely name employed to designate
obstinate adherence to the political meth
DDS which wrecked General Grants second
Administration. To put it forward, there
fore, as an explanation of what President
Arthur's policy will be, is almost equiva-
lent to boasting that he will refuse to be
taught by experience, and that he will reso-
lu:ely follow policy which, even in
stronger hands than his, has already led to
defeat and humiliation. And to make Mr..
Conkling Secretary of the Treasury would
be to convince the country that the most
sinister predictions we're about to be full
filed. 1t would be even worse than to
make him Secretary of State, though that
would be to show singularly unfortunate
estimate Of what was needed for such a
position. Mr.. Conkling has, it is true,
failed to make his mark in many other sub.
jects. 1t is not only in finance that he has
left blank page. But the fact that he
has been precisely where, if anywhere, he
could and should have made good fnan-
cial record, would appear to emphasize the
selection of such person as a deliberate
affront to the reasonable requirements of
the country.
We hope that the reports on this head
are without foundation. They certainly
are not calculated to increase confidence in
the new administration. 1t may be hard
for President Arthur to realize, but there
is no escape from the conclusion that the
appointment of Mr.. Conkling to the
Treasury wonld inevitably discredit his
administration at the outset, and that al
most hopelessly. And the public would
be the more uneasy because they have had
reason to apprehend that Mr.. Conkling,
while totally destitute of the knowledge
necessary for guidance in such an Office,
would undertake to follow his own crude
ideas without the least hesitation and
with plenary confidence in his ability
to do the work without having learned
how. Such man as Secretary of the
Treasury would be very dangerous, and the
greater his self.assurance the more mis-
chief would he be certain to do. 1t would
be better to keep Judge Folger in the Office
until he has learned the work, than to SUBJ
stitute for him politician who would net
take the pains to teach himself anything.
but at the same time would listen to no
ady;ca from better informed suhordinatas