Daily Republican., 1881-05-17
TUESDAY, MAY II. 1851.
The New York Senators and the
PRESIDENT.

CdI SouSdtlOH. OendlOIS NolhitliS anu
Platt, of Now York, have taken the
last step so far as their connection with
the administration is concerned, and by
their own acts they have severed them
selves from the Senate of which they
were members. The people who have
been watching the course of these Sen
ators, were prepared to hear of some
sudden coup de etat, but it must be
confessed that the thought that they
would take the step they have taken
never entered their minds, though there
may have been an ardent wish by many
that they would take that step. OF MI
Platt we have naught to say except
that he is only part of Mr.. Conkling,
apparently owned by him, and bound
to dance whenever the master tiddles.
Conkling is the Marplot of the ad-
ministration, the John Kelly of the
Republican party. That he is endowed
with an intellect and mind equal, if not
superior, to any member of the Senate
cannot be denied, but the greatness of
the State he represents has intoxicated
his brain. He is the spoiled child Of
the State, and like that spoiled child if
he cannot have his own way will not
permit any ono else to have his
way if he can help it, But what is the
cause of the quarrel between the Presi-
dent and Conkling? Simply that the
President appointed Judge Robertson,
of West Chester County, New York, TO
be collector of the Port of New York |
without asking Senator Conkling's per
mission, or rather without asking
whether it would be agreeable to him.
Has the President the right to do this
Undoubtedly he has, but Senatorial |
courtesy comes in to play an important
part. 1t had generally been the custom
for the President in making nomina.
tons for important offices especially, to
consult with the Senators from the
State in which the appointment is made,
and in doing so the President was often
coerced into making Objectionable ap-
pointmentS which reflected discredit
upon his administration. The Consti-
tuition gives the President the sole right
to appoint certain officers and as he is
TO be held responsible for the conduct of
these officers it can easily be seen why
he should be left untrameled in making
choice.
In the case Of the collector of the
Port of New York, President Garfield
wanted Judge Robertson, an honest,
pure, upright man, man who had
never stopped to become contaminated
with the lower strata in politics, to be
collector of the Port of New York
during his administration. He knew
that Mr.. Robertson would reflect credit 5
upon the administration. He knew l
that he was popular and had been a
repeatedly elected to fill an Of e
fee from strong Democratic g
County from ,whiChno other Republican Il
could have been elected. He knew that L
he belonged to the independent wing Il
of the Republican party which carried v
the State of New York for the Repub- a
licans and without which he (the Pre- e
sident) could not have been elected. D
Tho praSidant vUantaI 70 ra,,rrri,a +b;g 4
element in his appointments, and while r
he singled out Judge Robertson for the I
leading Office in the State the other ap- L
pointments he made were all friends of a
Senator Conkling 1t would seem that .
this should have satisfied any reason. /
able man-yeS il would have satisfied Z
him, but the difficulty was that Sena- II
tor COnkling was unreasonable In q
perious in his sway he wanted to com 81
pei the President to come and con- a
suit with him as to who should be ap- u
pointed. This the President has not b
seen proper to do, as much as he might 81
have desired to conciiate Mr.. Conkling, te
He knew the latter'S domineering spirit
and he resolved to steer clear of an omen
rupture by not coming in contact with VI
him, and resolved that while he ap-
pointed dozen Of men to leading Of
fees, who were firm friends of Mr.. d
he would appoint one =
Judge Robertson, who had not Just been Ii
so very friendly to Mr.. Conkling. The
President knew that Mr.. Conkling "
would not have sanctioned the appoint "
ment Of Judge Robertson even if he had ''
asked him if the appointment would be
agreeable to him and consequently with ~
sincere desire for peace he resolved to II
break through the usual Senatorial IL
courtesy" ceremony and become re- ,e
sponsible for his own appointments. le
This is the whole cause of the rupture p'
between the President and Mr.. Conk- u
ling. pc
The results which have followed are
to be deprecated, but when it comes to
the question of whether President Gar re
field Shall be President of the United Iii
States, or whether he shall only wear
the title while Senator Conkling shall
be President, we hesitate not to say that >,
an intelligent public opinion will say al
that General Garfield shall be Presi- II
dent. u u
L
What Will be the Result? Z
The question will now be, what will - =
be the result of the resignation of Sena- G.;
fDra Cnnk1in0 and platt from, +ba Jr,;.J &C