Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-11-16
A SINGULAR CONTEST

ed toward each other The Attorney
General resigns, and the President de
clincs TO receive his resignation, The
Attorney General leaves bis leave
taking cards with his Washington &C.
quaintances, offers his house for ront
and quits the town with bag and bag.
gage The President refuses to ap.
point his successor and the Solicitor
General undertakes also the Attorney
Generals duties. And this attachment
OF Mr. Arthur to Mr. MacVeagh, as is
well known, springs from no love for
him, for there is no love felt on either
side. The motives guiding each mans
action are well understood, But tho
questions are whether the President is
warranted by any circumstances in
demanding Mr.. Veagh's services
against Mr.. MacYeagh's refusal to rem.
der them; and whether MacVeagh is
warranted in refusing TO give them
when the President pcremtorily com.
mauds them, The situation as we
read it is just this Mr, Arthur has
been a friend Of the Star Route thieves,
and conspicuously so Of Dorsey. He
finds a prosecution pending against
them, commenced under his prcdeces.
sor He considers that prosecution as
most likely to be without result. He
fears to be charged with the failure,
and therefore desires TO avoid all ap.
pearanco of responsibility for it by
leaving it in charge Of those who origi
mated it, Mr. MacVeagh and Mr.
James consPicuously stand before the
country as the Star Route prosecutors
and Mr. Arthur wants to nail them
there.
Mr., MacVeagh understands this. but
apprehends also that the secret inhu.
ence Of the administration will work
against the undertaking to put the
Presidents old friends in Jail. lie
knows, furthermore, that he is not OF
the administration, while ostenSibly u
part of it. lie is not disposed to stay
in it and to be turned out when his
virtue has been squeezed ont Of him.
Mr. Arthur and Mr.. MacYeagh belong
to distinctly opposite branches of the
Republican party that cannot coaesce
any more than oil and water. Under
these circumstances Mr.. MacVeagh
pursued the only course open to him
in acquainting the President that he
desired 10 60 ont Of the Cabinet Mr.
Arthur under ordinary circumstances,
would have been glad to be rid of him.
Bnt now he thinks there is an advan.
tage in keeping him.
Is he right is refusing to let him 90 ?
Who can think so? Suppose it is true,
as he says, that MaoVeagb, having
made himself familiar with the Star
Route cases is tue fittcst man to prose.
cute them to the end, That would
justify him in asking him TO stay but
certainly it is very unworthy and
undignifed proceeding in a President
to 20 farther than this in his insistance,
and it is even childish in him to refuse
to ill Mr. MacYeagh's place, in the
idea that he will thus moro cffectualy
free himself from responsibility for the
failure Of the prosecutions. In our
judgment Mr. MacYcagh would have
done better to have retained bis office
at the President's command for the
purpose of prosecuting the work he
had begun. Remaining for this well
understood special purpose he would
not have been responsible for the poll.
cy Of the administration. If Mr.. Ar.
thur could afford to retain in his Cabi |
net an avowed opponent who did not
want to stay there, Mr.. MacVeagh
could well have afforded to remain
his position would have been exceed
ingly independent and bis place a very
conspicuous one from which to pro.
claim bis views. No question of deli.
cacy could have restrained from an.
tagonizing a President who insisted
on keeping him by his side against his
will. The Witness which led Arthur
to such an unheard Of insstance might
have proved to be Stiffness instead, but
it was no concern Of Mr.. MacVeagh |
to protect Mr.. Arthur against his
folly.
The conduct of the President in this
matter conclusively shows him to be
n man Of very low tone, He has been
extensively advertised by his friends
as a gentleman and specifically he
may be- But he lacks the selfrespect
which is the essence of the man and
the gentleman. We fear, too that he
lacks sincerity, honesty and independ.
ence, and is in fact but a pretentious
sham, as little time is likely to clear.
ly show.--LdncdSter htetiigencer.