National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-05-07
The Presidents Provender.

We desire to call the special attention
of the civil-service reformers, to whom
the President has either directly made
love or with whom he has lasciviously
f1irted, to the following semi-official state,
ment in the Washington dispatch oi
Thursday night to his personal organ
Mr.. Gould's New York Tribune 1t re.
lates to his motives in Withdrawing the
New York nominations on that day:
From the outset he has been determined to give
conspicuous recognition to that element of the Re-
publican party in New York of which Judge
Robertson is the foremost representative. Having
given ample assurances, by first nominating sew
eral Conkling men to important positions that he
bore no illwill to the Senator, he named Judge
Robertson as the fittest and most conspicuous
recognition of the Independent Republicans. He
withdraws the nominations of Mr.. Conkling's
friends, not as is asserted by Mr.. Conkling and
his supporters tonight, as an act of otfense
against that Senator, but simply that in OF
the rejection of Mr. Robertson or the failure of the
Senate to take any action whatever, he may have
the other important vacancies in the State of New
York with which to give needed recognition to
the element which made his own nomination and
election possible.
That is to say: The President in max
ing appointments to Office determined to
reward Robertson & Co. for their treach-
cry to Grant at Chicago and their Eight "
for Blaine, which, through his (Garfeld's)
refusal to support Blaine, led to his own
nomination. Whether this is carrying
out bargain made at Chicago men will
have their opinions. We think the
probabilities strongly point in that direc-
ton. The refomers will hardly be able
to distinguish between gifts and promised
rewards bestowed by a President in re-
turn for votes in political convention
and such convention. The pretense is
that half dozen nominations had to be
withdrawn, to be held in reserve as
provender for the Robertson faction if the
leader of that particular herd of "work-
ers" should fall under the battle-aXe Of
Conkling. These nominations were not,
it now appears, made because of fitness,
or out of any regard for public conGidera-
tions, but solely to enable the President to
make the world believe that he had not
given all the proyender to his own herd.
Two marshals, two United States attor-
neys, and a petty custom-house office
were thrown around in general to
show his gratitude toward the body of
the Republican party. This was done
without any request or expression by
Senator Conkling. The court journals
were set to bowling at this splendid
and induced to cry out
that it was surrender by the President.
Then, the stage having been all set and
the lights turned on, the curtain went up
on the second act. The sheet-iron thun-
der against the minor nominations,
which had doubtless been manipu-
lated by White House property-man,
was silenced by great voice, which
said: "Let there be Robertson!" and
there was Robertson. The defeat of
in the Senate will not be al
owed to exhaust the Presidents stock of
provender. Still there will be offices to
give those whose treason at Chicago
q" made the Presidents nomination pos
sible."