Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-10-11
I0hn Sherman and Chester Arthur.

The proposed investigation into the
alleged official misdoings of Hon. John
Sherman, the present Radical Senator
from Ohio, and late United States Sec
rotary of the Treasury, and rival as
pirant for the nomination to the high
Office which, by the grace Of God and
Guiteau's pistol, Mr.. Chester Arthur, OF
New Y ork, now holds, proves likely to be
peculiarly interesting. True, it has been
generally intimated that Mr.. Arthur will
geek to render the administration, which
he is about to inaugurate, memorable for
the restoration of unity and harmony
in the present distracted ranks of his
party, and, doubtless, could he pursue
it. such a course would tend tc render
the ex-Collector Of the port Of New
York solid" with his party, and, may
haps, lead to that contamination so de-
voutly wished for by all Presidents-a
nomination as his own successor.
Great as must be the inducement thus
held out to Mr.. Arthur's ambition, how
ever. we do not believe that he will dis
counte-nance the proposed investigation
INTO Honest % John Sherman's well ven
tiIated croOkedness, for the simple reason
that he cannot afford to do so. As the
matter stands to-day, the ex Collector
Of the port of New York, albeit that he
is now filling TIE exalted Office of Presi-
dent Of the United States, stands before
the world branded by his superior officer,
a high United States official, as a
man who, while in Office, was
guilty Ito use the very words of
Senator and ex Secretary Sherman)
Of gross negligence or something
worse" In the memorable letter writ
ten by that official to de Jact0 President
HAYES. dated the 18th Of January, 1879,
on the subject of Arthur's removal from
office, he uses these words: eff it be
held that to procure the removal Of Mr..
Arthur it is sufficient to reasonably es-
tablish that gross abuses of administra-
ton have continued and increased dur
ing his incumbency; that many persons
have been regularly paid on his rolls who
rendered little or no service; that the ex-
penses Of his Office have increased while
collections have been diminishing; that
brides or grgtuities in the nature Of brides
have been received by his subordinates
in several branches of the custom house;
that efforts to correct these abuses have
not met his support, and that he has not
given to the duties of his Office the requi-
site diligence and attention, then it Is
submitted that the case is made out"
This is strong language, and the charges
therein conveyed, coming from the
source they do, are so serious that Mr..
Arthur cannot, as we have said, afford
quietly to permit the Presidential Office
to rest under the odium which they ne
cessarilY carry with them. He must
establish his innocence of the crimes al
legged against him in the eyes Of the
civilized world, for upon such charges
being preferred as above shown by Sena
tor Sherman, even Rutherford B. Hayes
was forced to remove President Arthur
from the New York Cellectorship in or
der that his important office might be
honestly and efficiently administered"
What then is the only course which
Mr.. Arthur can adopt in his own de-
Tense? Simply to impeach the testimony
of the distinguished chief witness
against him, and attempt to prove to the
world that the character of Senator and
ex-Secretary Sherman is so bad that he
is totally unworthy of public credence.
This is the only recourse left to Mr..
Arthur, and the honor and dignity of the
United States alike demand that he
should resort to it promptly, so that he
may purify his Office. and clear his own
skirts of the grave crimes with which he
stands, not alone charged, but of which
he is presumably guilty, since his imme
date successor acted upon them
as if convinced of their truth.
Hard as It may be, therefore,
and as damaging as it may prove to his
ambitious hopes, Mr.. Arthur must.
among the first acts of his Presidential
career, show up in the most unenviable
light possible, the fragrant shortcomings
and VIGOROUSLY easy virtue of one of
the most prominent and shining lights
of his own party. Either he must do
this, OF acknowledge himself a man to-
tally unfit to ill the high office to which
he was so Unexpectedly called by the
assassin Guiteau. And thus early in his
administration a scene of unusual inter
est to the country in general, and the
Democratic party in particular, is fore
Swallowed.