National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-03-31
How the President Can Harmonic
the PaPfy

pointment of the President it is, there
fore, fighting the administration. !"
Nothing can be farther from the
truth. We are sincerely desirous
for the success of the administration. Its
| failure would peril the cause of liberty
and law, ON which the Republican party
is based Our fidelity to the President is
not Iessened when we warn him of a
pitfall in which it seems to Us he is about
to step. He has been grossly deceived
if he has been made to believe that there
has been any understanding concerning
| him at Chicago. He he's had no more TN
selfish or reliable supporters than the
friends of General Grant. They have
no candidate for 1884, as others may
have who are apparently more trusted.
The opinion entertained by the
Grant leaders has been that if the present
administration shall be successful before
the party and the country it would
naturally be continued a second term,
and that if it failed its successor would be
Democratic. No Republican has any
interest in opposing or weakening
General Garfeld's administration.
Such course would be as silly as for a
man in boat out at sea to pull out the
plug in order to drown only his COM
panions. It would be like sitting on a
limb and saving it Off And yet it comes
to us that the President has been cheated
by some cozening rogues into an
apprehension that there is a great under
handed movement on foot to make Gen
eral Grant his successor. He has asked
of friends the question:. What does this
SOC mean" He would naturally distrust
the men known to have favored General
Grant if he believed they had such plan
and understanding.
Now, of our own knowledge We say that
all this talk about Grant for 1884 comes
from those who led in the work of calum-
ninating him in 1880. 1t is pity that the
President has been compelled to listen to
their mischievous talk. 1t has been
harmful to him and to the party. It is
time that his mind should be disabused.
1t is time for his real friends to ask him
not to allow the enemies of leading men
to create dissensions whereby only the
misehief-makers are to profit.
We have given our honest opinions as
to the effect of the New York custom
house nomination. Every day confirms
us in those opinions 1t is not and it can
not come to good. If Mr.. Robertson is
confirmed twill have to be by breaking
down the ancient traditions of the Senate
as TO courtesy between its members. 1t
is no longer as it was when only one
New York Senator opposed a nomination.
Now, both Senators will stand in I'M
yielding opposition. We do not believe
the Senate will select Senator Conkling
and his colleague as the victims of
such an innovation. If the nomination
should be confirmed, Mr.. Merritt would
be turned out in order to let in an expert
to use the custom-house as an anti-Conk-
ling machine. The attempt would be
made to debauch the party by the use of
mereenaries and to overthrow the friends
of Senator Conkling in the State conven-
ton. This could not be done. The attempt
to do it would create a bitterness which
would find the usual vent in the ind1g-
nant denunciations of I" the machine" by
those who had vainly endeavored to cor
rupt and control the party. We doubt if
the President has had time in the
midst of all his work to reflect upon
these things. If he wants friends at all
it is to tell him when the y think they see
breakers ahead. Such friend THE Re-
PUBLICAN claims to be. If he
wants fiatterers he can find them
swarming around him every hour
We tell him again and again that the peo-
pie of this country Of all parties will say
that he has dealt an unprovoked blow
upon great and honored party leader in
his nomination of Judge Robert
son. We tell him, too, that
this blow will strengthen Senator
Conking in his State and in the country,
and that, so strengthened and supported,
the inevitable contest between his sup
porters and those of the admin
istration must weaken the party and
put it in unnecessary peril. Syco-
plants and courtiers, rivals and
conspirators, who hover around him
for favors and for power, may urge him
to go on; but at the risk of being
charged with fighting the President"
we say it is our earnest conviction that
the welfare of the country and of the
party, and the success of his ad-
all demand that he
desist from the war upon the Republican
party of New York, which was begun on
Wednesday last. Time will prove the
wisdom of our position and the sincerity
of n1lr Intentions