Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-05-17
THE RESTORATION OF TIE NEW YORK
SENATOR'S.

say, that they intend to o1fer themselves
to the New York Legislature, now in ses-
sion. for reelection. The only possible
purpose of such step would oe to secure
in this way practical Endorsement from
their State, and thus to make it appear
that the President, in insisting upon the
confirmation of Robertson, ia going coun-
ter to the sentiment of New York. There
is however an objection to the superstition,
namely, that the reelection of Messrs.
Conklipg and Plat would not necessarily
be an Endorsement of their attitude in the
| Robertson case. But it is suggested by
some that the reelection of the two Sen.
ators who have resigned is not foregone
conclusion that the Legislature Endorsed
the nomination of Robertson by unani-
nous vote, and that therefore it can
hardly be regarded as pledged to sustain
Mr.. Conkling On the other hand it may
be urged plausibly that if Senator Conk
ling desired reelection he would not
have resigned until he was certain that he
could return to the Senate at will.
| There can be no doubt that these resig-
nations have surprised and startled both the
Senate and the public, and that whatever
else they signify they do not augur well
for the harmony of the Republican party.
If Senator Conkling has resigned with no
other object than to return to the contest
recruited and strengthened, it is inevitable
that his enemies should use their best en-
deavors to defeat his programme. and pre-
| vent his reelection. Whatever his inten-
tions, it is clear that he has taken the
singular step of surrendering a large
amount of power at the very moment when
he might be supposed to have the most
| need for it. A Senator who has resigned
cannot be, no matter what his prestige, as
influential as a Senator in esse His resig-
nation necessarily imports doubt into the
situation. 1t is no longer certain that he
will be in position hereafter to reward
friends and punish enemies. Such step
affords all his enemies an advantage which
they are sure to make the most of, and it
must discourage and ALLEVIATE the more
timid among his former supporters.
| As regards the opinion of the public,
the first question naturally asked will be,
what is the justification for these resigna.
tions? So far as is known there is no
other cause for them than the nomination
of Robertson. But admitting that the
confirmation of Robertson is extremely
distasteful to Mr.. Conkling, it is impossi-
BILE to see how so comparatively trivial a
matter can explain the step he has taken.
If he had carried the day the President
would have had to bear precisely the
same humiliation as is forced upon Mr..
Conkling. But nobody supposes that the
President would have resigned in that
case. Other Presidents, General Grant
among the number, have been compelled
to put up with the rejection of their nom-
nations, and have borne the rebuffs very
philosophically There is no perceptible
reason why Mr.. Conkling should not have
done the same thing, Whatever light
| further explanations may throw upon the
matter. At TINS moment the whole bust
ness has the appearance of unreasonable
petulance and Improbable arrogance.
This may not be the correct view OF it,
but it is the surface view, and the only
one yet attainable
Mr.. Conkling has the reputation of
being an able politician, and therefore it
would be unsafe to assume that he had
taken the present course without knowing
what it would involve. Until however
the public are made acquainted with his
programme, speculation will be INDUCED.
If, for example, he had concluded to
Withdraw from political life, bis resigna-
ton would have very different interpre
tation from that necessitated by the theory
that he has only "let go to get better
hold" But no matter what his purpose,
it is clear that he cannot have taken
hostages of Fate. No man can so plan
for the future that his plans are certain of
success. Every step forward is of neces-
sity more or less step in the dark. Mr..
Conkling therefore must have realized
that in resigning his office he was at least
| encountering the risk of shipwreck,
and his motives must have been extreme
ly powerful to justify him in taking
such a risk.
Should he and his colleague be re-
elected it will no doubt be to conduct
bitter war against the Administration.
That consideration is of course against the
retiring Senator'S. Their resignation, more
over, cannot prevent the confirmation OF
Robertson, but It will in all probability
hasten it, And as the designations were
made before the nomination had come up
in the Senate, they have the appearance OF
being rather premature, supposing them to
be based upon that alone. 1t is probable
that some of Mr.. Conklipg's enemies will
intimate that he has resigned in the belief
| lbls btlI w niiaOuS
and that the Government will be brought to
stand. still in his absence. But though he
has the reputation of being self-sufficient
man, it is hardly to be admitted that he
could entertain ideas of this kind. The
rational presumption is that he has
resigned as a last, and perhaps desperate,
means of rehabilitating his failing power
1t remains to be seen whether his caleula-
lions have been shrewd or fallacious.
Since the above was written, and at
late hour this morning, the telegraph
brings the-full text of the letters of resig-
nation sent to the Governor of New York
by Conkling and Platt, which is published
in another column. 1t presents full and
open statement of the reasons which moved
the New York Senators to the action
taken. Conjecture, therefore, gives place
to certainty as to the nature of the griev
ance complained of by the Senators.