The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1881-10-05
"A Very Ordinary Nan -
What is Expected from Arthur and his Ad-
ministracoG
From the News and Corrirr'- CorreSpon


ministraro1
From the. News and Corrirr'- Corrcspon
dent.
WASHINGTON. Saturday. Scpte,n-
ber 24.-Within one short week
great change has come over the
American nation. In NY last | fore
shadowed its character in this | rc-
cord the fact that it has taken place
1t appeared plainly to me a month
ago that it was inevitable 10 this
brief week President has died, been
brought back to the Capital in state.
viewed by hundreds Of thousands of
people, carried Of again 10 his old
home, and there he will be buried
on Monday in his own native mold.
while i new President has taken the
oath of Office, indicated his policy and
actively assumed the direction Of the
Government.
This had been great week for the
country one frausht with great con
Germs. How much for good and how
much for evil remains to be seen. The
administration of Garfield has ended.
1t was brief and We can hardly meas
ure it accurately in the grief at his
untimely death. We take up the
new where the old left eff so sudden
ly and terribly. There is something
in the circumstances attending the
succession Of Chester A. Arthur 10
the Presidency which will cast
shadow upon his administration that
he will find great difficulty in shak-
ing off. Indeed, it is exceedingly
doubtful whether he will ever succeed
in doing so. The task is too much
for an ordiDary man, and Chester \.
Arthur is
A VERY ORDINARY MAN.
Even should be feel the desire 10
follow in the footsteps Of reform which
bear the imprint of the dead mans
shoes he now wears, the faction OF
party of which he is now the ofhcla!
head will not permit him. No one
will doubt the motives of MIR. Arthur,
the purity of his intentions rs eS-
pressed in his brief Inaugural address.
or his profound sorrow at that grave
necessity which called him into office.
These are within the capacity OF OF
d;oary men, aud Chester A. Arthur
is a very ordinary man. If he could
be left to follow the impulses which
now move him Mr. Arthur might
serve his country moderately well,
as did President Hayes, and 60 out
with minimum Of obloquy aud
maximum of contempt Between the
succession of Hayes and the success
sion of Arthur there are many ine
points in common. Hayes came in
5y rape, Arthur by violence. ln
both cases however. the deed vas
done by other men. Hayes was the
beneficiary Of fraud, and Arthur is the
beneficiary of violence. Hayes vas
an ordinary man aud Arthur is very
ordinary man. Hayes was cordially
hated upon his assumption Of power
because he was the beneficiary Of fraud
of which, however, he was entirely in-
nocent; Arthur is cordially hated
because be came in by violence and he
is also hated because Of himself.
Hayes was harmless, and the oleagin-
Gus innocence of his administration
secured the country from harm and
himself from anything more serious
than milder sort of ridicnle. There
#as one particular difference between
che feeling of dislike of these two
men BY the people which in esti'
mating the probable character Of the
administration of Chester !. Arthur
must not be lost sight Of, for the for
mer was hated by the Democratic
party and only because he was the
humble instrument through which
they we're defrauded of their right to
the Presidency. 0n the other hand
Mr.. Arthur is hated by formidable
faction of bis own party, not only
because he got into power over the
dead body Of their leader, bat because
he is the representative Of different
set of men aud different policy. Be-
sides this difference, there is still
another which will enter largely into
the comparison: Hayes was voted
for as candidate for the Presidency,
aud came in bound by every obhga-
tion to his party, expressed and i'm
piled, to faithfully carry out its
wishes.
ARTHUR Is AN ACCIDENT,
bound by no obligation save loyalty to
his friends, to gain whose support he
was placed upon the Presidential
ticket. If be should simply carry cut
the tenets of the party, as understood
by those friends. it would be only
what an ordinary man would probably
do. Aud Chester \. Arthur is
very ordinary man. Tax your u'em-
ory with that. Having cone by &C.
cident he is bound by 10 moral ties
save loyalty to the general Interests of
the Country. Iu the eyes Of the
wing of the Republican party Mr..
Arthur represents, loyalty to party is
loyalty to the country. They know
no other patriotism. Iu one respect
the uuhampered position Of President
Arthur places him in an attitude of
freedom unknown to Presidents elected