National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1882-03-08
Tho Political Calm.

The Political Calm.
Let us talk about the political weather. |
There is marked absence of storms in
these days We are not admonished by
any political Nennor to look for high
winds or thunder and lightning "about
this time" To some minds this is n
grievance for which they are disposed to
hold the President responsible. What is
the use of having a President who just
calmly allows the affairs of the Nation to
simmer instead of bringing them to a
boiling condition? 1T is true that the laws
are being executed, and that in every
branch the public business is being
transacted with fidelity. True, the
vacancies in Office are filled with
worthy men of the Republican politi-
cal faith. But that is all very humdrum.
We must have some startling sensations
and dramatic effects. We are accustomed
to these exhibitions, and we are waiting
for the curtain to go up. The Admins
tration is too quiet. There are so many
able men who could show the President
how to be President if only he would call
on them. lie may have some notions in
his own head about this, and of course
some may argue that he is bound to do
nothing except upon his own judgment.
But then if his judgment does not impel
him to stir things up, and pass things
around, and make fuss, how shall we
know that. we have a President?
Presidents there have been who gave
us something to talk about. Tyler vetoed
the pet measure of his party-the bill to
recharter the United States Bank-almost
at the beginning of his Administration
This raised II hubbub. Polk declared
that "war existed with Mexico because
that government repelled what she
doomed an invasion of her soil. This
made things lively, Fillmore surrendered
10 the slave power, thereby making the
Republican party a necessity, and the
fugitive slave law at once did away with
all political stagnaton. The pot boiled
furiouslyunderthe Administration of that
mild statesman, Pierce gave us blasts
from hell when he tied Freedom and
Slavery together, like two cats by their
tails, and hung them across the clothes
line in Kansas to see which could scratch
the hardest. There was excitement
for you. No dead calm like this.
And then dignfed James Buchanan.
What fun he gave the sensation-loving
people when he undertook to discipline
Mr.. Douglas and others who opposed
the effort to force the Lecompton consti-
tuition upon the people of Kansas. No
complaint of dullness in his term. He
got up SO much steam that he bursted the
Unions boiler With all these examples
before him, cannot our President relieve
us Of the tedum of merely orderly,
methodical, and administrative govern
mentp
TO come down TO later years, Lincoln
came in under circumstances which were
themselves terrible and filed with ex-
citing elements. Johnson knocked Com
gress over the mazard, and rode the gale
as witches are rcputed TO ride in the air
on broomstcks. No want of noise and
tumult in his day. Grant was voted
failure the first year of his term by those
who wanted q political President He
experimental with civil-service reform,
and was considered Il very goodish sort
Of person by rs fastidious a critic as
Georgina Wilhelmina Curtis. His was
an awiully calm Administration ut the
start, but Upton and sumner Fcnton and
Tnmbull, Greeley and Schurz, and other
enterprising persons came in later
with lights and music, and merry
was the dance. The second term
of Grant was relieved of monotony
by Mr. Blaiue's credit-mobilier in
vestigation, followed by dozen mud
battles, with which the Executive had
nothing to do, but which reflected credit
upon his Administration to the extent
that they relieved the times from that
dull quietude which accompanies the or
derby transaction Of the public business
Even the mild and as one might say, the
watery Administration of Hayes was not
wholly without sprightliness, IIisdcker
with Hampton for the Federal end of
south Carolina, which he already had, in
exchange for the State end which had
been voted to Chamberlain, gave cause
for exciting discussion and the energy
Of his measures for tearing the iounda-
tions from under the political edifce of
Louisiana cannot be ovemated when we
consider how tenacously the Packard
government clung to life as against every
other enemy No, there wps no dead
calm under Mr.. Hayes at the outset. His
tour was alone worth the price paid for
his admission to the presidential Office.
If all these examples can not instruct
the President how to break the present
monotony there is a way which would
speedily bring that result. If the Presi-
dent were to take the ground that all
who agreed with him at Chicago were
right, and that all who differed with him