The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-06-22

"
~ bopc ,o,, know me too well ~ suppose
mai have countcnanccd the charge oi cor
rlptjon which has been reiterated against
you ,c..... Of Tho
Eut 10 recur 10 the rcyiyificati0n OIL tue
patronage system, the first step taken ny
iho coalition of the three rseudo-he pupii
cans. jackson. Adams, and Gay, Was W
bring into bad rcpute the OLD me'i'V" W
presidential nominations by caucus "
the members Of Congress. which ce','',i!
had worked well in the past. rue "ki,' IT'LL
tion proving successful, nominations were
made for a few years by the state legisla-
lures: but this not proving sufficiently con,
yonient TO the wire-workers, the present
mode of n national convention, hrst SUE.
pested bv the ant-Masons in 1851, was III
mon. i suppose il viii be admitted tnat
ma contriyance has been more potent lor
spoils than the national conventions iUI 'i'Y
nominations OF President ana vice. icsi-
dent. Adams became President on MaiVn
4. 1925. and by ls26 the crystallHa''ou
III factions had proceeded far enough
90 instifv the assumption Of the party
names. The administration party, consist
ing of the friends OF Adams and Clay, as
sumed the name Of National RepuDllcahs
the "outs.v consisting of the friends OF
Jackson and Crawford, took that OF Demo
Gratis. Neither party owned any relation 70
the Federalists. though, as we have seeh'
All the factions. save the friends Of llliam
N. Crawford, were Federalists in tendency
THE ADAMS ADMINISTRATIONS.
Accordingly. the administration Of j. @:
Adams raised the flag of patronage, ana
upon It's folds were inscribed the Amer
can svstem," which meant eXtraNagahl
appropriations without any liked RUE Oh
nrinciple 20 roads and canals, and the "a
rim of denominations. which .plundered lhe
rest of the COUNTRY for the benefit Oh New
England 10 these measures. as CaihOuh
aptly showed. were 10 be traced all the eNlls
that subsequently developed under Jack
son and Van Buren,. Adams and Gay lnatg-
urated these measures and Jackson ana Van
Buren, enforced them. And though the TWO
last mentioned Presidents came into the
government under new party name their
principles and policy were the same pre-
ciscly as those Of the Adams and Clay men;
and under all three Presidents patronage
was the predominant idea.
Thus. il Adams favored bills for the eN-
tension of roads and canals, now long lor-
gotten. Jackson and NanBuren approved
even larger expenditures in favor OF harbors
and rivers. All three debauched the press
by appointing editors 10 Office, and all three
were high tariff men. And if Adams ap-
proved and instigated the tarlil OF loZo,
jackson as Senator had voted Tor the tarln
of 1924, and his friends Benton, NanBuren,
Livingston. &C., voted for that OF lo2N or
1882 In the same manner. II Adams claim
ed the right TO appoint Ministers TO the
Panama Congress without the con-
sent of the Senate, the difference
was one only of degree between himself and
Jackson, who not only claimed the power,
but exercised it by appointing commission
ers TO Turkey and other countries. Ana
finally. if Adams administration had what
Livingston termed its "nOtOrlOns deiaulters'
i'm Watkins, Robinson. Arnold, Kogess0n
and others, Jackson and Van Buren, had
their Swarteuts, Prices, &c, who did
the business OF cheating the govern
ment fin an even more elective
manner. From only one standpoint ana
Adams administration differ from Jack
sons or Van BuIen's. and that was in the
number of persons removed from office. But
the difference was readily explained by the
fact that Adams, having been Secretary OF
state under Monroe for eight years, with the
full sweep of appointments during that
time. had no excuse to disturb the Old IN
cumbcnts: while jackson, elected IN
open opposition 10 the powers thai
WERE owed no faNOrs 10 the Oiice-
holders, and swept them oil by wholesale.
But 10 prove beyond shadow OF Il question
the political identity of the three Presl-
dents, Adams, jackson, and Van Buren, IT
is only necessary to note two things: The
first Of these is that the Crawford party OF
strict construction which opposed Adams
during his administration were also driven
from jackson, and under the name Of
"Whig," which from 1884 to 1871 meant
>tate-rights, opposed the rule of jackson
and Van Buren,. And the second is that all
the leading friends of Jackson, who. as we
have seen, voted for high tariff and
internal improvements, joined the new
Republican party of 1876. or were in active
sympathy with them. Van Buren, led the
detection Of Frees Sellers in 1919; Blair,
Jackson's editor, was Il supporter of Ere
mont in 1856, and his son, Montgomery
Blair, was a member OF Lincon's Cabinet;
b. +. Butler, Jackson's AttOr-npy-General
and Fremont. the sOn-in-aw Of Benton, were
leading Republicans; and Benton himself
died forlorn and discarded by his old
friends. Finally, j. q. Adams himself de-
clared, in 1912. that all the leading measures
of JacksOn's administration received his
undivided approval. LYON G. TYLER.
William and Mary College, June 10, 1880.