New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-02-04
1 GR1TEFTL TRIBTTE.

frank Acknowledgements OF cfior eN""'N
rlcasurablc emotions on earth, even as inc
reclamation Of sinner produces Joy III
Heaven And il is incumbent on good men to
Greet repentance with admiration and approva
when rcpaiatOn ccrtificS 10 IFS sincerity. III
this spirit we commend the uttoranceS G; our
esteemed contemporary 1.-The Ncw-l ork Even
inc POST concerning President liarrlsohS
nomination of Judge jackson to succeed the
late Justice Lamar upon the supreme Bchcn
of the United States. "'Ihc Evenlng IoSu
declares with a warmth OF feeling when us
lofty sense of responsibility seldom permits II
70 exhibit that this is the most crcd'ablc
act Of President IIaniSons Administration"
and that the great mass of tho people OF both
paltics will commend his course"
II would be almost if not quite impossible
10 overplaise this compct, abandonment by
The Evening POST of a position which il
took deliberately. and has since aSSiduouSIy
fortified with all the resources at It's command.
II requires moral courage of the highest order
10 make an unconditional surrender when CIR
clm,tancCs have shown the wisdom OF that
ccuIse. Ever since the death of Justice Lamar
orr contemporary had held and maintained the
conviction that it would be outrageous for the
President {, appoint his successor: that mas
mich As his lamcnted demise had created an
unexpected vacancy III the supreme Court only
six weeks before the expiration OF the Prc'l-
dents own term Of Office Mr.. Harrison was
under tho strongest moral obligation TO leave
the filling of that vacancy 70 Mr.. Cleveland.
There is no excuse for such indecent haste
in the condition of judicial business sad
THE Post on January -. Three days later
il declared aS fellows: "Thc people decided
by an overwhelming majority that they did not
want any more appointments by Harrison, and
that they wanted tO have Cleveland fill any
vacancies which might arise, on the Supreme
Bench or elsewhere" And on "Wednesday OF
this week, the day before Judge JackSonS
name was sent to the Senate, it sad "lnas-
much as Harrison has no excuse for appoint
ing a Republican in order t. save the N1tion'
4 is obvious that he would do we'll to lcr the
place be filled by Democrat picked out by
the Democratic President who comes in month
hence We quote these unfalterlnG prcc!ama-
tons not for the purpose OF causing vcXatlon
in one quarter and unscemly ninth IN another,
but with the desire of making conspicuous the
courage and candor which our contemporary
now displays in declaring that the President
has done Just the right thing, and thus earned
the appreciation of the whole country. We
should hardly know where t. look for another
confession Of error so direct and positive H.
this. 1t is a most honorable and exemplary
event in American journalism. We do not
often agree with our contemporary upon po-
tical questions and for this reason it is a
duty as well As a pleasure 10 express our ad-
miratiOn OF the manner N which 1t has for
salicn an untenable position.
Furthermore, the fact ought not 10 be over
looked that The Evening POST has not mere
| " changed its attitude with reference 10 a
| specific act, but abandoned a doctrine for
which it had claimed general application.
| Until yesterday our contemporary had been
| convinced that tho President of tho United
| States having been defeated as candidate
| for reelection was in honor bound to abdicate
one of his most important functions, if not
| Immediately certainly not later than six weeks
| before the expiration of his term. Other stu
| dents of the Constitution have interpreted that
instrument as meaning that the President is
elected for four years, and that having sworn
to execute his Office faithfully there is at least
no improperly in his continuing so to execute
| it throughout the entire period Of his incum
| bency. We ourselves were satisfied that this
was the correct view of the matter. and the
prevailing view. But so long as "Thc Even
| ing POST maintained the opposite opinion the
| issue could not be considered as settled 1t is
exceedingly gratifying to know that all doubt
| has now been removed. Our neighbor with
draws its previous conclusions not for it,
| self alone, but in behalf of the whole contin-
gent which it ntrepidIy leads. For It asserts
| that 1.-THE appointment Of Judge Jackson is
the perfect application Of the Mugwump the
| Dry" which is obviously in direct contradiction
| TO It's former declarations that the perfect APP
plication of the Mugwump theory would pre-
| vent the President from committing the in
deccncy of appointing anybody to succeed JUS
tcc Lamar.
For this decisive settlement OF n grave con-
| stitutional question, this important contribu-
ton to the permanent security of our institu-
tons, and this bold yet graceful revision
of an erroneous doctrine "The Evening POST
deserves and will receive the grateful plaudits
Of the American people.
| THE MASSACRE At ALBANY