Year: 1869

senator spraaue and HIS ProG1dontial Pro-
gramme for 1877.


Senator Sprague, the independent Rhode
Island millionaire, made on Wednesday last
another speech on the Tenure of Office law,
which only man who has no favors to ask
and no frowns to fear could afford to make in
the Senate. Looking at this speech simply as
an argument against the law in question, it is
a rambling rigmarole, without head, body or
tail, system or purpose; but If we assume
that Mr.. Sprague's candidate for the Presi-
dency in 1872 is his worthy father-in-law,
Chief Justice Chase, this otherwise incoherent
discourse becomes as clear and luminous as
the Egyptian hierogyphics under the interpre-
tation Of the Rosetta stone.


Mr.. Sprague in this remarkable speech opens
fire upon the body of lawyers who rule the
Senate as not fit body Of men to exercise
control over the Presidents removals and ap-
pointments in other words, the Senator il
getting tired of the republican oligarchy of the
Senate. He next trains his battery upon the
things and their frivolous, thoughtless and
senseless disposition" He will repeat his
warning, however, that s'the affairs of the
country are being mismanaged and ruined by
the class of men / have spoken Of" meaning
the lawyers They could not hold candle to
next argues that the republican party has
failed to restore peace to the South and has
failed generally to secure the rights and liber-
ties of the citizen in this boasted land of free
dom. Moreover, immigration from Europe is
falling off because the farmers in the West can
no longer make both ends meet, and immi-
grants cannot find remunerative emp loyment.
The lawyers, bankers and capitalists, in short,
are running the government and country to
destruction; nor can it be denied that In this
there is more truth than poetry.


But, touching the general Generalization Of
American society, Mr.. Sprague's opinion is
positively startling. He says, and from OBJ
servations abroad and at home, he says, and
emphatically too, that sthere is less virtue
and morality in American society to-day than
in any other civilized society on the face Of
the earth" What mother can trust her SON
abroad? s'What husband can close his
door9" ''The country" he believes, sis on
the brink of precipice, and unless the people
can be reused from their apathy all is lost"
And now we come to the pith of the matter.
Mr.. Sprague had aided in the election Of
General Grant, because he believed General
Grant was not and could not be contaminated
by the politicians but when he (Mr. Sprague)
! s'had read the passage in the inaugural on
the sacredness of the public debt he had gone
away disheartened and sorrowful, because it
had shown him that the canker that possessed
the American body polite had got possession
of the President also. But still he was not
without hope"


What does this mean? It means, and this
whole speech on the lawyers, banks, capital
lists. finance, industry, immigration, American
political and social Decentralization, politicians
and the canker of the national debt means
that Senator Sprague is preparing for split
in the republican party, is ready to bolt, and
that Chief Justice Chase is his candidate for
the succession against even General Grant
himself And why not? Had Horatio Sey-
mour played the fair game would not Mr..
Chase have been the democratic candidate in
the late campaign9 Is it not apparent, too,
that as things are now going he will Of all
men be the man for all the odds and ends Of
the opposition to the administration candidate
in 1922 Let the politician disposed to
chuckle over this extraordinary speech Of
Senator Sprague read it by this light, and he
will find it wonderfully consistent and to the
purpose.