Year: 1869

The Situation mt Washington


All accounts from Washington agree


in the statement that there Is ueHo


lock between the President ana 'ne
,,ffice seekers GRANT has positively
declared that, except to fill vacancies
bewiIl make no new appointments SO
Iong az the Tenure.of- Office obstruction
continues. This sets the place-hunters
at sea. for it almost amounts to an in
definite postponement of the partition
of plunder. The amount of private
fumipg and cursing consequent upon
this declaration of the Executive ID
said to be unprecedented.


As we gather the facts, GRANTS posi-
tion is about as follows: The Tenure-of-
Office Bill forbids removals during va
cation except for cause to be shown by
the President upon the re-assembling OF
Congress. The President holds that &C
cording to the same law, he can make
no removals while the Senate is in ses-
sion unless he specify to that body
the reasons for such removal and re-
ceive its sanction. This he holds would
make him public prosecutor of every
incumbent whom he desired TO
disDlace. Should he succeed in sus-
tanning charges against the present
holders of Office, he would merely
have the satisfaction of having
injured the reputation of every man
displaced. Should he fail, the attempt
at removal would recOil upon himself
and he be held responsible for unjust
and malicious aTraignments. Further
than this, the continuance of the Tenure
of Office Bill implies want of conf
dence in himself, and if the Republicans
are afraid to trust him, he can stand
JoHNsoN'S office holders as long as they
can.


He will not be comforted with tenn
POrary suspension of the obnoxious law
This would merely put him on Proba-
tion, and would therefore be little less
than an insult. Besides this, it is un
derstOod that when he surrendered the
Treasury Department to the politicians
it was with the understanding that the
Tenure-of Office Bill should be repealed.
Anything short of absolute repeal he
would regard as violation of the
agreement, showing a want of faith in
which he cannot acquiesce.


The obstinate delays of the Senate
have brought the appointment business
to q stand-still. Unless that body make
some concessions there will be few re-
movals and there may be more bitter
ness aroused than has already been dis
played. A promisent Senator is re-
ported to have said that the only way
to prevent an open rupture was through
an immediate adjournment. At any
rate the prospect of decided and COD
tiuued unpleasantness is of the most
cheering character


The disgraceful feature Of the disa-
greement is that it has no element of
principle in it. When the Radicals
fought JOHNSON, it was mainly upon
questions of public policy. GRANT has
euuuciated the most thorough Radical
doctrines, and their contention with
him is merely "A question of spollS.
II is of character that cannot be made
public. They cannot go to their con-
stituents AVID say that GRANT has be-
trayed them. To denounce him for not
giving them control of his patronage
would merely raise laugh against
themselves. In this dilemma, they are
compelled to keep up an appearance Of
coIdiality while mentally execrating
the great humbug whom they have ex-
allied and cannot govern.


1t is a proper penalty for the folly of
hero worship. The@Republican pOliti-
cians went into ecStacies ever this man
and that upon the slightest provocatiOn.
Knowing nothing about him, they took
him upon trust, and meanwhile attrib-
uted to him every human excellence and
many attributes of divinity. They have
made him bigger than his builders.
They are solely responsible for his self
Importance, and are now regretting the
rashness with which they rushed him
into power Altogether his Obstinacy
and their chagrin are quite diverting,
and the country seems to be enjoying
the spectacle very highly.