Year: 1874

an office which brings him neither honor,
dignity nor usefulness Governor Kellogg
should enter upon campaign of revenge he
will open newer and darker page in the his
tory of reconstruction.


The Philosophy OF the Third Term.


That was remarkable article in our contem-
porary, the Tribune the other day, on the third
term discussion. "It cannot be coughed down
as an impertlnence, derided as an absurdity |
or set aside as having no vital connection with
present politics, said our contemporary "It
is the most important question in current
politics" 1t crises above all other questions,
and dwaris them all, because ''they are but
questions of policy under settled govern
ment," while this is the ''unsettling the |
foundations of government itself ''The
Issue is VITAL present, pronounced; it cannot
be evaded" 1t he's been Gifted entirely out
OF the realm of abstraction into the domain of
present practical politics.. The Tribune
argues, therefore, that in the pending autumn
elections every republican success will practi-
cally mean acquiescence in the idea of third
term, and it sees but one course open to all
honest citizens, ''to stamp out and vote out
the very possibility of it in the future"


We do not think that our contemporary ex-
aggerates the Importance of this question. 1t
is now something more than year since the
HERALD, in series Of articles that attracted
so much attention at the time as to justify our
present reference to them, elaborately pointed
out the latent dangers Of third term, and
warned the people of the sure rise of ques-
ton which would dwarf all other questions"
We showed the existence of all the conditions
leading to it. There was a party in power
more powerful than any party had been since
the time OF Jefferson. The war had given this
party, by the dislocation and elimination of
the Southern States, prodgious influence. Its
power was retained in the South by the rise Of
timid, suspicious, ignorant class, who sus-
tanned all the sins Of party rule, from the in
stinct of gratitude, because it had given them
freedom. The vast war patronage, internal
revenue, tariff, impost collections, increase in
the army and navy, building of railroads,
policy of voting subsidies to irresponsible cor
porations, the shoddy class, those who tres
passed upon the revenue for gain, all combined
to make this ruling party corrupt to bring
corrupt men to it's leadership, to fuse all of
its political purposes into the one purpose Of
ambition, and to lead by mathematical pre-
cision to the situation which now exists, and
which the Tribune presents with so much
vigor and clearness.


We showed that at the head of this party
was the strongest one man who has appeared
in our history since the time OF Washington.
He had been successful general and had
led the armies of the Union through many
defeats to eliminating victory Without
entering into discussion as to the exact
share of General Grant in the results of
victory it is sufficient to say that the people
gave to him, more than to any other man, the
credit of saving the Union. He was not only
leader of the party, but in himself greater
than the party AS President he has shown,
not alone genius for government, but reso-
lutte will, as effective, if not as boisterous, as
that Of Andrew Jackson. What jackson
did with noisy speech and loud oath Grant
has done in silence. jackson had strong
likes and dislikes, was swayed by his Cabinet,
by his loves and his hatreds, by his
special followers, Benton, Felix Grundy,
General Eaton, Amos Kendall, Blair, Taney
and those whom he trusted. Grant, on the
other hand, is swayed by no one. Those
who seem to know him best know him least.
His Cabinet, selected upon a principle
hitherto unknown to our constitution, is SIM
ply a group of staff officers. His members
obey without advising. They are the ire
sponsible agents of supreme will and the
President has protected them in this position
against the anger of public opinion, the crit
icism of the public press, and, as in the case
of Mr.. Williams, the direct condemnation of
the Senate.


With party which lowered into Credit
Mobilierism as policy and Schuyler Colfax
as O leader; with q President like General


Grant who has held himself as irresponsible
to mere public opinion as the Czar of Russia ;


with the Southern States, once the sure strength


of the democratic party, now at the feet Of


the War Office, what is to prevent the realiza-
ton of this third term question but the will
! OF Tie NOTlutIu pcOpICI VIM W1o TCSdTOtU


year ago as HERALD sensation is now seen


to have been a HERALD prophecy. The repub-


hcan party, through subservient newspapers,


edited by anxious postmasters, whose mission


was simply that of kettle drums for election


campaigns, ridiculed an issue which they


partly feared and partly failed to compre-


hend. Their caricaturist, Mr.. Mast, ex-


hausted the grotesque resources of his trade


in endeavoring to show that this issue had no


existence. But Mr.. Nast's subservience to


the President, his willingness to condone


every mistake and applaud every crime OF


government, were in themselves the best arg,l-


ments that the issue was o true issue; that it


had life and must, sooner or later, come for
| dacirion hnfore the A Arnerican nnnnla