Year: 1879

obtained and prematurely published,
greatly to the annoy ance, no doubt, OF
their respective authors. The President
must feel this breach of trust more keenly
than the Secretary, since it will make an
empty show of a usual mark of respect for the
Chief Magistrate of the country. Unlike
the department. reports, the annual Message
of the President is formally read at length
in both houses of Congress, and listened to
not only with the appearance but the real
ity of attention. It's contents being previ-
ously unknown, the members are curious 10
see what the President has to COM


municate. But this year everybody


will have read the Message before


delivery, and it will be solemn


bore to sit for two hours under the infiic-


ton of a document with whose contents


they are perfectly acquainted. To dispense


with the reading would be violation OF
usage and of decorum toward the President,


while to proceed with it before listless and
unlistening auditors will be an idle and
| tedious formality unwelcome to all con-
cerned. 1t would be still more annoying
if the practice of the first two Presidents
had been kept up OF delivering the annual
communication in person to the two houses
assembled in one chamber. 1t is easy to
imagine how the pomp of such an occasion
would be turned into ridicule, and what
loss of dignity would be felt by the President
in delivering ceremonious speech which
had been deprived of its freshness and gloss
and had satiated public curiosity. We
suppose the publication might be punished
as contempt of Congress in intercepting
and divulging a communication intended
|, for it, but this would be unwise, as mag
nifying the want of skill and care on the
part of the Executive.


The Message thus surreptitiously OBJ
tanned is o plain and unambitious docu-
ment, which conveys in a clear, straight
forward manner the views of the President
on the present state of the country. 1t has
q higher merit than force of diction and
intellectual astuteness-the great merit
of steady and honest adherence to
sound principles without vacillation
or trimming, or any of the stiffness
which bends to false expediency. We have
some ADLER men in public life than Presi-
dent Hayes, but none who excels him in
that rectitude of understanding which
proceeds rather from the moral than the
intellectual side of human nature, and
which is the chief safeguard against ingen-
ious and plausible error. Public questions
are not so difficult thatit requires any great
stretch of faculties to understand them;
| - l.
an absurdity. Government by the people
implies that the people are capable OF form
ing correct judgments on public questions,
and what is needed in their rulers is not so
much superior intellect as steadfast virtue
and political courage. To President Hayes
belongs the praise of standing by his
convictions, which is the greatest merit
that can be possessed by man who is
clothed with responsible trusts. The lead
| ing recommendations in this Message bear
the stamp of answering honesty Of pur-
| pose in adhering to settled views. The
large portion devoted to civil service re-
form exemplifes the Presidents te-
nacity in what he believes to be
right. He returns to the charge with
unabated zeal and courage. His position
on this subject is SO obviously right and
wise that he can afford to disregard the
obloquy of trading politicians and keep
alive the efforts which, if they do not sue
ceed in his time, must ultimately sue
ceed if we are to save our free insti-
tutions. We cannot follow this part
Of the Message in detail, because the Presi-
dent touches another great subject of more
immediate urgency on which it is the duty
of the press and the country to give him
their promptest and heartiest moral sup
port. Civil service can wait, especially
while the head of the govern
ment is trying to check its most
fragrant abuses but our great experiment
OF resumption is in such peril from gross
imperfections in the laws as to justify notes
of alarm even in the flush of apparent pros
perity. The country stands on the downward
road toward q new imitation, and progress in
that direction must be arrested.


The law requiring the continued coinage
of base silver dollars must be repealed or
our currency will sink to lower value than
it had during the four years which preceded
resumption. There has not been day
since the passage of the Resumption act in
1875 when the silver dollar was worth as
much rs the greenback dollar, and if
the present large coinage of silver is
to be continued gold will be driven
out and our currency sink to the bullion
value of silver, thus losing more than we
have gained by resumption. On this point
the President is explicit. "The market
value of the silver dollar" he says. 'being
uniformly and largely less than the market
value of the gold dollar, it is obviously i'm
practicable to maintain them at par
with each other If both are coined
without limit. If the cheaper coin is
forced into circulation it will IL coin ed