The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1861-11-19
CASE OF FREMONT
Charges i,rOUed before the Zu.
UeSiigOttng Committee.
From the Chicago Tribun

FROM tne Ohicago tribune.
: The readers Of The Tribune who have pinn
ed their faith to Fremont are only guilty O
the common error that lately afflicted th'
Cabinet and tho whole people. The spice o
early romance in the history Of the General
bis encounters with the Encouragement
which meet poor and ambitious youths a
J every turn in the upward ascent Of the steel
ladder Of life; his marriage with the daugh
ter Of distinguished Senator against the will
Of tho proud father; his California explors
tions l. sde under Mr.. Benton's patronsg,
when he was chairman Of the Military Com
miltee Of the Senate; the hair breadth
'scapes by food and field, Of which his admir-
ers tell his candidacy for the Presidency
and the indscrect and absured praise of par
tisan supporters, his reputed requirements of
riches that make him in the belief Of the
masses modern Cresus-all these things
gave Fremont a certain prestige which me n
were sure, would. when opportunity offered,
ripen into splendid and enduring success
This was the state Of popular feeling when
he was called to tho Department pf the
West " is early acts there; his apparent
but unreal activity; his willingness to assume
responsibility; hts proptness and emerge; and,
to a certain degree, his inaccessibility, con.
firmed the popular judgment and in all those
who did not, before creating an idol, choose
10 wait for the evidence of results Then
came his Proclamation, which struck quick
and keep into the masses, whose instructive
insight into the causes, nature aud cure OF the
Great Rebellion have not yet been At fault
Fremont thus heralded, was, six weeks ago, .,
the tavorite of the West.
1t is pity that all our men were untried.
The abest leader of our armies is without
great experience in wa. ln all that relates
TO the practice of the science, Scot: stands
! immeasurably ahead of all Others. Hi, con-.
mands, measured by the men now in the field,
have beel only militia psrades or holiday
sham fights The nation looks to Mcclellan
with breatLlcss soicitude, not unmixed with
tremulous apprehension. Mcdowell was tri-
ell aud failed, how needlessly and how rglor-
ious We all know. Butler hangs in suspense; !;
men know not whether to praise or blame;
Banks has had but a small chance for self.
assertion, and the vindication of the trust re-
posed in his hands. Sherman in Kentucky
goes bravely to his work; but we have no re-
suits. Not one of them has ever commanded
twenty five thousand men. They crganze
well and promise largely, but are yet to be
tested. Not 80 with Fremont. Clothed
with power almost despotic, which he has not
scru led TO strengthen 10y the quick and rigid
discipline of Martial Law; entruse ell with a
wide and perhaps necessary discretion in
the disbursement Of the money of the Reput-
lie he has spent with a lavish hand Assum-
tb.a "A
toops III half n dozen States, each irving to
out'lrip tie Others in rendering him aid, he
hs. gathered body Of as brave, loyal, and
willing men as ever pressed our country's
soil. Usurpiug the right to commission and
discharge officers for the army Il at was en-
trusted to bis guidance and care, he has not
been lSggsrd in his work, as more than
TWO hundred Of his commissions attest. We
know how he has used the power that he has
welded, but the public does not, though a
gIlmmerIng of the facts are stealing into tie
popular mind. Early in the campaign, Mr..
Bross, Of one editorial corps, went to ST.
Louis, lronton, Cape Girardeau, Cairo, and
Psducah. He returned with report Of the
goipgs on that WAS doubtful and unsstisfac
tory. Later, and about the time the army
Mulligan and bis command, Mr.. Medil went
from st. Louis to Jefferson City, and along
the road to Sedalia and Georgetown. He
left home an ardent sdmirer Of Gen. Ere.
mont, and disbeliever in the reports preju.
dicial TO his fitness for bis place. His letters,
which excited no little commotion among our
readers, testify the sincerity of his conver.
sion to the opposite opinion. When the
Congressional Committee charged with the
duty OF examining into army and navy con
tracts, went to st. Louis, DR.. Ray went down
to eudeavor 70 get at some of the facts devel
oped. His private letters contained matters
OF such moment and 80 prejudcial to the
management Of the Department, that Nj.
Sc'ipps, fearing that he had been msled by
Interested parties, deemed it his duty to see
for himself ~ he went down. Thus the
editorial proprielors of the Tribune, who are
to suffer by mistake in this grave matter,
have one at er another, been on the ground,
personal observers Of the state Of the De.
partment. All had been the fast friends of
the GeDersl-all had supported him for the
PREF isncy in ls56-all were in favor Of his
appointment to the Army Of the West-al
are willing to live and die by the doctrines Of
the Proclamation that has gone so straight
to the hearts OF the peopl'. Collectively NJ
an early stage in the campaign they had be IN
complmented by the General for their ear
nest support of the policy, and warmly thank
ed tor their generous devotion to himself"
The result is what would have happened to
any four earnest men who desire quick ter
mination OF tho war and an acknowledged
triumph Of the holy cause. Profound con.
viction of the incompetency Of the General,
disgust with the character Of men by whom
be puts his trust, and an assurance not to be-
shaken, that unless the Commander is re.
moved and the affairs Of the Department are
put into new hands, Missouri, and finally
Kentucky and Tennesse are bopelessIy lost
Not unsssisted have they arrived at this re
suit. With correspondents 10 st. Louis, un.
dur our pay. whose duty it is to observe aud
report the facts; with C respondents in every
division Of the the army-in some divisions
made up mainly Of Illinois men, dozens of
volunteer letter writers embracing colonies
and privates and all intermediate official
grades, with vide scqusiptaoce with the
leading men Of Missouri whose fidelity 10 the
Union cause is above SUSPICION we have had