The New York herald., 1864-09-30

DAl 0NI i II VI DEF lI.oi OO, 4
Genersl shernssu's PIaefersn-rhe Hes,
Lenders OF the People and the foiita-
qcal n Hsctsndsss-- III - essst
General Sherman has written recently three
remarkable letters One was to Massach usetts
agent on . subject that has received g. sat deal
Of popular attention the enlistment Of niggers-
Another was to General Hood, in reply to a
Peeksniiiian TRADE on the anpleasantness OF
third was addressed TO. the mayor Of Atlanta,
and treated upon the objects and issues OF the
war. In those three letters General Sherman
expressed sentiments that fnd an echo in every
truly loyal heart. and spoke as if In somc more
than natural way he had been made the mouth
piece Of the whole American people. His words,
sound as If they were distilled from the congre-
gated utterances Of every household in the
land. With q force and directness that are
An crican, hc has expressed, better than any
one else could do 1t, the very thoughts Of the
American people upon every subject Of national
interest, or that the people care pin
about Indeed General Sherman's lot
tcrs are the platform Of the people;
not wrought out piece Of political
machinery that men may choose to go upon
as they may choose between Chicago and Bal
timore-but platform that the people, when
they recognize It, will place themselves upon by
the inevitable instincts of their nationality and
existence.
Platforms are "in season" now, and every
political clique has tried its hand at the con-
structon Of one Baltimore, Chicago and
Cleveland conventions have given us their re-
spectve appreciations of the great facts and
great necessities Of the times. Each OF these
conventions has given us in its platform the mea-
sure of its own littleness-of its narrow views
and its inability to cope with great events; and
while the lame, irrelevant and noDsensical SEN
tences Of these political cliques fall coldy on
the popular ear, single man stands forth and
awakens and startles the people with the utter
ance Of their own thoughts This fact puts in
q stronger light what we have before said
about the real leaders Of a free people. Such
leaders are not In general the preferred men OF
political parties. The fact that q man has made
bargain with this or that clique, aud can,
through ito machinery, get more votes than
one who has made bargain with another
political clique, may make him legally Prcsi-
dent, and entitle him to sign the documents
that require the Presidents signature and draw
the Presidents pay; but 1t does not make him
the natural head and leader Of the people.
The real leaders Of the people are those men
whose personality becomes, in great crisis,
clothed with tho popular will, who are able to
lead the people In war to that success that is
necessary to a great popular purpose, and
whose genius places them above oil the other
men OF people, whether by their achieve
ments or their utterances. Grant, Sherman and
Sheridan are the men who answer this descrip-
tion best at the present time; but they are not
the men who are at all suitable to those ag-
glomerations Of popular enemies, the political
parties. On the contrary, the political parties,
with such men Of immense genius as Grant and
Sherman before their faces, turn away and
commend to the people two mere pretences--
two utter and absolute failures--the two most
| positive failures in politics and war that have
darkened the annals Of this century. Unques-
| tionably this is o great national misfortune.
Every history shows and proves that that peo-
pie will be best governed, most prosperous,
most happy, the incidents of whose social life,
! whose institutions and customs are most in
accordance with natural laws, and that the
nation whose career defes and spurns natural
laws cannot prosper and cannot live. In view
Of the fact that history teaches this how do we
stand on this great question Of the choice o.. a
national rulerY Grant and Sherman are the
proven natural leaders Of the people; and it
Is not even proposed to make them the formal
leaders Also in order that our political acts
may be consonant with those natural laws
that have made them our real leaders So far
from Its being proposed to do this, it is pro.
posed to do tho very oontrary9to place at the
head Of the people men who are proven not
to be leaders; to ignore success aud great.
ness; to push them aside and put in their
places the very impers0nations Of weakness
and failure. Antiquity did this whenever ii
had tie chance, whenever great mon would
permit, and the one progressive people of the
nineteenth century do 1t also, just as if there
wer no instruction In history.
| GENERAL MCCLELLAN SYapATHIzEs WITH THE
ARMY AND THE NAyY.-General Mcclellan is
Il - l.. L.