The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-03-21

The TRBUNE'S Nc CLELLAN SroRY.-Witt
characteristic malignity H. Greeley Il Compa
ny lately seizel upon vile story against Gene
tai Mcclellan by which he was accused of an
improper correspondence with General Lee on
the night Of the battle of Antetam. Thi:
story, through the falsehood OF which every
man OF common sense saw at once, appeared
emnently reasonable to the maniac miscegena.
tors, and they spread ii to the best of their
ability and goated over it, and shouted and
clapped their hands in the widest kind OF glee
to think that finally they had discovered real
crime in the gallant soldier whom they have
hated cordially for so many months Finally
this story proves to be as miserable manu-
facture as Tribune stories generally; but it is
a little odd to find that it came to the Tribune
office directly from the War Department For
it should be known that between the Tribune
establishment and the War Office there are
very intimate relations. It is not difficult to
explain this.
Some time ago new position was made
in the War Department, for the cont enence
a that department-and for other reasons-in
the form Of an additional Assistant Secretary.
AT the time that this place was made II was
proposed in Congress that one Of the anem-
ployed major generals should be appointed to
fill IL, since he would doubtless possess prao-
tical knowledge of army matters that must be
Of value to the department. But the makers
Of the new place opposed this. They said that.
though we had unemployed major generals
who knew great deal about war, and unem-
ployed major generals who knew great deal
about law, we yet had none possessed at
once OF "the necessary military and legal know.
ledge" Such an announcement gave an ade-
quate idea Of the abilities that the new Assist
ant Secretary must have, and Congress modest
ly kept still. Apparently it was impossible
to find q man possessed at once Of the nccesza-
ry military and legal knowledge" aud so the
place was given to a man possessed of neither.
Undoubtedly this was quite fair He
would not be likely to have preiudces
either way. An Assistant Secretary who had
been soldier might be foolish enough to
think q mol. pros. of not much account in bat
tie, while one who had been a lawyer might be
their attendant shrapnel In that way the War
Department might come to be laughed at So
those who take care of the dignity Of the War
Department decided that the next best man to
one who knew both was one who knew
neither, aud the place was given to Mr.. Charles
A. Dana graduate Of the Tribune Office.
Mr.. Dana had lost his last place through
undue ZEAL He was too bitterly radical for the
Tribune Office. lie was the man who s'did'
General Mcclellan on that paper; and when
the Tribune was in the widest OF its violence
against the popular fayorite its owners dis
covered that this deiirium Of denunciation
damaged General Mcclellan much less than it
did their cash accounts. 1t could not be
hidden that the Tribune was in . decline. finan-
cially and otherwise, and its owners deter
mined that the Mcclellan donunciatioas must
stop. Two or three compromises were tried;
but they did not do, and Dana finally had to
60. Where could he CO. Stanton had been
appointed Secretary Of War to kill Mcclellan.
One who had been martyr to his denuncia.
ton of Mcclellan ought, therefore, to and
afiliation in the War Department.; and Dana
went there. But though thus parted from the
Tribune estab lishmcnt, he retains an indirect
association with it, and has been for the first
time heard from in bis new position through
the Tribune.
Some OF the War Department creatures, il
appears, found in Washington lately drunken
chap who lived near to the battle field Of
Antietam, into whose ears they pumped the
sewerage OF their brains in the form Of the
story Of which the Tribune has made so much.
Having pumpel this story into the man, they
pumped it out. But 1t bad not the expected
effect II was too absurd for the credcnce Of
even the radicals; and thus this contribution to
the Tribune from its attache in the War De-
partment has failed, and the Tribune aud its
agent must try again.
WIZ GENERAL SHERMAN FAILED TO REACH
SEIMA-THE VALUE or MOUNTED INFANTRY
1t is known that the special object of General
Sherman in his late inland expedition from
vicksburg was the capture OF Selma, on the
Alabama river, and the destruction Of military
magazines, foundries. factories and warlike
materials, including several iron-clad boats
in the stream at that point. II Is known that
after reaching the Meridian railway junction,
near the Alabama border, and after waiting
there week for the arrival Of the cavalry
forces OF Smith and Grierson from the north,
General Sherman was compelled to return,
. III