The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-03-26
The Next Presidency The Position of
General Grant.

From the Herald
In the midst of the political excitements ofthe
day General Grant is looming up into bold relief
as the man for the next Presidency. As King
Saul among the mighty men of Israel stood
head and shoulders above them all, so stands
General Grant, in his great achievements, among
the heroes of the Union, victorious from the
difficult work Of crushing the late gigantic
Southern Rebellion. He has accordingly secured
q place III the gratitude and confidence of the
American people which is regarded as certain to
bring an easy triumph TO the party for the success
sion with which his great name may be identified.
Hence we Iind that the Northern radicals, IN
Congress and in their newspaper press are be
ginning to claim and proclaim him as their cam
dIdate and their exclusive property. Thus, Mr..
Washburne, OF Illinois, in the House; Mr. Will
son, OF Massachusetts, in the Senate; and Master
Ftrney, OF their Washington organ, and various
other Journals of the same school, have taken up
end announced the name of General Grant as
the watchword which is to'hold their rank and
nle together in the interval, and give them
another lease of power in 1868.
We apprehend, however, that in all these neat
calCulaVpns and great expectations the radicals
are reckoning without their host. What is the
position OF General Grant on the leading issues
OF the day From the morning after the assas-
smation of President Lincoln to this time he
has been the right.hand man OF President john
son. We believe that there is cordial under
standing and perfect harmony between these
two distinguished men. In regard to the restOra-
ton of the Southern States to Congress- and in
regard TO Mexico, though General Grant is not
a political speech maker or letter writer he has
spoken and written in support OF the Presidents
policy. We undertake to say, too, that when
President johnson, in his recent speech to the
Montana delegation, declared that he had no
aspirations for the next Presidency, he had
General Grant in view as his righttul and accept
able successor. In his liberal terms OF surren-
der accorded to General Lee, and in everything
else that he has said or done, General Grant has
shown himself anything but radical From
his intimate official relations with the President,
and from the absence Of even rumor of dis
agreement we may safely assume that there is
no rivalry between johnson and Grant for the
succession, but the one is well pleased with the
| idea that the other, in 1868, may be elected to
| regulate the radicals.
| But il will be remembered that President
| johnson is ambitious of one thing. He believes
! that his Southern policy is right; he believes
| that ii commands the appreciation of the coun-
| try, and he desires ana hopes to accomplish
| the work of Southern restoration during his
| present term of office. In this hope, however,
| he may be disappointed, and the contest be-
tween his system and the radical system of
+ reconstruction may be prolonged to the end of
! his present term, and may then be cast in such
| a shape as to leave him no alternative but that
of direct appeal TO the people tor their verdict
upon his administration. In this event, we