The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1866-05-31
Grant ON the Situation.

The editor of the Lewiston Falls
Journal recently spent an hour with
Gen. Grant, and reports many items
of interest in the conversation which
occurred. We clip the following from
his article, and we think the cause as
signed by the old hero for the present
temper of the southern people is the
correct one.
Referring to the temper ofthe South
ern people, he remarked that they are
much less disposed now to bring them
selves to the proper frame of mind
than they were one year since. GA
year ago. said he, "they were willing
to do anything now they regard them
selves as masters of the situation.-
Some of the rebel Generals" he added,
''are behaving nobly and doing all they
can to induce the people to throw aside
their old preiudices and to conform their
course to the changed condition of
things. Johnston and Dick Taylor,
particularly, are exercising a good
influence; but" he added s'Lee is be-
having badly. He is conducting him
self very differently from what had
reason, from what he said at the time
of the surrender, to suppose he would.
No man at the South is capable of ex-
ercising a tenth part Of the influence
for good that he is, but instead of u
sing it he is setting an example of fore
ed acquiescence so grudging and per-
nicious in it's effects as to be hardly
realized" ~.
''The men who were in the rebel ar
miles," said Grant, ''acquiesce in there
suit much better than those who staid
at home. The women are particular
ly bitter against the Union and Union
men, Of course" he added, ''there is
some bitterness Of feeling among all
classes, but am satisfied it would soon
die out if their leading men had not
somehow got the idea that treason af-
ter all was not tvery bad, and that the
Southern cause as they phrase it, will
yet triumph, not in war, but in politics.
In my judgment" said Grant, "the tone
Of certain men and papers at the North
is such as to do incalculable mischief
in making the late rebels believe that
they are just as much entitled to rule
as ever, and that if they will only stand
by what they are pleased to call their
rights, they will have help from the
North "This," significantly added
Grant, is ''only playing over again the
incipient stages of the rebellion. -
He was confident that the large majority
of the Southern people would smother
their resentments and be good citizens,i if
these mischief makers at the North,
{ the Copperheads would only let them
alone For himself, if he had the pow
er the first thing he would do would be
to seize the New York News and kin
dred sheets, which are giving the South
SO dangerous an idea Of their own pos
ition and ''rights.'
"Troops," said Gen. Grant, emust
be kept in all principal points in the
South for some time to come. This
will be necessary to repress the turbu-
lence of a class ofthe South very dan
gerous to all well disposed persons,
and also to protect the rights Of the
freedmen, who are looked upon with
deep hatred by very large proportion
of the people. I am in favor, however"
he added, ''of not retaining our volun-
teers for this duty, because they very
naturally think that they fulfilled their
engagement one year since,
Grant spoke in high terms of Sher-
man, Sheridan, Howard and other Gen
erals, and referred to our Mexican diff
q IL 1 I. L, l.
ed the French invasion of Mexico a
part of the rebellion, and he should
have been glad to have a detachment
of our army sent there one year since.
He would engage that Sheridan, with
plenty of arms and 1000 American
troops and a goodly number of Amer
lean officers, would, with the aid of the
Mexicans, clean Maximilian out OF
Mexico in six months.
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