Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-01-04
GEN. GRANTS REPORT.

W ucdl VIII III lilS
range of his profession there is no man to
whose Judgment the people of the United
States defer more implicitly. His capacity
for solving political problems remains to be
established.
Recently, at the request of the President,
he made hasty trip, occupying few days,
through the Southern country. He visited
four cities, to wit: Richmond, Raleigh
Charleston and Savannah. Of course, he
encountered individuals of more or less III
teligence ON the road between these points.
While he was on his progress the tele-
graphic and other accounts all concurred
in representing that the receptions accord
ed to him were cold and repulsive. Indeed
that they avoided intercourse with him.
On his return to Washington he made a
report of his observation to the President,
and the President laid it before the two
Houses of Congress, accompanied by spe-
cial message. The design of the trip is
now apparent 1t was to array the great
/ influence of General GRANT on the side of
| the Restorationists and against the ma ajor-
! ity in the two Houses to make the collos
| sal reputation of one man Overballance the
deliberate judgement of the representatives
of the States and the people. AS piece
of bold political strategy the scheme may
be commended; but it does not preclude
the privilege or duty of subjecting Gener-
al GRANTS opinions or conclusions to the
same searching analysis and review which
would be given to the ideas and decisions
of any other eminent citizen. What does
Gen. GRANT say?
l. That he found the leading men whom
he met disposed to accept the situation in
which they find themselves. That may be.
But the President himself has not found it
So if we may Judge from the earnest and
tart dispatches he has been compelled to
send every day or two, to some one or 9th
er of his Provisional Governors. He has
not found it easy, by long shot, to bring
the various State Conventions up to his
own mark as to what is absolutely needful.
Now we hold that on these political ques-
tons the judgement of the President is
worth full as much as the judgement of the
Lieutenant General The ink on the Presi-
dents dispatches rebuking the leading
official people of the South for not accept
ing the situation is hardly dry We take
it he has not been making fool of him
self on this point.
3 That an early restoration of the South
ern States to their normal conditions as
members of the Union, is every way desi-
rable. In our comments on the Presidents
message we said that to hold wide stretch
es of territory and large masses of popula-
ton, for long periods, under military rule
did not compact with the fundamental idea
OF representative government We have
not abandoned that view of the case and
are not likely to abandon it. If General
GRANT means that and no more, we are at
agreement with him. If he means some
thing different-that it is wise and pru-
dent to allow the reorganization of the
Southern States with the political power
remaining i'll the hands of the very men
who conspred for thirty years to bring
about the rebellion, and then, exhausted all
their physical and intellectual resources in
prosecuting it then, we do not accept his
conclusions So far as the Southern cleo
tions have been held not one of even quasi
loyalty has been elected to office to twenty
open and avowed traitors. Does that look
like accepting the situation II the South
ern people were really prepared to come
back with hearty good will, or any thing
like it, it seems to us they would select
men whose antecedents would be calculated
to render them acceptable, in some degree
to the Administration and its supporters
If it is assumed that the Administration
is satisfied with the sort Of men elected to
the Senate and House of Representatives
from the seeding States, we have to say
that no evidence of that fact is before us :;
and if we had such evidence we should on
ly regret the position the Administration
! had assumed.
The Reorganization of the Southern
States is a duty that does not dcvolve by
law on the Lieutenant General He has of
right no more to do with in than we have.
or any other citizen. His function is pure
ly military 1t dcvolves prominently on
Congress to decide when and how the re-
volted States shall be restored Of course,
in this matter, as in all other, the action Of
the Houses, unless two-thirds concur, must
be approved by the Executive 1t will be
time to infer that these two coordinate
branches Of the government are animated
by irreconcilable ideas when that condition
Of affairs shall really appear. Till then
we are inclined to believe, what we ear
nestIy hope, that notwithstanding the fer
ment inseparabie from debate, a basis of
adjustment will be found satisfactory to
! both departments -PiHsbmrg Gazette