Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-05-22
Horace Greeley Signing Jeff. Davis
Bail BOni,


Bail Bond.
Mast should make cartoon for fIarper' :
Weekly. setting forth the spectacle presented
in the United States Court ut Richmond
when Horace Greeley =. led the column Of
sureties for Jeff Davis's release on bail.
The artist would find abundant material for
many incidental features of the picture The
bar, the bench and the architecture Of
the room would need little attention. Mr.
Greeley's companions on the bond would
demand small space There should be enough
of the spectators u bring out the fierce ex-
ultatiOn Of the Richmond rebels over the
Liberation of their chief. Justice, with even
scales and bandaged eyes. would, of course,
be represented. but she should be pinioned
and should be deaf a. well ~ blind. Libby
prison should appear in the near background
as we'll as Belle Isle. Salisbury and Andcr-
sonvillc. y few strokes Of the pencil would
reveal their nameless horrors. One Jefferson
Davis az the president of the rebellion should
be represented witnessing with dcvilish sat
isfaction the terrible agonies of the living
dea tn Of those hells- whose fortunes, if not
Deliberately planned by him. were reent-
lessly put i'll execution under his very eyes,
and by subject to his command Mercy
and pity should find no place in his counte-
nance, but demoniac anger, rage and revenge
should burn like flame in his ewes The
graves of innumerable brave men. the
badges Of mourning in almost every house
hold,-the one armed and one legged army
Of heroes,-the great burden of public debt
under which every industry in the country
must struggle for generations. -these. and
much more which an artists genius would
suggest, would find appropriate place in the
cartoon. With this background of history.
what spectacle would be presented by
Horace Greeley fastening to become surety
for the unrepentant criminal criminal
whose offense in length and breadth and
height and depth being knows in full
except Him who has heard the uttered and
unuttered prayers of millions of mourners,
and into whose ears have entered all the
groans and cries of pain and anguish of the
suffering, starving and dying victims of the
treason of JEFF. Davis
1t is not surprising that the Republican
press Of the country can find no excuse or
apology for this act Of Mr. Greeley He
has condemned treason with vigor of logic
and rhetoric equalled in its energy and force
by that Of few writer's in the North. His
pen has always been strong and terrible in
it's denunciatiOn of the crimes committed by
the leaders of the rebellion. The unspeaka-
bic torments Of rebel prison pens he has often
charged upon the men who controlled the
traitor confederacy- Thousands Of columns
Of the Tribune have been filed with the
shocking and heart-rending recitals of rebel
cruelties. Yet. when the chief of the traitor
confederacy appears in court to answer to a
charge of treason, Horace Greeley makes
himself conspicuous by signing the bond
which gives him his liberty
Mr. Greeley offers. in cxtcnuation OF his
conduct, ill-tempered growl against his
critics, and a declaration that jeff Davis Is
no criminal until the law declares him
criminal But if Davis is not traitor in
Mr.. GreeIey's opinion, then he must also
hold that there have been no traitors and no
treason, and that the South committed no
crime in turning its arms against the general
government Inevitably upon this follows
the conclusion that the government committed
a most terrible crime in making war upon an
innocent people Mr. Greeley should
write his :. History Of the Rebellion, begin
ming by reconstructing its title and calling it
= History Of the uniustifiable and criminal
waged by the United States against the
virtuous and noble Jefferson Davis and his
innocent and struggling fellow countrymen.
This would involve, quite likely, an entire
re-cast Of his narrative, but it might be
- worked up" by vigorous pen into for
midable rival at the South of PoIlard's His
tory Of the war for Southern independence
Mr.. Greeley has another apology to offer
for putting his name next to that of Jefferson
Davis on the bail bond. He saws it is dis
grace to the government to hold Davis longer
in prison without n trial. TO this we agree
in part. The disgrace, however, arises from
not trying him, not from not releasing him.
The government is not waiting for evidence.
1t has that in abundance. 1t is not waiting
for clearer views of the law. The lawyers
know the law as well now as they will a year
hence. 1t il not waiting for the court or the
jury, for they have been ready more than
year What it is waiting for no
understand, unless it be for a favorable OPP
portunitv TO sneak out Of the trial altogether
and permit the criminal to go unhung. All
this is disgraceful enough To the government,
but how does it mitigate the offensiveness of
the act of Mr.. Greeley? We have known
the Tribune 10 condemn vigorously the delays
Of prosecuting officers to bring criminals in
New York city to trial, but Mr.. Greeley has
not considered it his duty therefore to hurry
to the Tombs and offer himself as bail for the
criminals; yet the worst criminal who ever
darkened the door of that prison was a white
robed angel of innocence in comparison with
jeff Davis. If Mr.. Greeley is going into
the business Of being bail for every prisoner
of the law whose trial is delayed. he will find
himself shortly so warmly in sympathy with
criminals, that they will be ready to initiate
him into their fraternity and confde to him
all the tricks of their trade: and if he is not
going into that business. it would be Infinitely
for his credit not to strike hands with the
most notorious and conspicuous villain of the
nineteeeth century, in procuring his release
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