Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1867-10-30
GRANT AND THE PRESIDENCY.


keep Gen. Grant before the people, and to
anake him appear wonderfully great man
the only man who can bring the country out
of its tolls and troubles. They represent him,
too, as a very Sphinx, who stubbornly or stu
pidly refuses to unriddle himself, and whom
antagonistic political slate-makers and Presi-
dental candidate mongers engage to riddle for
the public, each to suit his own ends. One
day the telegraph reports Gen. Grant to have
said or acted SO and so next day comes an
other dispatch, in the way of a correction"
which says he did not do so and so and next
will come Especial" declaring both previous
reports "entirely unfounded," and there leave
the subject. Then some Radical leader has
"'just had private, confidential interview
with Gen. Grant," and to show that it was
confidential if nothing more, he tells it to the
world by medium of Especial and that
demonstrates that Grant is with Congress, and
opposes the policy of the President. In the
same columns we will find where "Johnson
after having long and earnest conversation
with him, and he stands firmly by the Presi-
dent in his opposition to the unconstitutional
measures of the fanatics who rule the Con-
gress." Following these stories we have the
hosting of Gen. Grants name for the Presi-
dency, by some rampant Radical sheet in the
West, and also by some dishwater, War Dem
socratic journal in the North. And, likely
enough Gen. Grant has neither sided with nor
opposed the President or the Congress, to one
or other of the individuals, but sat- like Irvings
Dutch Governor, befogged and imperturbable
amidst the thick volumes of his own tobacco
smoke, all the while his visitors were talking
themselves dry and empty in the vain attempt
to extract from their object exactly what he
did not know himself-whether he was with
the President or with Congress in sentiment.
IF he does something which the Radicals
deem to be a move in sympathy with the Pres
ident, Grant gets out Of it by saying the Pres
ident is his superior, and he has no alternative
but to obey whatever orders the President is
sues IF his conduct dispIeases the johnson
men, in leaning towards Congress, the General
refers to the Act of Congress, (which is the
law to him, and must be obeyed, regardless of
his own ideas Of right or wrong" And when
he rather. mixes things by taking the Executive
fish and the Congressional fowl at the same
time, if asked by the friends of either side for
an explanation, the great Commander becomes
~'reticent,'' and then his doubIe-tongued ora
,cles make confusion worse COMPOUNDED by their
respective and antipodal solutions of the vexed
question The General appears always, when
things go cranky, to have been "misrepre-
sented." Faith, he is as badly off, in this re-
spect, as the people of the Southern Military
Districts, who are not at all rightfully repre-
sented. But when all is smooth, the .'reticent''
smoker can be glib enough with congratula-
tions.
AS a very pertinent illustration of the pecu-
liarity in Gen. Grant which we have COMMENT
ed upon, we copy the following from the WASH
ington Star of October 18th:
We are authorized to state that the report tele-
graphed from this city, stating that Gen. Grant, in
conversation yesterday, declared himself much pleas
ed with the result of recent elections is without any
foundation. He has not expressed himself to any
to that effect 1t may be added to this that Gen
Grant also declares that the published telegraph,
purportng to give his evidence before the Impeach-
ment Committee last summer to his views on re-
construction, grossly misrepresented him.
Mark this authorized statement fails to
reveal whether Gen. Grant did or did not rejoice
at the result at the recent elections: it merely
states that he did not let anybody know wheth-
er he was or was not pleased thereat Also,
it is not revealed whether he was grossly
misrepresented'' as against the Reconstruc
tion scheme, or in favor of it. What an Artful
Dodger! We can fancy him standing before
aComlnittee come to tender him nomination
for the Presidency. They ask: General, pray
inform us do you or do you not approve and
endorse the platform!" He responds: "Gen-
tlemen, such is my opinion" What splendid
choice for the next Presidency! A man who
is on both sides must be for his country-or
himself. The Ulysses of Homer did make the
difficult trip past Scylla and Charybdis, despite
the Siren. But we have never heard that his
boat was double ender, nor that he smoked
his way through the terrible passage, and de-
pended solely on the "'dead-reckoning" of stars
TO gain his ultimate goal. The modern Ulysses
may not succeed SO well as did Homer's hero.
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POSTAL AGENT.-The Salt Lake Yedette of
the 23d saws Special Postal AGENT C!lan,,;t was