American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-09-04
Gen. Grant and his Assai lants.

NOll' III luut dllu LIS f1D0ul 1dlUDt
Harper's Weekly sharply rebukes the
Tribune for the want of irankness, and
for seeking to accomplish hy inuuendo
and indirection what it dare not under>
take in an open and straightforward
manner. This the Weekly explains as
follows: aa
The reason is, that the Tribune wishes
to damage the chances Of Grants nom.
instion by insinuation, by suggesting
doubts and suspicious, by shrugging its
shoulders and lifting its eyebrows.
Why should it condescend to do this ?
The very first covert assault of this kind
upon the general revealed to the whole
country that it did not approve his can
dldacy. Would it not then have been a
thousand~tofd better TO ssy betimes aud
distinctly that, great as Grants services
IN the field had been, it did not feel too
sure Of his political convictions and his
policy ii elected, to support him for the
Presidency ?
The Baltimore american, which for a
single day, suffered itself to be betrayed
into the expression of doubt concern
ing Geu, Grant, has an able and manly
article, the material portion Of which we
quote, as follows
We are informed from very high au,
thority, as we shold have known without
being 80 told, thai this is mere move.
ment In the tactics of the Office hunting
band, part of the Presidential game,
and implies no disturbance in the ad>
ministration of the army or the War
Department We shall not, so far as
we are individually concerned, fear any
such disturbance SO long as Gen. Grant
remains in immediate personal control of
our military officers and is one of the ad-
visers chosen by the President. We are
not among those who are made anxious
or inpatient at his supposed reticence." /"
We risk our expectations not so much
upon what he shall say OF has said, as
upon what he has done and shall do, and
we are willing TO accept bis past as a
strong assurance of our faith in his fu.
ture. The fact is, we have oeen of late
very much misled and Disappointed, and
deceived by what men have said, and
have come to the conclusion that the
ulen who are very eager to say II great
deal, when there is purpose to be
answered by it, are extremely apt mot to
do anything which they may have said
when that purpose shall have been an
swered. And, under the lessons of this
sort which we lave received from vari.
Gus directions, we are making the effort
in good faith to stiHe our impatience at
General Grants fgriure to tell all that
lie Is going to do under our coutentment
wish what he has already done. We
are at ioss to understand why any Rad
lcal should wish General Grant to have
refused to act as Secretary OF War " al
interim, or what he could have said
more than he did say in accepting that
appointment When General Grants
future shall have disappointed the ex-
pectations authorized by the past, it will
be quite time enough for US to lament
and denounce another illustration of hu
man folly and baseness. Until such
events we shall not indulge unauthorized
and imaginary fears. Tnat Mr. Stan
tons removal is part of political effort
TO recover power and public con.
fdence by certain men who have lost
both by wretched infidelity to the people
and miserable mistakes 81 popular SEN
timent, there can be no doubt. 1t is
equally certain that they are endeavoring
10 use his grand presence and power to
mask their maneuvres. We must think
it mistake to attack him because some
for whom we can feel no respect are ma.
king the attempt to retrieve their lost
positions and cover their follies with OBJ
liYtp by AUST recognition of his vir.
tues. The refusal Of General Grant to
admininister the affairs of the War Office
il be had the right so to refuse. as we
suppose he had, would have certainly
involved the placing those matters in
the hands Of some one less entitled to the
confidence OF the country than he is,
aud to this extent would have damaged
Mr. johnson and the other parties TO the
intrigue of which it is a part. But it
would also, and to the same extent, have
endangered the public interests, and we
confess it would have lowered our esti-
nation of the high intelligence, as well
as the patriotism of General Grant, if we
had found him imperilling great ques
tons OF public policy in order to sweep
from his path a low, and, as we think,
insignificant intrigue. There are mon
concerned in this movement against Mr..
Stanton whose ambition General Grant
cannot stife, andwhOse efforts to crafty