The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1867-11-02
Gen Grant for the Presidency,

Gen Grant for the Presidency.
The tremendous scare of the radicals, in con-
sequence of the recent elections, has turned
their attention to seeking an drailaJle instead
of representatives, candidate for the Presiden-
cy. Three months ago the proposition to
take for candidate a radical less dyed in the
wool than Chase, Sumner, or Ben Wade would
have been hOoted at and eXecrated by the
whole tribe; now they are quite willing to
take Gen. Grant, if he will only condescend to
against them before the campaign is over
The willingness of the radical leaders to
take Gen. Grant as their candidate for the Pre-
sidency argues even a greater degree OF fright
than we gave them credit tor. There is really
nothing in Gen Grants political record to
show that he ever had any real sympathy for
radicalism He has stated repeatedly that up
to and during the larger part of the war, his
sympathics had always been with the Demo-
Gratis that he had voted for Buchanan for
President; that he was Douglas man against
Lincoln; and it was notorious that during
Lincoln's second candidacy, Grants feelings
were all for Mcclellan, though he has stated
that he voted for neither. At the close of the
war, the terms granted by Gen. Grant to Gen.
Lee were not at all such us the radicals APP
proved. Then but few weeks ago he adj
mitted in his evidence before the impeachment
committee that President Lincoln had shown
him precisely the same North Carolina pro-
clamation which President johnson subse-
quently issued, and which gave the radicals
so much offence, and that he had approved it.
His report to President Johnson two years
ago, after trip through the Southern States,
shows that he cordially endorsed the Presi-
dents whole reconstruction policy; that he be-
lieved the feeling of the South towards the
federal government was such that they ought at
once to be admitted to their rights under the
constitution that the negroes ought not to
be admitted unfortunately to the right Of
suffrage; and that the freedmens bureau was
The report was SO offensive to Senator Sum-
ner that he called it a whitewashing report"
and made a half days speech against it. In
short, the only utterances of Gen. Grant that
ever gave comfort to the radicals were his let
tiers to the President in reference to the re-
moval Of Gen. Sheridan. He based his Oppo-
sitlen to that step solely on the ground that
the ''people" approved Gen. Sheridan's adj
ministration, and "the will Of the people,"
said he, I" is the supreme law of the land"
! Perhaps, since the recent elections, he has rad
ically changed his opinion as to the direction
of the popular will on that and kindred sub
jects. That party hitherto so fearfully posi-
tive in all its aims as the radical party, should
now be willing to commit their cause in the
hands of one whose strongest pledge is that
he will be guided by something SO unstable
AND unreliable as the popular will, is indeed
amazing beyond degree.
There are, however, radicals who protest
against such sacrifice of principle for the
sake of success. Don Piatt, of the Mac-a-
cheek (O) Press, is admitted to be one of the
soundest as we'll as slirewdest of all the radi-
cal leaders. He says this movement in favor
Of Grant is "cry of despair" and translated
into plain English I" 1t MEANS" he says,
that the people no longer believe in our
principles or sustain our measures; :" make
shift that the party are ready to abandon both
and "run on Grant" 1t Is, as he thinks,
movement to substitute all available man in
the stead of radical principles and measures,
hoping that Grant will carry the party through,
when those principles and measures would
not. "It is an acknowledgement Of defeat
beforehand, which they virtually concede to
be inevitable, unless they can get some man
who is more popular than their policy, and
whose popularity is sufficient to carry success
fully the odium which now attaches to that
policy" e ~;
1t would be impossible more clearly and
scarchingly to unmask the recent radical move
ment in favor of Gen. Grant than is done by
this Ohio editor, and his style of doing it also
shows how signally the thing must fail. }
Va.