Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-10-03
3s5SI From the New York Herald loa bIG
sfanton's Speech and its Omis-

When ex-Secretary of War Stanton ad-
dressed his friends and fellow citizens of
Ohio, near Steubenyille, the other day, in
the centre of the agricultural district
which surrounds the bridge uniting the
Buckeye State with West Virginia, he.
said a good many excellent things but he
lett a good many other things unsaid,
which may be regarded of some import
ar1ce in the history of the war which he ap-
parently attempted, to illustrate in his dis
course For example, he did not say any
thing about the outrages upon the rights
and liberties of citizens, directed by him
self,and carried out under his Instructions
during bis term of office He was solemn
" silent about the numbers of American
citizens locked up in Fortress Monroe,
Fort Lafayette and Fort Warren without
warrant or without any charge of crime
being registered against them.l He had no
explanation to give about these matters,
but SKINNED them over as gracefully as
a swan goes oyer the water. In the same
way he skillfully avoided telling by what
intrigues he procured the office OF Secre-
tary of War, or to what extent he cheated
and deceived every body in order to keep
himself in that position. SO long, despite the
will of the Executive and the desire of the
people. Now, all these little revelations
would have given considerable Zestto Mr..
Stanton's speech, because the public would
naturally like to hear by what means, and
more especially for whatpurpose, he kept
the authority of the executive at bay, and
only condescended to acknowledge the ex-
fstence of General Lorenzo Thomas, the
Presidents appointee to the War Depart
ment. by inviting him to take drink,
while he kept the key of the War Depart
ment archives in his pocket and defied the
authority of the President. None of this,
although people would be delighted to
hear the fairy tale from the lips OF it's au-
thor. cf --a---. -. s.. ~
Mr.. Stanton gives in this speech a Ho-
meric picture of the services and valor of
the generals engaged in the war. He for
gets that the public were as watchful OBJ
servers of their career as Secretary STAN
ton, and know just how to allot to each
their full modicum of praise for services
well rendered to the republic. What Mr..
Stanton onits to explain In his speech is
the reason why SO many private citizens
were seized and incarcerated by his order
while he was Secretary OF War; upon what
charges they were SO -incarcerated and
minute description of the pains, penalties
and indignities they were compelled to
suffer at his direction. This would have
made the most interesting speech of the
campaign if these points were supplied,
and there is no one SO cornpetentto deliver
such discourse as x-Secretary Stanton
himself. The chief Jesuit among political
Jesuits, the feeble but mischievious imita-
tor of Machiavel, aspiring to the rank with
out possessing the qualities of the bold, bad
Italian politfcian, Mr.. Stanton has attempt
ed to follow the Machiavelian policy, for
getting that the atmosphere was |holly
iincongenial for the growth ofsuch plant.
He undertook to grapple with the press;
but he took bold OF the irresponsible SUI
bordinates and dared not touch the princi-
pals. Reporters were the game he sought
for the exercise of his spite. The proprie-
tors Of leading journals which old not sus-
tain the weakness and corruption of the
War Departmental he may have threatened,1
but did dot attempt to punish. Now, to
have said so much in his late stump speech
about the war and the generals who fought
if out so gallantly, which everybody knew
before, and not to say a word about all
these facts which we have indicated must
be regarded as grave sin Of omission on
the part of Mr.. Stanton. i.8 ias