The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-08-10
Butler,. speech at Gloucester.

General Butler has taken time by the fore
lock- and, getting the start of General Schouler,
his rival candidate for Congress from the Fifth
district in Massachusetts,, has made the first
bid for the nomination. His speech at Glou-
cester on Saturday evening to the wives and
daughters of the absent Cape Ann fishermen
was fully reported the next morning in the
in the most eulogistic manner, of course, his
own labors in Congress in behalf of the in
terests of his constituents. 1t defends his
obstinate advocacy of impeachment of the
President. 1t reiterates the charge of being
''victims of corruption" against the seven re-
publican Senators -''the same number as there
were devils cast out of Magdalene for
lack of whose votes impeachment failed. 1t
gives good word to Stanton and many bad
one to Thomas and to Andrew Johnson. The
latter is denounced in Buffers usual bitter
style ''as traitor, sympathizer with rebels,
counterfeiters and thieves and every bad man
generally" General Grant is damned with
faint praise The story is denied that bar
gain had been patched up between Grant
and Butler" alike disgraceful to both. A con-
tradiction is offered of another of the many
headed rumors in circulation" to the effect that
In the event of General Grants election the
Massachusetts representative twill not receive
that just and proper recognition from the
administration which belongs to his position in
tAe republican party" Butler declares :-'T
shall advocate the election of General Grant as
the man selected by my party, whose patriot
ism, energy and success at the head Of the
armies of the United States in destroying the
rebellion In arms give satisfactory assurance
that he will be able, at the head of the gov
eminent, to resist this new phase of the re-
bellion. Transferred to civil life and his
administration devoted to such patriotic
work, 1t shall have the same cordial
and hearty support from me that 1t
would have were he my dearest personal
friend"
We must not omit to mention that Butler
not only thus ''defnes his position" but
also gives curious definition of the term
''carpet-baggers. According to his authority,
these are ''soldiers who fought in the war
and conquered, and who, while seeking to
defend by ballot what they had gained by the
bullet, have been called by their copperhead
enemies oarpet-baggers,' the only reason for
such an appellation being that the war has
robbed them Of all except what can conve-
niently be carried in that small article" Now
so many of the so-called ''carpet- baggers"
were suffers, and not soldiers, and so many of
them never had anything at all to be robbed
of previous to the war, that this definition
must be regarded as funny rather than correct
II will hardly do to be inserted even in the
next edition Of Webster's Dictionary of the
Connecticut language. Nor will everybody
put the same estimate as Butler on what he
enumerates ''among the benefits which the
war has given to the South, ''the DISPENSE
ton of three million dollars worth Of food
offered to the impoverished whites" Liberal
as this ''dispensation" must be considered, 1t
could but poorly compensate for the absolute
destruction of thousands of millions of South
ern capital by the war. Perhaps the hero Of
Fort Fisher may deem the impoverishment of
the Southern whites blessing, but to whom
He may be devoutly thankful that It has been
''sanctifed to his own good" Nevertheless,
If 1t be grim joke to him, it is death to them.