Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-01-22
Gbt FIREMAN.
MONTPELIER, VT:
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY %. 1868
Hold Fast to Sound Doctrine.

Ihere Is to-day a very general concurrence
IN the opinion that Gen. Grant ought to be
nominated at Chicago as the Republican
candidate for the next presidency There
arc several reasons for this agreement oi
opinion Some who are. on the whole dis
susted with politics and politicians, and are
vet moderate Republicans, or ut least not
Democrats. prefer Grant because he is not :.
politician, and at the same time not Il Dem
ocrat Some believe Grant y sincere and
honest friend of Republican principles who
will. If made President. administer the Office
faithfully for the good Of the whole people OF
the country, irrespective of color or party,
and therefore desire to see him put in nom
nation and we reckon ourselves arnong this
class Another class think Gen. Grant the
strongest man the party can nominate, and
holding that the success Of the party is 4
duty, favor his selection 9 Il candidate with
out much reference to his political sentiments
Another class still like Raymond and W ced
and other politicians who went into the Phil
adelphIa arm-in-arm conventlon--thinl II
secure the disposal of all the fat places in
the distribution of patronage. and they are
therefore anxious to be thought the especial
and confidential friends of the General. These
classes make together large majority of the
voters of the country outside of the Demo
cratic party.
If Grant We're not a silent man he could
not have this rather mixed and singular con-
junction of friends. He does nit explain his
hut l. e
him. As General of the army. and as Sec
rotary of War, he has kept a. much apart from
politics as possible. He has neither conspircd
with the Radicals against the President, nor
taken sides with the President against the
Radicals, but has evidently endcavorcd faith
fully to execute the laws and obey the orders
of his superiors. lie has at all times recog-
nized Congress as the law-making power
and the President rs COMMANDMENT in Chief OF
the armies, thus acting in the strictest con-
formity to the constitution and his duty as
General of our armies. Whenever he has
spoken. as in his protest against the removal
of Sheridan and the suspension Of Stanton.
his words have had the ring of genuine Re
publicanism, as well practical good sense
But because he has shown fartisanship,
Democrats thought for awhile they could
make him their tool, at least make him
too conservative for Republican support ;
and since they have given up that vain ex-
pectation, some very estimable gentlemen
and some not very estimable and rather un-
sound Republican politicians-have appar-
emily had an idea that they could make the
General conservative nO-party candidate
who, although Ignored by earnest Repub-
lic.ns and earnest Democrats alike could be
successfully for the presidency as the
peoples candidate. We have before us the
circular of the committee appointed in De
cember at the meeting of the rich men in
Cooper Institute, New York. This docu-
ment is signed by Alexander I. Stewart,
Chairman, and bears the names of Wander
bilt, Astor, Taylor, and more than a wagon
lead of the rich men Of that rich city, and it
commends General ULYSSES s. GRANT as
- candidate of the people, irrespective of
party The circular says of this gather
ing at Cooper Institute, that - it appeared
a. as if the people, sickened with politics
- and politicians, and anxious alone for the
prosperity of the country and the per
petuity of our Union, had met in their
might and taken into their own hands the
- business of declaring, in advance of politi
' cal conventions, who should be their next
:" Chief Magistrate and ruler" The circular
adds 80 It may also be remembered, that
e while ignoring politicians, they likewise
{ ignored party platforms, the expedient of
politicians, and determined to present the
name of that man for President, whose
- past services to our country give assurance
50 that he is equally entitled TO confidence,
- whether occupying a civil Office OF leading
our armies to victory Mr. Stewart and
his committee invite the cooperation Of those
of like mind with themselves in nominating
Gen. Grant upon this Cooper Institute plat
form. which declares itself to be no platform.
IF this circular, when it urges the people
to take the business of elccting President
out of the hands of the @ politicians, !" means
to rescue that officer from the control of
those who make a trade of politics. the
movement will have the hearty sympathy of
"a great many Republicans who have the most
earnest views and the most dec; led convic-
lions in respect to what are commonly called
political affairs" and who will never vote
for any candidate unless he stands squarely
upon platform of the clearest cut Repub
lean principles. If, however, Mr. Stewart
and his committee mean that principles
to be ignored in the coming campaign, and
men with principles are to be showed aside to
make room for men without convictions or
principles of any sort, they will find that
neither Democrats nor Republicans will fol-
low their lead.
Gen. Grant has shown by his course thus
far tina. he fully believes in carrying out the
will of the people. He has made no claim,
nor do his friends need make any claim for
him, thot he !, n Republican in the sense in
which Mr. Sumner or Thad. Stevens are Re
publicans He is not so much leader as
follower of public opinion. As President he
will obey the expressed wish of those who
elect him and how can that wish be better
expressed than by plain and unequiyocal
declaration of Republican principles? In
view of the fact that Gen. Grant is pressed
upon the public attention candidate who
is to be elected upon his record, rather than
as the representative of the ideas of any
body of men in the country, it becomes all
the more necessary that the Republicans
who favor him should insist that the platform
to be made at Chicago be an explicit and I'M
heeitating declaration Of Republican prin-