New-York tribune., 1868-01-06


shout. Gen. Grant himself takes sensible view
of the situation. 81 am a soldier" he is reported
as saying, "and not civilian. My life has
mot led me into politics am used to camps
"and war, and | do MT know the men who
"control civil affairs. Then l am General.
"have the confidence of the country, Republl-
"can and Democratic. If am candidate Tor
"the Presidency, the opposition make my me-
"my habits, my whole career, objects OF de-
"traction. suspicion, falsehood, and calumny.
"I am made partisan chief, and not
"national captain. If you must have mill
"tary man, there's Sheridan; but l sincerely
"trust that no crisis will arise which will
"compel my friends to place me in nomina-
"tOn.D While this is, no doubt, the opinion
of Gen. Grant-and an opinion very natural
and proper-it is certainly not that of Mr..
WashburDe, and of the men who back the
General. They mean to make him run by
getting up in the first place an "irrepres-
sble enthusiasm" and in the second place
by working on the fears of the party and
making the leaders believe that Grant is
the only man that can be elected. The
whole proceeding is very like that of Mr..
Drew or Mr.. Vanderbilt, when they managed
fancy stock in Wall-st They are trying to
"bearn the market and "bull" their stock.
Take an original Grant man into the lobby of
the House, and you will find the country in
the most dreadful condition. Everything is
going to the bad. The cotton crop is short, and
there are more crimes than usual, and business
is depressed, and the Democrats have the whip
hand of ms, and the negroes are behaving
bo1 md 10 fiOhf lc
inevitable 1t is his conviction, based upon
Excellent Sources of Information (this whisper
ingly, and with a wink up Indiana-ave.), that if
Grant be ousted out of the War Office, for in
stance, hostilites will spread all over the South,
and conflict begin, the end of which no one
can see. Well, you ask in terror, what's to be
done Had MT we better wind up business and
sell out to Lord Stanley or Napoleon "No, no;
not at all Take Grant. Invest in this stock.
"The only safe thing on the street. Only fifty
shares TO be had, and enormous dividends be-
hind. Think of Paris, my boy, or a Rev
enue place in Walrussia."
This is what our fancy-stock politicians call
The Grant Movement. was in conversation
with distinguished Senator some days since
q man who believes in Grant as we all believe
in him. He had travelled far and wide during
the Summer lie mad seen thousands of people,
and this is what was generally said Senator
-"Well, what do you think of the Presidential
question:" Citisen-"I l DO MT know Things
"look mixed We guess we have got to take
Grant" Senator" Is there any positive de-
81 sire for Grants nomination ~ Citizen" None
around here. We all would like somebody
"else-Cbase, Colfax, Norton or some states
''man-but we are afraid we can't help our
"selves.n 1t is very much as if you were
to raise the cry of Fire in Broadway at mid
day, or start running after some imaginary
pckpocket with the cry of "stop thief" or to
point at an ideal star III the clear and starless
sky. In an hour you could impede business.
Grant is to be forced into the race as last
resort, and the Republican party is to be
brought TO such a condition that il must accept
him.
Is it wise, say many of our most thoughtful
men, to make a soldier candidate Are we to
take the advice of those leaders who
insisted upon indorsing Mr.. johnson long after
his treason began to work; who feared the
Frecdmen's Bureau bill was unnecessary, and
Manhood Suffrage the creased cartridge of the
Sepoy and who demand the nomination of neg
ative military candidates The candidate may
be a great soldier his character may have civic
beauty as well as military glory; he may be
Endorsed by Radical politicians. Any OF
these considerations might be pleaded in behalf
of military nomination. They are not pleaded
We must have a military man as the candidate
of necessity. These men find success dearer
than principle, and prefer an easy campaign
with an uncertain leader to a manly fight at
every odds for liberty and justice. The Re-
publican party should certainly meet this
question: Should success in war be the
highest recommendation to the Presidency
Our best men had hoped later years would
give us the moral strength to do in this re-
spect what no party in this country has
ever yet done. With the exception of Wash
ington, we have had no military President
competent to deal literally with affairs of
State. 1t is customary to say this of Jackson.
We cannot honor the man with the highest
honor who debased the public morals by fos-
tering corruption, and who regarded the coun-
try very much as he did his plantation in Ten
nessee and the public officers to be kept as
well under the whip as his his negro slaves.
The education of the mere soldier units HIM
for civil RESPONSIBILITIES. His life is spent in
camps and forts, on the Indian frontier or IN
circumlocution offices, drowsily winding red
tame. One of the greatest modern thinkers mas
shown how few of the elements OF character
that contribute to greatness are needed III tle
successful military commander, and names
Cromwell, Washington, and Bonaparte as the
only three men in modern times who knew
how to command an army and also
how to govern nation. The experience
sc MON ond books-the knowledge of political