Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1868-02-25
Mr. Johnson's Collision with General Grant-Hi
Opinions on the Generals Honesty, Politics, Et

MACK" the correspondent of the Cincin-
natl Commercial, in the latest of his "Presi-
dental Talks" represents the President as
speaking as follows:
Mr.. johnson referred to that part of Gen.
Grants correspondence in which the General
asks him to reduce to writing the order given to
him verbally, to disregard any order received
from Stanton, unless he knew 1T to emanate
from the Executive. Here, said he, Gen
Grant asserts that [ had given him such YER
b bal 'r order. / never did Anything of the kind.
It was he himself who first suggested that
could take such course as to reduce Stanton
to mere clerk, and it was this suggestion from
him, and not any verbal order from me, that
first brought the subject up in this light.
At this point the President produced letter
from Gen. Sherman, dated Saturday evening,
January Is. Sherman says that it was the in
tention of himself and Grant to call on Stan
ton, on the following Monday, to request him.
for the good of the country, to resign the office
of Secretary of War; but he learns Grant
must 90 to Richmond, and he to Annapolis, so
that they can't call on Stanton on Monday, but
he shall resign. Then Sherman goes on to say
that if Stanton won't resign it will be time
enough to look to ''ulterior considerations.
"Now," said the President, these 'ulteri-
or considerations were nothing else than the
suggestions of Grant himself that Stanton
should be treated as a mere clerk, and confined
strictly to the execution of the duties imposed
upon him by the letter of the law And yet,
after having suggested this and urged it upon
me, he writes me letter asking me to reduce
my verbal order, to writing: 1t was his
own verbal order, not mine. Yet he makes 1t
appear from his letter that the first intimation
hat bo !
about it until I had spoken of it. That S a
fair specimen of the way he has been acting all
along. This whole matter is not the first OF
the only time he has played that part. Tis
only one of great many instances in which he
| has grossly deceived me. got despatch one
day from Georgia telling me that Meade and
jenkins had been in consultation, and that il
was probable that Meade would remove Jen
kins | sent for General Grant, and he came
over. showed him the despatch and told hin
would not like jenkins to be removed until
could hear something more about the matter.
He assured me that he would see to it that
Jenkins was not removed. I thought this was
| enough; but judge OF my surprise the nex
| day when heard that jenkins aoas removed
| don It believe Grant intertered at ALL though
he promised me he would. That's the kind OF
game he has been playing all along"
just here little question of veracity occur
red to my mind which thought it we'll enough
to settle 1t was this: Some time in the ear
ly part of the winter paragraph appeared ir
the Commercials Washington correspondence
to the effect that Col. Hillyer, formerly of Gen
Grant staff, had told a member Of the Judi
ciary Committee that he once was present at
conversation between Gen. Grant and the Pres
ident, In which the former took strong grounc
in favor of white mans government, ano
against negro suffrage, saying that this Gov
ernment was made for white men, and none
others can have a voice in it-and striking hi
fist on an adjacent table to show that he mean
what be said. When this paragraph appeared