Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-05-02
GRANT AND his PARTY.
Radical Estimates of the Radi-
cal President.
What Senators and Politicians
Say OF the Appointments.
Distrust- Jealousy Hate,
The Inevitable Smash-Up.
How Grant Bears the Toll and
Trouble OF Office.

1 Correspondence of the New York Herald.
4 WASHINGTON, April 25.-What d.
Republicans think of Republicans
| 10 answer this question it is only
necessary to "isten and tell" With
in the last few days there have beer
more opportunities to learn the
opinion which Republican con.
gressmen have concerning Re
publican President and his Re-
publican cabinet than are likely to
occur again for months, or even for
years. There was 80 little discre-
ton LETT for the Executive when he
began his administration, that only
one resource remained by which he
could signalize himself. Congress
has thoroughly prescribed what
was to be done as 10 reconstruction.
The suffrage comedy was playing
in its last act There could be no
plan agreed upon as to the finances
without the aid of the legislative
branch of the Cover nment. Nearly
every avenue was closed to an
independent desire of Grant to dis
tinguish himself as President. The
one opportunity he had was, first,
to benefit the country, and second,
to consolidate his party, by ju-
dicious choice of public officials.
That opportunity he has used him
self and allowed others to use in a
manner Of which the hardihoed is
only inferior to the folly. 1T is
upon the exercise of this opportu-
nifty that the Republican estimate
of the Republican President is
made up.
WHAT Is SAID OF APPOINTMENTS.
write, for the purpose Of this
letter, from the standing point of
the Republicans themselves. They
do not affect to condemn or criticise
the selections which have been
made in any other or higher light
than the effect which will be pro
duced upon their own political Or
gauization and its prospects. Gen.
Grant is to them the President of
the Republican party. His course
is to inure to the success or to the
damage of the Republican party in
the present and in the future. The
object they laid upon him was to
accomplish the continued ascen-
dancy of that party. The verdict
alike on Grant and on the party
would be largely founded upon the
character of the appointments to
Office. The Office holders are sure
to be at once the opponents of the
party and the custodians of its
strength. Thus the proper place of
proper men was to be the pivot on
which the future was to turn. 1t
was promised, toe, that Gen. Grant
had a knowledge of men rare. in
depth and unerring in instinct.
His civil selections were to be iden-
teal with what was thought to be
the wisdom Git now appears to
have been chance) which chose
Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, SIo-
cum, Meade, Schofeld, and Nc
Pherson for military responsible
ties. In view of these expectations,
the comments made upon the per-
Torrance become greater by con-
trast than even their intrinsic sig
nifeance. For instance, Washburne
says, and all the men who swear
with and by him, say, "That
Grants selection of Mr.. Fish has
ruined the party, and that in every
State except Vermont, Iowa, and
Massachusetts,, all coming elections
will go against the Republicans"
On the contrary, the Fish men say
of Washburne: "He put up Gen.
Grant to the selection Of all their
mutual friends and relatives, and
the very scandal of such favoritism
and nepotism has been even less
than the outrageous incompetency,
the gross corruption and the nOtO-
rious character of the appointments
themselves"
The Iowa men say: Our State
gave as large proportional majority
as Massachusetts; and yet, after Of
fering the State Department to Jas.
F. Wilson, and after he had accept
ed it, it became impossible for him
to assume it because an Illinois fool
and swaggerer was put into it, to
whom Wilson was to play second
fiddle by subsequent entrance on
the charge. Then we asked the APP
pointment of Mr.. Wilson as Minister
to England. 1t was given to Mas
sachusetts author, whose best claim
was that he had quarrel with Mr..
Seward. Then we asked the APP
pointment of our present foremost
Congressman, Mr.. Allison, to a
first-class mission, and all our State
gets is the appointment of an I'M
known Mr.. Hudson to Guatemala,
and he is q blood cousin to the
President himself, and has been
living in the White House ever
since Grant entered it, and another
man, l.. G. Glasgow, is made Con-
sui to Havre, only and just because
he has been a real estate and rail-
road operator for Washburne him
self, who wants him at Havre, and
who thought that, with Glasgow
there and Montgomery Gibbs in
Paris, he could do a fourishing
business in exports" The Indiana
Republicans says: "Our great
Senator, Mr.. Morton, led the de-
mand for the repeal of the Tenure
of-office law. His colleague, Mr..
Pratt, ably and persistently backed
him. Gen. Grant himself promises
everything to Mr.. Morton which he
asks; yet, when Senators go to the
State Department, Secretary Fish
almost freezes them with excessive
courtesy, and coolly gives US just
four consuls and one minister, cred
iting two more consuls to the State,
one of whom comes from Illinois
and the other from Kentucky;
while Ohio, which defeated negro
suffrage, which sent a most Demo-
cratic Senator to Washington,
which defeated three or four Re-
publican Congressman in strong
districts, has three fat missions, two