Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-04-28
ROSS AND GRANT.
Arrangement OF Grant for Re-
moving Soldiers from Office .
to Make Room for "Bar-
gaining Politicians"
Personal Explanation OF Sen
tor Ross, OF Kansas.

| etFI..t .at-Hs - -rr--.
Fl In the Senate on the Goth inst
: Mr.. Ross, of Kansas, spoke as fol
| lows: ' 90" +"
II Mr.. PRESIDENT: l have neve
but once heretofore taken oceasio
to occupy the attention of the Sen
ate with a personal explanation
| Probably no man who has filed
seat here has had more frequent an,
ample provocation to thus occup,
the time of this body; but / haY
studiously forborne, with the ex
ception of the occasion alluded to
to thus trespass upon its valuable
time. AS a general rule, it is SAT-
to entrust to our constituents oul
personal vindication for acts done
here. ..r, ... .-.
| The circumstance, however, tC
which l am about to allude is one
the current version of which i'm
pugns not my personal integrity,
but my sense of official propriety
and public decorum, and is related
as follows by the Washington cor
respondent of the New York Her
aid of the 18th instant. l will ask
the Clerk to do me favor to read
the passage,
1t was read; and Mr.. Ross con-
tinued: / trust, Mr.. President, that
it is not necessary for me to assure
the Senate, in which / have had the
honor of occupying a seat for now
nearly three years, that the state
ments that are contained in this ex-
tract are grossly incorrect and SIAN
derous, not only in regard to myself,
but also. in regard to the distin-
guished gentleman who is now the
Executive of the nation. / have
definitely aseertained that this state
ment, and others of a still more
outrageous nature, were promptly
dispatched throughout the country,
and especially to my own State, for
the basest personal purposes,
prompted by parties interested
in manufacturing public opinion
against myself, who were witnesses
to that interview, and knew that
those statements were false. 1t is
not on my own account solely that
l make this explanation. | have
too long borne the shafts of ma.
lignant public criticism, and have
too recently seen them fall harmless
at my feet, disregarded by the
people of my State, who know me
best, to feel that these statements
require even q private denial from
me. f..FH=sF t#ser .-..
But, sir, the Chief Magistrate of
the nation is here represented as
forgetting the dignity of his posi-
ton and the courtesy which is due
to a member of the Senate, and as
having INDUCED in expressions of
passion and resentment unbecOming
a gentleman in his capacity. In
simple justice to him as the head of
the nation, / feel it my duty to say
that, on the occasion referred to,
no words inconsistent with the
strictest rules Of propriety and deco:
rum found utterance from either Of
the parties to that interview.
1t is due to myself, also, to say
that that interview was soug ht by
| me, not for the purpose, as is
alleged, of importuning the Presi-
dent for the appointment of this or
that man to official position. Ihave
not yet approached him for that
purpose, and have no design, at
present, at least, of so doing did,
however, seek that interview for
the purpose of protesting against
the sweeping changes which were
being made in the officials of my
State, whereby men who were
among the best Republicans and
the bravest soldiers in that State
were being removed for no assign
able cause, and an entirely different
| class of men installed in their places.
During the interview I was aston
ished and panied to hear from the
lips of the President the assertion
that where any man had held
office during the past year and a half,
it was presumptive evidence that he
was johnson man." Irepeat that
1 was astonished and panied by this
remarkable declaration for it
plainly said that, Notwithstanding
the fact that fully one-half of the
offices were filled by earnest, active,
radical Republicans and soldiers
the Presidents warmest friends and
supporters-they must all go to give
place to the hordes of bargaining
politicians and place hunters who
for the past few weeks have blocked
the halls and swarmed in the ave
nues of the Capitol. We have in
Kansas not less than thirty thou
sand soldiers-fully three-fifths OF
the whole number of her voters.
They represent largely the intelli-
gence, education, and enterprise of
the State. During the last year
and a half our Federal offices have
been largely filled by them. The
balance of the appointments have
been from the civil walks, and nearly
all of both classes are earnest, rad
ical Republicans-leaders of public
opinion, and friends and supporters
of the present administration and
appointed, moreover, in nearly
every instance, upon the recon-
mendation of the united congress
sional delegation of the State.
During no preceding two years
of the history of Kansas have those
positions been more ably, faithfully,
or fittingly filed in any respect if,
indeed, all the requirements of TT
ness have ever before been so fully
answered. Yet, in the face of this
undeniable fact, and of the oft re,
peated declaration of the President
that changes in the offices of the
country should be made only for
cause, portion of the delegation Of
that State has demanded, and
the President has conceded, their
summary dismissal on the mere
charge Of want of fealty to the
Republican party; which charge,
in many instances those making it