The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1869-02-23
Tender of their Comm .sSiOnS to
the President and Vice Presi-
.inysf

ihlCihS'ii't uoii w itoliuSloil, VI tuc
18th inst, details minutely tho ceremo-
nies attending the official announcement
TO GRANT and CoLFAx of their election.
The Committee was composed of two
Radicals and one Democrat, viz: Scna-
tor MoRToS, of Ind, Representatives
WILSON, of Iowa, and PRUYN, of New
York. They called first at GRANTS
he '1quarters, Senator MoRroX ad.
dressed the General:
GENERAL GRANT: The joint commit.
tee appointed by the two Houses Of
Congress visit you this morning to no.
tify you, officially, that you have been
elected President of the United States
for the term Of four years from the fourth
day of March next. The great body of
your countrrlnen hail Your election with
delight, and even those who did not sup
port vOn at the polls entertain for you
the highest confidence and respect The
friends Of our country and the friends
of liberty throughout the world rejoice
in your elevation to the Presidency, and
all believe that you will bring to the per-
formance of your great duties unalloyed
patriotism, unimpeachable integrity, great
powers of intellect and all the high quail
tiles which enabled you to achieve such
distinguished success, and that during
your administration the work of recon
struction will be completed, the wounds
of civil war healed, and that our country
will take new departure in growth,
progress and prosperity.
At the conclusion of Mr.. MoRTok's
address Gen. GRANT turned the roll of
paper which he held in his hands, round
and round, as though endeavorins to re-
duce it to the smallest sized roll possible,
and hesitated but minute or two, when
he begun his reply in tone so low as to
be inaudible to those standing at the
most distant part of the room, and
general closing in of the party occurred,
each individual of which leaned eagerly
forward to catch every word that fell
from the lips of our future chief magis-
trate Turning to Senator MoRroN
Gen. GRANT said:j
In reply, l will inform the committee
that it will be my earnest endeavor to
call around me as my assistants men who
will carry out the principles which you
say the country desires to have succeed
economy, rctrenchment, faithful col
lection of the revenue and payment of
the public debt. If l should fail in ma
king my first choice of assistants i should
not hesitate to make secoud, or even a
third trial, in the hope that l should at
last be successful. In the matter of re-
movals l will be governed alone by the
necessities of the service. | should
just as soon remove from their positions
my own appointees as l should those of
my predecessor. There is one other
matter it may be proper to mention here,
for it may be that something of that kind
is expected of me, that is, in regard to
the composition of my Cabinet. have
always felt that it would be indelicate, on
nv part, to announce those whom in
tended to invite into my Cabinet, or even
to consult in regard to their selection
until l had been officially informed Of
my election, but did intend to do so at
this time. Now, however, after obser-
vation and reflection, have come to the
conclusion that there is not man in the
country whom l could invite to my Cab
met who would not, Immediately after
the announcement, be the object of all
kinds of adverse criticisms, inythe hope
to prevent his selection and confirmation,
even among my own friends and those
of the party which elected me. Many
would attempt to change my determine
ton. have, therefore, concluded not to
make known, even to the gentlemen
themselves. the names of the Cabinet Of
ficers until .send their nominations to
the Senate. If l should notify the gen.
tIemen at all, whom / may choose, in
advance Of their nominations, it would
not be more than two or three days pre-
viously.
When the General stated that he would
as soon remove from Office those appoin-
ted by himself as he would those ap
pointed by his predecessor, the faces Of
those present who were already in pos
session Of comfortable Offices we're in,
tercsting to behold. The expression of
pure perplexity depicted therein was
more calculated to excite sympathy for
them than commiseration. This was
evidently an eEigmatical sentence to
them, and did not furnish any better clue
to the policy that was to govern ap-
pointments and removals than existed
before. Did he mean that men now in
Office need not anticipate general re-
moval, or did he mean that terrible on
slaught was to be made upon the appoin-
tees of his predecessor That was a
question just as far from solution now
as it was month ago. When he said
he had concluded to withhold the names
of the gentlemen he expected to call into
his Cabinet until they were nominated to
the Senate, Mr.. MORTON nodded his head
approvingly, several bystanders cxchang-
ed significant glances, and reporters ar
rested the rapid course of their pencils
as though they were not sure they had
heard the correct expression. The pre-
vailiug feeling portrayed in the surroun,
ding faces seemed to be that of disap-
pointment. It was very clear that the
work of investigation and speculation in
regard TO the future Cabinet was to be
continued until the White House receiv-
ed its new occupants. As soon as Gen.
GRANT had ceased speaking, and all were
convinced that he had no more to say,
Mr.. PRuYN stepped forward, and looking
at the General with something Of admi-