Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-10-18
GRANTS sTATEsMANsHuP.

PRESIDENT Grant tolerates no opposition
to his schemes from members of his own
party. In this respect, he is a tyrant,
and requires every will to bend to his
own, and approve his whims, right OF
wrong. Senator Sumner opposed the
San Domingo scheme, and thereupoD
Grant removed, and 80 far as he could do
so, disgrsced Summers friend, Mr.. Mot
ley. That the removal of Motley was q
piece of Grants vindictiveness, is fully
established In the fact that Motley had
strictly carried out his Instructions, and
in the further fact that after Grant had
invited him to resign, he was removed
before he could reply to this invitation.
Indeed, he claims thai. "a telegram was re-
ceived in London announcing his removal
the same day that he received the letter
from Secretary Fish notifying him that his
resignation would be accepted. Grant
was mad at Sumner for opposing his San
Domingo scheme, and defeating its rati-
fication by the Senate, and he
sought TO punish him by remov-
ing his friend Senator Schurz
also opposed Grants San Domingo scheme,
and he is now removing from office
Schurz's friends in Missouri. He is also
carrying his opposition to Schnrz so far
as to make war upon B. Grstz Brown,
who is Republican candidate for Gov
ernor, but favOrs the striking off the
shack!es from the disfranchised and pro-
scribed white men of Missouri. Grant
has taken very decisive ground in favor
of McGlurg, the candidate of the extreme
Radical wing of the party, who favor the
disfranchisement of such of the white
men of Missouri as are opposed to this
policy. The Washington correspondent
of the New York Post (RsdicsD writes
s'The President has decided 10 throw
the weight of his official position and the
influence of the administration in favor
of the MeClurg ticket in Missouri, and
against the revenue reform ticket headed
by B. Gralz Brown. During an interview
with your correspondent to-day, the Presi-
dent said he had already removed two or
three office holders for supporting the
boilers ticket, as he called If, and other
removals would be promptly made as soon
as good men capable of filing the differ
emf Offices could be fOund y
Commenting on this statement of its
correspondent, the Post says:
'fWhen the Senate rejected the San
Domingo treaty, the President, who had,
as is very well known in Washington,
stopped to very dubious expedients TO
win support in the Senate for that meas
ure-which had no friends anywhere but
. In the Presidents household threatened
to punish the Senators who voted against
the treaty and were conspicuous in OPP
posing it, by removing their friends from
office. He has now, in two prominent
cases, carried out his purpose. x
MIR. johnson had a policy which,
whether right or wrong, had at least the
merit of concerning a question of real
Importance. II he interferedin elections,
and punished his opponents, it was be-
cause he believed that the future welfare
of the country depended upon the success
of my policy But Gen. Grant is inter-
feriDg in elections and Furnishing Sena-
tors, because they opposed mere caprice
of his; a measure, too, which had no
favor anywhere in the country, and whose
only friends-aside from Gen. Grant him
self-are a few intimates of his house
hold
Grants Interference in the election in
Missouri because of his unfriendly feel
ing toward Senator Schurz and Gratz
Brown cannot be justified upon any
grounds whatever. There are a few
Radical papers that cannot approve of
Grants interference in State elections
upon any pretense whatever. The idea
that the President of the United States
should openly throw the influence of his
administration in the scale against par
ticular candidate out of mere caprice,
and make it a point to remove such office
holders as oppose his favorite, is 1epug-
nant to every lover of republican govern
ment, as well as to every sense of right
and justicer 1t is, however, Characters
tic of Gen. Grant that he should be guilty
of such acts az these. That is the evil
dence and the measure of his statesman
ship.