The Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1869-1872, 1870-12-17
THE ELK0 INDEPENDENT.
SATURDAY. DsCEHBER n. Is7o.
I.or,r- rn.I Grant.

The fictitious rs7ntation, which the Pres;-
den: has enjoyed for a brief Period. as a mill
tary seuias. has Of late suffered severely from
The tneri;ed attacks OF Admiral Porter. the
business and force Of which are in no way
lessenei by the efforts of the latter to create
doubts oft gsnuineness OF the paper missiles
That Porter actually discharged that masked
battery, the Wells letter, be has not the pre-
sumption TO deny, bot ne simply and strongly
seeks 90 excuse himself under the plea tina; II
Was private communication. How such
privacy may Se claimed Tor a letter from an
Admiral to the Secretary of the Navy, in which
the soldierly conduct and deficiencies Of 4
eommanfer OF land forces are criticised. We
are not now prepared to say; bat the fact tina,
it Was intended to be private is sufficient TO
stamp it With the utmost candor and impor-
tance as reliable and disintsrested TESTIMONY.
The key to General Grants success and the
secret of his political election is most enphat-
ically discovered and presented to the paslic
by the distinguished naval commander The
fcinAtio1 Of stoieal silence, OF passive SC
saissesrce in the multiplicity Of opinion and
advice, characteristics which Grant r,osszss-S
In an eminent d=gree, have always had the
tendency TO arouse the sympathy aud tickle the
anotuon Of his subOriinAtes. As we'll as his
equals, in the naval service This influence
was felt by Porter, and very plainly erincei
when in his letter to Wells, written on board
the flagship Malvern, he says: u have served
with the Iertenant-Generalb before. where
never worked 50 hard in my life to make
man succeed as l did for him" The prop-ie-
y OF placing an easy-going, nou-comuunic..
tive piece Of humanity in = high military DO
ssrSon, where the genius and brains Of tbe
army and navy must all be invoked and thrown
rs = voluntary tribute az his feet to bolster his
weakness and conceal his mental incapacitx
nay well be questioned; but when the poor
tTAinless puppet, not sufficiently an object Of
disgust in the eyes of his military superiors
assumes the role of the political econonis;
and the civil head Of twenty millions Of p4o
pie, he may expect, IS an inevitable SEQUEL 20
his presumption, that sooneror later the storm
Of public indignation will burst upon him
Shallow nothingness and mental incapacitv
may for while ride smoothly along under
the support of the purchased brains of others.
but that support is sure finally to claim its
reward, and that reward is publicity and the
rendering Of credit TO whom credit is due
The lieutenant Who plans and directs the sue
cessful movements Of his captain, and the sec
Rotary who prom1EsStss- the result Of his own
mental eIertion over the signature Ct an uned-
ucated, inexperienced and incapable executive,
has night to demand, in some form CT other.
q recognition Of his services. mAgnAnimous
although ignorant superior will not be slow in
extending that recognition. By doing SO he
will receive the credit of having the capacity
to select capable subordinAtes and advisers.
By doing so he Injuries himself in nothing, but
meets out simple jnstice to others. The an
tithesis of gratitude and ingratitude is thus
strongly yitAlzed. Grant has shown himself
70 be ingratitude personifed. More than one
Of the old army feel it, and when admiral
Porter declared that Grant was always ready
to take the credit when anything was we'll
DONE" EIld that he wanted magnanImity"
generals bad been long conceded opinion
With regard to his late MESSAGE although in
the opinion %! all who ever knew General
Grant - = civilian, It is far. very far beyond
has capacity, no one v!.I claim the honor Of
its paternity Luther had a Malauc:hou Who
in the name o! aystory Is Grants! Can it be
Cameron: As documentary evidence Of his
incaPaci;y to select good advisers, that mess
age will occupy prominent place in the testi-
mony which injured nation will bring
against him. As statesmanlike production,
il will never be quoted; aud while, as time
progresses, testimony like that of Porter's &C
cumulates, destroying his claims TO military
greatness, we can safely predict that at the
close Of his Presidential term Gen. Grant will
go back to the niasmatic atmosphere Of LIE
Fever river, "unwept, unbonored and unsung"