The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-08

| racyv-Geuerat esrnnt WuA'ns SIo"ScE
and Stronger.
| General Sherman, in his distant retreat at
| the Comanche Indian reservation, has at last
heard of the great political commotion created
east of the Mississippi in the agitation of his
commanding availability as the democratic
candidate for the next Presidency, and thus
he defines his position -
FORT SILL, CoMANoHE REsERvArIoN,(
May 25 1871. !
To THE EDITOR OF THE BERALD:-
have been skirting the Texas frontier for the
past month. and here for the first time meet files
OF Eastern papers. BY which see quite an unneces
sary muss has been raised by purported speech
made by me At supper OF the Union League Club
of New Orleans the night preceding my departure
from that city. whoever reported that q speech
by me committed breach OF proprety, for Governor
Warmoth presided, and before consented to re-
spond to q call was assured by the president OF
the society that no reporters were present and that
whatever was said would be sacred and confined to
the persons present. Now to politics. think all
my personal friends know my deep-seated antpathy
TO the subject vet as you seem not to understand
me l HEREBY state and mean all that say that
NEVER HAVE BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE A CANDIDATE
| FOR PRESIDENT; THAT IF NOMINATED by EITHER
| PARTY SHOULD PEREMPToRILY DECLINE, AND EVEN
| IF UNANIMOUSLY ELECTED l SHOULD DECLINE TO
SERVE.
you can find language stronger to convey this
| meaning You are at liberty to use it.
| l am your obedient servant,
w. T. SHERMAN, General.
| This settles the question in reference to
| General Sherman. He is satisfied with his
present position as head of the army and has
evidently an abiding horror of party politics
| and the tortures of the White House. So van
ishes into thin air another of those gorgeous
| democratic castles reared in the clouds, and
fading away under the pressure of a high wind.
We have entertained high hopes of the de-
mocracy in 1872, under the banner of Sher-
man. On the theory that the republican party
had substantially fulfilled its appointed mis-
| sion, that an occasional change in ''the powers
| that be" is essential to the health of the body
! polite, and that under General Sherman all
the still unhealed wounds of sections and fac
tons resulting from our late civil war would
be healed, we have had great expectations in
connection with the name and fame of the
patriotic Sherman for the democratic party
and for the country. Now, looking at the
situation as it is, and at ''the constitution as
it is, :" what is to be done? What hope is there
for the children of Israeli Where shall we
find their Moses, after all their long and weary
wanderings in the wilderness, to lead them to
the Promised Land?
A prophet here comes to the rescue, and his
name is Vallandigham. Moved by the spirit
of his new departure on ''the almighty nigger,"
he rises among the faithful on the southern
border of Lake Erie, and lifting up his voice,
after the manner Of Ezekiel, he says :-''In
the valley Of vision there were many bones,
and they were very dry. Aud the spirit said,
Can these dry bones live?' And we prophe-
sled, and there was noise and shaking
| among the dry bones, and breath came
into them, and they lived and stood
upon their feet, an exceeding great army-the
army of the democracy rallied again" Such
| is the resurrection of the democratic party
| foreshadowed by the prophet Vallandigham
and great is the enthusiasm of his followers,
from this new idea Of falling in the wake of
the Philistines and behind the banners of ''Old
Ben Wade," ''Old Thad Stevens" Abraham
lLluCOiu duu 0cucIui uIdut, duu Eluc ny Sue
with ''Uncle Tom" as man and brother.
This is, indeed, fright about face" for
the unterrified and wet blanket from the
Northern democracy to the Southern Ku Klux
Klans. 1t requires the party, in single
bound, to clear the back track on the road
over which they have been ten years fighting
and travelling toward ''the last ditch" which
is the river Jordan. The route is marked by
line Of telegraph poles, each bearing name,
and each having at its foot pile of the dry
bones Of the twelve tribes slain in battle there
| And the poles, respectively, are inscribed as
| follows The repeal of the Fugitive Slave
law; the abolition of slavery in the District of
| Columbia; the military order of contrabands;
| the emancipation proclamation; the thirteenth
amendment, sweeping slavery from the land;
| the Civil Rights bill the fourteenth amend
ment, establishing equal civil rights for
citizens of all colors, white, yellow, red and
black, &C., &C., and the fifteenth amendment,
establishing negro suffrage under the protec-
ton of Congress. The dry bones of democ-
racy along this whole line are to be revived
and are to stand upon their feet, with the
application of the republican elixir of these
three amendments, and the democratic army
along this whole line is to fall in behind the
army Of General Grant, like the French army
| of Sedan behind the Prussian escort, heading
for Germany, on the track Of Napoleon the
| Third.
This is surrender, indeed, not only of the
| army of Sedan hut If Metz Ctra ahon RI a nd tho
whole democratic Rhine frontier to the bor-
ders of Switzerland. Does it open the road to
a great democratic victory? Mr.. John Quincy
Adams "a chip of the old block says yes.
| The medicine men Of the Tammany WigWam