New-York tribune., 1871-05-15
MR.. PHILLIPS ON The "HANGLNG COM
MITTEE.n

MITIEE"
We fear that we did scant justice to the
plan proposed by the graceful and epigram-
matte orator of the Bay State for pacifyins
the South. We can never sufficiently admire
the craftsmanship of Mr.. Phillips. There is
| no war that he cannot foresee, OF invent; no
! ill that he has not remedy for; no possible
combination of fractures for which he has not
an epigram ready. He has perfect faith that
he can govern the universe by epigrams; and
| punish it by epithets. He was born to COM
mand-On the rostrum. What leader he Is !!
| Put him on the stage, before the foOtlshts,
and he can tell any number of men to go
anywhere. He is the mitrailleuse of the plat
form. He is most dangerous when he is safest.
Place him on the steps of the Hotel de Vile,
and he would annihilate the Versailles Gov
ernment with bon mot. He could invent an
epigram that would keep the Paris Commune
running q year. There is no doubt of it. He
is terrible, this man. And to think that he is
probably full of epigrams undscharged. He
has never spared anybody or anything except
one. Why has he spared Butler? Probably
for the same reason that Butler has spared
him; neither has been able to think of an
epithet adequate to describe the other
Scratch a Russian, Mr.. Phillips is fond of say
ing Che has nearly scraped the skin off that
Russian), and you will find Tartar. If you
scratch Phillips will you find Butler 7 We
cannot say it is not our scratch But Mr..
Butler evidently has an epigram worth to
him twice that namely :!EScratch Phillips, and
he will scratch back!
Mr.. Phillips has two remedies for the Ku-
Klux trouble, both bloody, both epigrammatic.
One is, to "march thirty millions of men to
the Cuff irrespective of women, children,
camps, baggage, hay, cows, horses, clean
clothes. This is an old remedy of Mr.. Phillips's.
| He is always marching that thirty millions to
the Gulf, on the slightest emergency. We
| seem often to have seen them on their wind
ing way the promenade is familiar to us. 1t
| is the easiest thing in the world. 1t is only
necessary for Mr.. Phillips to stand in Steinway
Hall and say "March," and those thirty mil
lions are off. Marvellous man. And so cool,
and SO unexcited. But he is to stay at home
What are they to do at thelGulf7 Bah! "Let
| me tell the tanner of Galena that if he don't
go to the Gulf, the Gulf will come to him ~
| (SensatiOn.)
But Mr.. Phillips holds his thirty millions in
reserve. His simple Summer campaign is to
have Grant go down South and hang five of
the richest ex-generals he can catch. The
merit of this plan lies in its simplicity. And
it is so practicable And it would instantly
inaugurate an era of good feeling. Many of
the most prominent men down there never
have been hung, but it isn't possible they
would object to it if it was put to them in the
right light 1t is to be an amicable and
peaceable proceeding. at does not need an
"army. You do not need one hundred
"men.n The process of arrest and execu-
ton is clearly pointed out AS a begin
ming, Grant is to go down to Georgia
and arrest some ex-genera who counts his
acres by thousands and his wealth by millions,
and stands possessed of the admiration of half
the South Let Grant track him to his lair in
this nest of assassins seize him at midnight
(the most tragic time in the whole twenty
four hours), try him before daylight, and hang
him before the sun ia an hour high. There
are all the picturesque elements OF terror In
this. The mysterious hour, the swift trlai' the
dangling millionaire. How sweet ana calm
Mr.. Phillips is in contemplating it, and he Is
not bloodtlirsty either. He would limit the