The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-06-28

| III uO. ~ was IO OuSlO liz
terrible struggle for the annexation Of
Texas, the overthrow of the Wilmot
PIoviso, the enactment of the Fugi-
tive Slave Law, and the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise, all of which
measures were carried in the interests
of the slavery propagandists, bringing
the union to the verge of dissolution,
and resulting in the formation of the
Republican party, in the construction
of which Mr.. Greeley was n of the
most efficient and skillful architects.
Through the greater portion of this
heroic conflict Grant held a subordi-
nate position in the army, from which
he was compelled to resign in order
to escape dismissal, his few and feeble
sympathies being all the time given to
the pro-slavery side of the momentous
issues at stake.
During the seven years that inter
vened between the organization Of the
Republican party and the outbreak of
the rebellion, and which will always
be regarded as one of the grandest
epochs in American history, Horace
Greeley was among the foremost lead
STS III TIC Ddt1io llic Oh tAO iiShI SIuS,
no man ~excelling him either in fidelity
to the principles involved, or ability in
/ defending them on the platform and
through the press. 1t was in those
seven bitter years that we fought out
the Missouri Compromise repeal, the
bred Scott decision, the attempt to
force slavery into Kansas, the lie
compton swindle, the Brooks assault
upon Sumner, the election of Banks
and of Pennington to the Speake. ship,
and other cognate questions, which
diciplined the North and The West
for the coming conflict in the field.
and inspired them to exhibit the cour-
age and make the sacrifices necessary
for preserving the Union in spite CT
the rebellion, and for atterward i'm
pressing the results of the triumph in
enduring characters upon the Consti-
tuition in the form of the Thirteenth,
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend
ments.
And where and what was Grant
during the seven years which proceeded
the war, when the Republican party,
amid storm and peril, was planting
the seed whose political fruits, well
garnered up by that party, he is now
so complacently enjoying? He was
all the time in civil life. and if he had
an opinion on public affairs was at lib
erty to express it. He was sluggish
and stupid and silent, and he said
nothing because he cared for none of
these things. What did he do ? He
Irol ,o,oo,rkoro opI bo bod n vote
and was at liberty to bestow it if he
pleased. What did he do? The an
swer is summed up in this; in 1856,
ut St. Louis, he stalked up to the
polls and voted for James Buchanan
and against John Charles Fremont.
And this is the alpha and the omega
of Grants civil services and his po-
litical record from the beginning of
his existence down to the hour when
Andrew johnson made him Secre-
ta:y of War adj interim, and when he
had turned his own eye toward the
Presidency, his vision being still OBJ
scured by doubts whether he should
be the Democratic or Republican nom-
inee for that office.
What, upon this showing, are at
this present crisis the comparative
claims of Greeley and Grant upon
the suffrages of Republicans for the
office ofPrcsident of the United States!
Grant rendered great services to the
country during the war. Entering
the army as a Colonel of Volunteers,
he was rewarded for his achievements
in the field by advancement to a Brig
adler Generalship and a Major Gener-
alship OF Volunteers, and then to the
latter grade in the regular army,
whence, by special acts of Congress,
he was carried up to the rank of Lieut..
General and then General. a higher
and more enduring military honor
than was ever bestowed upon George
Washington Along with these hon
ors to Grant came such pecuniary ben
efactions as were never before con-
tributed to any American citizen for
military or civil services; and Grant,
the war being over, found himself rich
and in the possession Of a dazzling
and lucrative Office for life. La an
unfortunate hour political ambition
consumed his common sense, and, at
ter coquetting a while with the Demo
Gratis for a nomination to the Presi-
dency, he accepted it from the Repub-
licans and was elected. He deliber-
ately threw away the military honors
and emoluments which had been be
slowed and accepted as a full reward
for the services in the war, and took
his chances in the troubled arena of
politics. He has tried them and he
has failed, breaking the Republican
party in pieces and throwing the
try into confusion, because of his in
capacity, his jobbing propensities, his
utilization with charlatans and corrupt
~ionists, and his insane ambition to
cling to his Office through another
term.
We are not now advocating the
nomination of Mr.. Greedy to the
Presidency, but only comparing his
claims to that office at the hands OF
the Republicans with those of Gen.
-drant. when we contrast the long
and famous political record.of the one
with the brief and ignoble civil career
of the other, and especially when we
test their merits as Republicans by
the events which have become histor-
ical since the organization of that par
ty, the bare attempt to elevate them
to the same plane would be a gratui-
tous insult to Mr.. Greeley. and a pre-
posterous compliment to Gen. Grant.
Viewed from the standpoint of the
Republican party, Grant is a conspicu-
Gus nothing, while Greeley is a colos'