The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-07-11
Greeley and SchnrZ.

Greeley and Schlrz.
Much is said of Horace Greeley's personal
unfitness for the Presidency. We ourselves,
remembering his peculiarities, have felt, and
have expressed, the force of the suggestion.
But, after all, may we not make common
psychological mistake, and attach too much I'M
port to the outside of the man?
Mr.. Greeley is an old, exceptional person.
He is now sixty years of age. His hair is as
white as silver, but the bloom of lad OF six
teen is in his cheek. He has the compressed
and collected strength of life devoted to USE
full pursuits, to study to exercise, to charity to
drudging, to intellectual work and physical
work, to perfect sobriety and regularity. bis
mind, like his body, is vigorous and live. d He
is prodigious talker, writer and farmer. he
does every thing with vian. He could engage
in wrestling match with Schurz, who is 1.-the
and active man, with fair show OF success.
He can out-talk Charles Sumner, whose tongue
is equal to mill-wheel. He can ride with
keep the saddle three or four days on a stretch.
He hews trees, plows, and, in short, does the
work of half a dozen ordinary men. In ap.
pearance Mr. Greeley is farm-like. Those who
have seen Harvey Eads can form an idea of
Horace Greeley-neat, oldfashioned, somewhat
queer. but pleasing-a figure in whom Walter
Scott would have delighted.
There never was more perfect antithesis
than that raised up by the Creator In Carl
Schurz and Horace Greeley; and yet, striking
as the contrast is there are strong points of sim
iitude. Schurz may be fairly ticketed as the
Hero of Civilization, the Cavalier, 80 to say,
of our nineteenth century culture, with all OF
the inspiration and none of the vices of the
Ruperts and the Sidneys-the most brilliant,
natural representative of the morality OF
American political life, which we hold to be
the leader and progenitor of all modern polltl-
cal philosophy, to be found any where occupy
ing an active place in public affairs. If Schurz
depended upon his talents as a politician for
success he would be a failure. He has succeed.
ed in spite of his simplicity as contriver, and
because of his extraordinary powers as leader.
His is immeasurably the best intellect that has
appeared in this country since the death of Cal
houn, whom he resembles in many points, but
whom he surpasses in breadth of culture and
knowledge of the work. Calhoun had superb
understanding, but he was provincial. Schurz
has superb understanding, and is national.
ist. Schurz really unites to the patriotism OF
Webster-without Websters short-coming-.
the logical mind and purity of character which b
made Calhoun so powerful in spite OF Cal
houn's limited horizon. In fine, Schurz is the
leader-earnest, sympathetic, seit-polsed, self
denvine sincere. straight forward, brave, un-
pretenIious, reliable, large-headed, large-hear-
ted.
Nav it not be, to come back to our mutton,
which in Mr.. Greeley's case is no sheep, that
we are falling into the error of ascribing to
Mr. Greeley's personal oddities, which, after
all. are most amiable and admirable, too much
weight, and, by SO doing, missing his real, in
tellectual characteristics? He is the best post
ed politician in America. He has for thirty
wears administered great daily newspaper
mimic Government within itself-with extra
ordinary practical success. He is O. model,
practical farmer, and makes his model farm
Weld him a handsome revenue. In all his
worldly gear he is success. Mr.. Buchanan
made us a very bad President. Yet Mr.. Buch-
anan was an educated public man; pattern
statesman as perfect piece of political mar.
BILE as Charles Francis Adams; having served
as Senator, as member of a Cabinet, as q
foreign ambassador. May not Mr.. Greeley
who is,ro...z :aeel &c that President ought
to be u mis- outer man-prove CONTRADICTION
to all our worldly notions? l
Well, we'll, we'll. We mean to take cur
chance of him anyhow: He is an able man. ar
He is an honest man. He is good man. he
may be cranky-he may be curious, accordi5g
to our preconception. Who knows? we af>
know that Grant is an iron-heaTted s~wGaeh
headed nutmeg, warranted to kill; we know
that he is obstinate and parsimonious.; we
know that he is good fellow to his friends,
with bad faculty for chosing bad set of
friends, and bad fellow to his enemies, who
are of our best people. So, feeling towards
Horace Greeley downright affection, not un-
mingled with the fear of the boy that didn't
know what confounded notion the old man
might take in his head, only he was sure the
old man would neither lie nor steal, !" we take
Horace Greeley, and that hopefully, with q
distinct and uncomfortable belief that he will
give us Cabinet unsurpassed in our political
annals, and an administration which will con-
tradict all the fears of those who reason not by
Horace Greeleys inner self, but draw their in
ferences from his outward and visible man,
which-to say TRUTHS merely that of sim
ple cleanly, country gentleman.
Greeley, on the other hand, is sentimental
ascetic-a product of that Scotch-Irish Great
iyeness which has pcopled our history and our
literature with oddity and power; a strong
man; moral man (; shrewd man, aboundlng
in mother wit, intuitive perceptions, self-will-
natural, honest demagogue in the original
and complimentary sense, when the demagogue
was the true representative of the people.
Horace Greeley reflects the mediocre average
of the American sentiment more accurately
than any living man, and this will account
for the rallying of the people against the pol
iticians.
It is good sign. Put Greeley in the White
House: make Carl Schurz Secretary of State,
and what more do you want? Or put Greeley
in the White House and leave Carl Schurz in
the Senate, backed by the young impulse OF
the country, and you have an ideal placement
of public affairs full of promise.
One thing is certain. The rank old partyism
of by-gone times receives the deepest OF cash
es from the ascendency of that Liberalism
which, defying antecedents and pre)ndiees'
The South cares nothing about party titles and
records. 1t looks to its own emancipation
moral not less than legal. Tt seeks relief 1t