The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-11-09

sponsfbuIty OF General Wrens anu
the Repuhlicaa Party.
The victory that has just been won BY the
republican party under the leadership of Gen.
eral Grant is the most brilliant and decisive
triumph on record in the history of the United
States Never before has Presidential cleo
ton been so holly contested by the politicians
and never before has so great an amount Of
personal vindictiveness entered into polih-
cal campaign. If the lines had been drawn
as usual between the parties naturally antago-
nistic-between the republicans who opposed
slavery before the war, and who prosecuted
the war until slavery was abolished, and the
democrats who upheld slavery before the re-
bellion, and who sympathized with the slave
throw-the fight might have been severe
enough. But the treason in the republican
camp and the alliance Of. the traitors with
their lifelong opponents for the avowed pur-
pose of destroying the organization they had
deserted, impaired an unparalleled bitterness to
the struggle, and seemed to render the result
at best exceedingly doubtful When we find an
enemy thus desperate and dangerous SO utterly
routed as were the liberal democratic coali-
tionists on Tuesday last, we must look else
where than to the ordinary chances OF war
for the explanation of the result We find 1t
in the fact that the conquerors in the political
arena are the same who, few years ago, led
the national arms to victory on the field OF
battle We find it in the fact that General
Grant was the successful commander OF the
Union Army in the war Of the rebellion, and
that the republican party is the party which
carried the country safely through the perils
of that struggle for national existence. While
the politicians were plotting and manouvring
while this line of policy was adopted to win
the negro vote and that line to conciEate the
white vote; while all the small tricks Of po-
ltical jugglers were practised to gain sup
posed advantage in this or that direction, the
people of the United States were thinking Of
Lincoln, Seward and Stanton-ot Vicksburg,
the Wilderness and Appomattox-of the
days when the bulletins were eagerly
scanned for news Of our boys in
blue; when the tears of wives and
mothers blotted the Lists Of our fallen soldiers,
and when the glad shouts of multitudes told
of the final surrender Of Lee and his gallant
but misguided army The votes that were
cast for General Grant on Tuesday last were
the tribute of Americans to the military hero
who had led the national arms to victory, and
to the party under whose political rule the
war of the rebellion had been carried to a sue
cessful termination. There were objections to
the peace policy of the republican Congress;
there were heartburnings and indignation at
the reconstruction measures of the majority,
at the unworthy trucking to degraded negro
vote, at many of the acts of the administration.
There was an honest opposition to a coalition
for the spells at the sacrifice of principle and
consistency. But while these had their effect
more or less on the result, the great incentive
of the overwhelming popular uprising was the
memory of the battle fields Of the rebellion
and of the soldier who had gathered from them
many wreath of glory for the Union arms.
Some seventy years ago, when the great
Napoleon returned to Paris with the laurels of
Marengo and the Austrian battles fresh on his
brow, the Frenchmen enthusiastically capped
them with the imperial crown. France was
not then mature enough in republican ideas
to appreciate more popular form of govern
ment but, resolved to do the highest honor pos
sible to her successful soldier, bestowed upon
him the dignity of Emperor There was then
a political strife in the nation and the direc-
torial government did its best to raise political
issues and to stem the rushing tide But the
people saw before them only the conqueror Of
Italy and ignored oil other considerations but
that of national glory. In the course of his
brilliant career Napoleon the First made many
mistakes and met many disasters before he
was finally driven from power by the combined
strength of the rest of Europe; yet for half
century his name was honored by his country
men and the remembrance of his military
fame hallowed many subsequent revolution
and rendered the success Of Louis Napoleon
possible. There are innumerable other in
stances written on the pages Of history to
prove that the successful soldier is the idol of
the people, and that his military services are
generally ample to cover a multitude Of politi-
cal sins. We are not prepared to approve or
ConuohA cliAS ASAV WoAoAiPs We Anu LII ~
the explanation of the sweeping VIC
tory just won by General Grant and
his political friends, and it teaches US
that the opposition in the recent election
were fatally mistaken in supposing that the
country was prepared to forget the war Of the
rebellion and to replace the soldiers of eight
years ago by civilians who stood aloof from,
if they did not oppose, the war. But the
successful party must not conclude from this
result that the people desire to keep alive the
bitter memories OF our civil strife. They
love and admire the heroes of the battle
field They would to-day, we believe,
rather vote for brave Southern
,o,aro1 r,bo bad % rr;ad rpos ooo;yof ,1o fhoy,