New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-12-22

but must let you know that in addressing
ME you do not speak to mental Colonel
Hamilton retired from headquarters, and
when he was called to he portfolio of the
Treasury, said; l had no more expecta,
ton of office than had of being appointed
| POpe's NunGiO.'"
Now substitute Horace Greeley fol
Washington in the above, and You have
the counterpart Of half dozen stories
which prevail as to his rOughness to in
dividuals He left no man worse for his
| having lived Like Rchelieu, he might
say, ''My art was Justice {" A live, real
man is not married. but made computable
and plain to posterity by his occasional
alterations. The great trouble with Wash
| ngtons character Is that there is too little
anecdOte about him. He is always up and
dressed, and grim for history. The colt
element in Greeley must always stand out
clearly IN any estimate of him-that lus ty
excess of health which took the road OF
busy labor, instead Of finging up his heels
IN the pasture field.
HIS RIVALS IN THE PRESS
met Henry j. Raymond in the lines in
front of the city of Richmond, in the sum
mer Of 1862. 1t was at Michie's farmhouse.
where was provided with bed which |
otfe. ed to share with him. There we laid
| awake several nights, and he gave me
freely his opinions upon Greeley and Ben
nett, neither Of whom he liked. 1t was the
dislike OF mutual av0CatiOn, which can be
found to a certain degree in any business,
and pa ticularly in the professions. ] have
always had, more or less, a distrust of one
influential mans opinion of another in the
same district OF life or country. In the
| rlger Of performance and feeling, we are
| never wholly just to that which is in daily
friction with U.s. Over the grave the better
Judgment Of retrospective springs up,
and Thurlow Weed walks by the pail
| OF Greeley, as he may expect a reconsider
ing enemy to do like justice to his own
| memory. We are worth to the world that
| which we have done in it, and GreeleY's
| need Of enc0mium is unusually, even touch
| ingly, large and generous. What scOurge
might he not have been, occupying, as he
did, the daily domain of thought criticisms
and news:giying;.. 1t is fearful power,
| this gunmastership of the deck, this non
elected magistraey of the journal. He
never slackened fire upon the mean and in
| furious; and if, in the discussion of some
| topics, he passed from them to the oppO-
nent, that is the course of all earnestness.
A little uncharity is the spice of the world
| When a man says: you lie, villain; you
| liel' he is right up and honest about it,
What a fat stale and unprof able press it
would be if nobody should make face at
the editor over the way.
TIE THREE EDITORS.
The three papers which Raymond, Gree
ley and Bennett edited have been put side
by side IN public comparison, as if they
were the peers of each other, and led the
profession. Mr.. Raymond was not the
equal OF the other two, either in influence
or III administration. lie lacked their sin
gieness of purpose and conscious inhu-
ence upon his age, and the soft and luxtl-
rious side of life drew him from his seat.
He told me, in 1861, that he was tired of
the newspaper, and wanted more of public
life Mr.. Bennett was the great material
list editor-the miner, shipper and weaver
OF tho news. To his vast conception of the
newspaper the globe revOlved and the
stars appeared as news matter and no
more. ShipwTecks comet, the conflict of
n2tIonsy everything was created for his use. |
10 him the newspaper was a mighty ear,
wide open to listen to the thread Of events |
and repeat them indiscriminatelv. Greeley |
was the mind in the news, sometimes I'M |
willing that the news itself should appear |
in competition with his purpose. Between |
these two Mr.. Raymond built ND paper |
softening the savagery Of the news and the |
Vlgor OF discussion, aud highly entertaining
to people with nerves, who did not see the !
use OF SO much enterprise or 50 much earn
estness. Mr.. Raymond was an unusually |
attablo and cordial man, with the graces |
rather than the braces of character; but all |
the fuss that his unworthy SuCcg sS0rs are
making about their fidelity to the Republi-
can party is aimed az people who do not
recOlleCt how Raymond holted as early as
1866, and that tho New York Tribune got
any temporary profits that might have re,
suited from his failure. Mr.. Raymond was
d writer OF grace, without identity or
marked individuality. He was slow to Of
tend because SO very sensitive himself; and.
although he was very successful man. he
never appeared to me to have great ma.
ture, the gravity and impact of which |
could make one feel that something bad |
stirred abroad.
GREELEY'5 rRIEArE AFFAIRS
The point that was often made against
Greeley during the last campaign was that
he could not take care of lis own affairs !!
The same has always been said Of the
greatest mem William Pitt died in debt
100000; Richard Golden nearly impover-
ished himself in the free trade contest:
Washingtons property deprecated steadily
until the end; JetfersUn's latter days were
harassed with pecuniary difficulties; and
Robert Morris, who could save the credit of
his country, lived in debtors jail many
years. the victim Of his public spirit.
When great general purposes absorb a
Whol@ career, personal thrift suffers by the
devotion. Had Mr. Greeley accepted pre-
sent OF 100000 from the liberated slaves
for his labor in their behalf, probably he
would have lost the imputatiOn upon his
business habits. 1t is as natural for one
wholly intent upon accomplishing his ideas
TO give away his money as to give away his
labor, Had Mr.. Greeley lost control Of his
newspaper while he held it by the precari
BUS possession of a very small portion of
the stock, the criticism upon his business
capacity mig t apply; but he knew his
strength, and although virtually a mere |