The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-02-07
MAKING PATRIOTISM PAY.
OUR PECUL4TING PRESIDENT.
Grants Little Operations in Cotton.
From the New York World, January sO.l

From the New York World, January 3O.l
The connection of Mr.. Grant with Illicit
speculations in cotton has long been known
| In outline 10 all readers of newspapers. But
| the publication of the whole record In the case
of Grant vs.. Mack is made for the first time in
the World this morning, and that publication
| is the only authentic and detailed statement
of what the Republican Judge who tried the
| cause declared to be q transaction disgraceful
| to all concerned In It..
From this record 1t appears clear OF doubt
or dispute that the Macks made an arrange
| ment with Jesse r. Grant, whereby they were
| to give him share in the profits Of smuggling
cotton through the lines in return for The in
fluence which he promised to exert with his
son, General q. S. Grant, to connlve at the
smuggling. This influence was the only con-
tributfon of Jesse B. Grant to the partnership.
He put in no money. He did no labor. He
only undertook to persuade his son to use his
position as major general to further the
Schemes of himself as an Illicit adventurer.
The subsequent sguabbles of the parties need
not interest us. For 1t was not denied that
the Grants, father and son, did their best to
make the adventure success.
IF this were told of almost any other regular
and educated officer Of the American army
than Ulysses 8. Grant, We are proud to hope
that it would be incredible, and we are certain
that 1t would be surprising. For whatever
may be urged against West Point ofhcer5 there
are very few instances of one of them using
his military command to promote his private
gain or the gain of any one of his. relatives.
The use which Grant was besought to make of
his position, however, was not merely an
irrelevant use. It was an abuse. IT cotton
trading between North and South had been
lawful branch of industry, the action OF a
have beea undigni1ed and Indelicate. And
nobody now expects, nor did those who knew
him then expect, any sense of dgnity or deli
cacy to be shown by U. 8. Grant. But 1t was
grave breach Of trust as well. The whole
object OF the blockade OF the Confederacy by
sea, and the Investment of the Confederacy by
land, was to prevent the exchange of Confsde-
rate cotton for the money OF Europe and the
North. Major.G General Grant was In bis place,
to considerable degree, for the purpose of
preventing such an exchange. By consentlng
to promote 1t, he showed that he valued pelt,
bis own, or another's, more than patriotism,
and proved himself unworthy OF his commits
sion, and false to bis flag.
It will not do to palliate Grants complais.
had been man Of high honor he would have
flung the letter which urged him to trade or
let others trade upon his official opportunities
In the face of the man who dared to present
1t to him, whoever might have written 1t. If
he had been man Of common honesty he
would at least nave sent tne man D8ck empty
handed. But no word or act of protest ever
came from him until 1t appeared that the en-
terprise he had stopped TO promote turned out
disastrous instead Of profitable. And then he
showed resentment, not because he had been
used, but because he had been used In vain.
And he showed 1t again by abusing his office,
not this time to increase the gains Of his
family, but to wreak the grudges OF his family.
And he showed 1t with the spite Of small
mind and a bad heart, by Issuing an order Of
prescription against the whole Hebrew race,
because he and his father had quarrelled with
two Jews In Cincinnati.
This is nasty scandal to revive. But Its
revival is public duty. For the things which
were thus done iu the green tree are doing
honorable traditions Of the army behind him
and the honorable associations of the army
about him, traded on his office then, what else
can we look for than that President Grant,
with the low traditions of Washington behind
him and the low associations Of Washington
about him, should trade upon his office now.
The capital which Jesse Grant brought to his
partnership with the cotton conspirators In
1863 was the same capital which Corbn
brought to his partnership with the gold con-
spIralors Of 1869, and which Leet brought to
bis arrangement" with Grlnnell In 1859. It
was the influence in the one case Of General
and In the other cases OF President Grant, and
and the belief which Mack and Gould and
Grinnell alike held, and justly held, that Grant
held his public functions In trust for his pri-
vate uses, and, as has been bitterly and truly
said by one of the men who knew him best,
''treated the Presidency Of the United States
as If he had won 1t In O raf1e."