American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-03-30
A New Way OF Putting 1t.

1T seems that the OBJECT OF COl. For
ney's recent letter giving the history of
the nomination of Grant in 1868, is to
prove that he is entitled, by a specific
contract, to a denomination in 1872. Col.
Forney informs us that when he wrote the
famous editorial declaring for Grant in
1868, and manufacturing for him a Re
publican record that so greatly surprised
him, Gen. Rawlins called on the writer
and stated Grants objections to the use
of his name. These objections were that
the position of General yielded him a
large income, and was a life office; that
in accepting the Presidency he would lose
the Generalship; that he would be COM
PEELED to spend all his Presidential salary
while in office, and, at the end of his
term, have nothing left; that if he should
accept presents from the wealthy men
whose fortunes he had saved, the people
would complain of it; and, to wind up,
he could not afford to be President, except
on condition that he should be reelected,
and hold the office for two terms. We
give this part of the negotiations in Col.
Fornev'S own words:
''When Rawlins came back from Gen.
Grant with the editorial, he told us with
great emphasis, Gen. Grant does not want
to be President ]; he thinks the Republican
party may need him, and he believes their
candidate can be elected and re- elected but,
SalQ haWllnS, WHAT rs 10 DecOInc Oh Hllu
after his second Presidential term? what,
indeed, during his administration He is
receiving from seventeen to twenty thousand
dollars Il year as General of the armies of
the Republic, life salary, and to go into
the Presidency at TWENTY-FIVE thousand dol
lars year for eight years is perhaps to gain
more fame, but what is to become of him at
the end of his Presidency He is not poll
tician. He does not aspire to the place.
Eight wears from the 4th of March, 1869, he
will he
he must spend his salary as President. En-
gland with her Wellington, her Nelson and
her other heroes on land and sea, has never
hesitated to enrich and ennoble them through
all their posterity. Such a policy is in ac-
cordance with the character of the English
Government, but in our country the man who
fights for and serves the Republic would be
a beggar if he depended upon political of
flee and mark it, if Grant takes anything
from the rich whose vast fortunes he has
saved, after he is President, he will be ac-
cused as the willing recipient of gifts"
Col. FOrney adds:
"Just now, when Gen. Grant is struggling
out of his first term of the Presidency, and
struggling into his second, l thought it
might not be out of place to revive this Incl
cent. Thus it will be seen that Gen. Grant
not only desired to remain President for two
terms but that it was only on the assurance
of his friends that he should be reelected,
that he accepted the Office at ALL"
At first there was curiosity expressed
to know why Col. Forney should repro
duce these things at this particular time,
or, indeed, why, he should think it neces-
sary to make them public at all. But a
careful reading of his article furnishes the
answer, which, in few words, is this
Col. Forney made a bargain with Grant
whereby the latter was to have the Presi-
dency for two terms, to compensate for
the loss of the Generalship of the army,
L. L. e. II,
condition that Gen. Grant consented to
be nominated and elected in 1868; he
would not be President for one term eX-
cept on the assurance that he should be
President for two terms and this assur-
ance Col. Forney, in the name of the Re
publican party, undertook to give him
The whole party, Liberals and all, are
bound to make this promise good, and
therefore, Sumner, Schurz and Trumbull
and others who are making such fuss in
opposition to him, are under solemn
obligation to cease their opposition and
stand up to the bargain by aiding to re-
nominate and re-elect the President.
This is "A very singular sort of plea, but
the distinguished Republican insurgents
to whom il is addressed will not, we ap-
prehend, see it in the same light that Col.
Forney sees it. Sumner, Trumbull,
SchurZ, Upton, Patterson and the Lib
efal BepuDllcanS OF Missouri, ILLINOIS,,
Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and other
Northern States, are not bound TO carry
out the private bargains made between
Col. Forney and President Grant. They
will probably take the view that the
Philadelphia editor, alone, is responsible
for his contracts; that if he assumes to
sell the Republican party to President
Grant for eight years, it is his business to
deliver the goods-if he can; and if he
contracts to sell the Presidency to Gen
eral of the army for two terms, it is his
business to deliver the Presidency-if he
can. In short, the bargain made by Col.
Forney with Gen. Grant in 1868 binds
the contracting parties alone, and if it
fails of being carried ont, the President
must hold Col. Forney responsible, and no
one else
In all candor, Col. Forncy's plea is
very silly one; it Will not do his client
any good. On the contrary, the very in
timation that Republicans who voted for
Grant in 1868 are bound by contract to
vote for him AGAIN in 1872 will of itself
determine many Republicans to vote
AGAINST him. The Presidency is an au-
gust office which the people are accus-
toned to confer upon distinguished pat
triots whom they love to honor; but
when even the most distinguished patriot