American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-03-23
Is Gen. Grant an Innocent p!

THE thorough going advocates of Pres
ident Grant manifest such extreme salts
faction because the investigation into the
Custom House robberies has not resulted
iii the positive detection in Grants own
pocket of any of the money taken from
our merchants. that they clearly show
how great their dread was lest the fact
should be proved beyond a doubt or
cavil. But what has been clearly estab-
lished and placed beyond dispute in re-
gard to this business
In the first place it has been settled
that George X. Leet, an Adjutant on
Grants staff, while still an officer of the
army, obtained large interest in the
profits of the General Order storage by
means of the following letter written by
President Grant himself:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
"WAsHINGToS. d. C., March ., 1859
DEAR SIR: This will introduce to you Col. G.
X. Lcct. who served under from early IN the
war TO the present day from the fall of Nicksburg
forward a staff officer. He Is business man of
unquestioncd integrity. His experience before the
fits him for business of almost any kind. He
now proposes to resign from the army TO engage in
private life. and l cheerfuny recommend him as
possessing all the qualities necessary to inspire
Ut S. GRASr''
1t is proved that this special protege of
Gen. Grant next endeavored to force Col
monopoly of the General-Order storage.
Mr. Grinnell refused and was removed.
Mr.. Thomas Murphy was put in his place,
and Leet at once obtained the monopoly
which he desired, and ever since then he
has proceeded to rob the merchants OF
New York in the most shameless and out
rageous manner.
1t has also been proved that Leet was
from the beginning extremely intimate
with the other army officers surrounding
President Grant and constituting what is
popularity known as the Military Ring-a
body of men whose wishes and interests
are known to have on ali occasions great
influence over the President.
1t is proved that the General Order mo-
nopoly in the hands of Leet, and the ex-
tortions practised by him, led to such dis
content among leading importers of New
York who were Republicans, and had
been in the habit of contributing literally
to the election expenses of the party, that
in the election of 1870 they refused to
continue their contributions, and pro-
claimed that they would never help the
party again so long as it was responsible
for such monopoly and such extortion.
1t is proved that the Secretary. of the
Treasury was repeatedly applied to by
conspicuous merchants for an abatement
of this nuisance, but that, although he
admitted that the wrong ought to be
arrested, he had to confess himself power
less to arrest it.
1t is also certain that more than a year
ago, in the winter of 1S70-71, Joint Com
mittec of the two Houses of Congress,
with Senator Patterson as its Chairman,
investigated the subject, detecting the
nature of the robberies, and expressing in
strong language the Indignation and
shame which all honest Republicans
must feel at the preparation of such
offences by one who had been Il confident
ial officer of the President and owed his
position exclusively to the Presidents
authority and support.
Again, it is proved that eight or nine
months ago MIR. A. Il. Stewart repeatedly
waited upon President Grant in person,
and earnestly demonstrated with him
against the continuance of such Outrages,
but the President was immovable, and
had the outrages kept up.
In December last the subject was
brought up anew in the Senate at Wash
ington The evidence developed by Sen
ator Patterson's committee was once more
adduced, and Leet's eXtortions were
again Indignantly denounced by the Re
form Senator's; while the followers and
supporters of Grant sullenly and strenu-
ously resisted all efforts for new inves-
tigation.
Finally this investigation has taken
place, and it has been proved anew that
the state of things which we have briefly
described was still in existence, and had
been kept in existence by the President,
Notwithstanding all the efforts made by
the Secretary of the Treasury, by the
merchants, by the Committee of Congress,
and by personal friends of General Grant,
to induce him to put an end to the Gen
Il
continually practised under it by this pet
staff officer of his
These last revelations produced deep
impression upon the public mind, and it
was evident that unless something was
done Grant could not be renominated at
Philadelphia; and accordingly at this late
day, amid the tempest of popular indig-
nation and with the stimulus of his own
ambition forcing him to act, General
Grant has gone through the form of
changing the system, so that the General
Order business may henceforth be car
ried on in a more decent and tolerable
manner.
As we have already said, no testimony
has been produced before the present
committee OF Congress which detects in
Grants pocket any of the money taken
by the General Order robbers. But does
this suffice to establish his perfect inno-
cence +? If lie was really innocent, why
did he wait so long before putting an
end to the robberies Why was he deaf
to all remonstrance, private and official
Why did he allow these robbers to con-
tinue their operations after the Secretary
of the Treasury had endeavored to get
them stopped, after Senator Patterson
had made his report, and after Mr.. Stew
art had urged him to adopt more hon
orable and becoming course Why was
it that he thus set up his own unyielding
in favor of continuing
these robberies against every effort to end
them?
One of two things is demonstrated by
this investigation Either Grant had a
personal interest in the continuance of
Lccts cXtortionS, in which case he is
even more guilty than Leet himself, or
else he was unable to understand the
facts, and had not intelligence to compre-
bend them or decision of character
enough to act upon them. In this latter
case he is an imbecilc unfit to he Prcsi-
dent, by reason of mental incapacity
Indeed, those who proclaim that he is
proved innocent of all participation in
the plumber OF our merchants, proclaim
at the same time that he has so little
sense that he cannot safely be entrusted
with any public duty whatevcr.-NeD
IOYh sun
WRITER'S of mature years may learn
some lessons from the earliest efforts of
beginners. For example, a teacher re-
uucsted little six-year old boy to write
a compo sition on the subject of water.
The following was the result: "Water is
good To drink, to swim in, and to skate
on when frozen. When | was n little