The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-05-18
CORRECTING POPULAR ERRORS CONCERNING
GREELEY.
From the Golsen Age, May 1871

Another current absurdity about him Is that
while he Is an honest man himself, he is surrounded
by coterie OF knaves. Mr.. Greeley habltually as.
sociates with the best men and women OF his time.
Editors lawyers, senators, judges, governors-from
all parts of the country-these are the people who
daily seek him, and with whom he eats and drinks.
| or course a newspaper office keeps an open gate
cessibe Of men, very many schemers, charlatanS
and rogues enter with the rest saintng him
and haErecognizing nod. But anybody who
imagines that Mr.. Greeley has not disciplined ana
penetrating Instinct for character makes great
mistake as In supposing that, when he goes to sleep
In church. he does not hear the sermon. We have
known Mr.. Greeley to sleep through long speech,
and then at its close rise and reply to it, point for
point. In like manner, through the same gentle
oblivion which some people fancy rests upon his
Judgment OF men, there is wakeluiness OF scru-
tiny which detects the scOundrel at glance. In
this sort Of insight he reminds US Of Abraham Lin
coln
Another OF the faacies f. that he ia given to
blunders We do not say that Mr.. Greeley is free
from laundering But il must be remembered that
the editor Of daily paper IL necessarily
frequent bunderer. No matter who the man
Is, If he publicly prints his opinion three
hundred and siXty-flve times o year, he viii
inevitably be wrong sOmetimcs-nay, often. An
other person may walt till his Judgment OF case
ripens, but an editor must express his Judgment
without waiting. Accordingly, he says to-day whab
he must unsay tomorrow. This is the cXigency OF
his profession. The foremost man In II is not FREQ
from the law which concludes all its votaries in this
common inlrmity OF misjudgment. But put any
other man on such roStrum as the tribune, and
bid him speak SIX days In the week for thirty
years. and count his blunders during that tinel
Who could have done better than Mr.. Greeley
Nay, who could have done 80 well p Then, too
even where he has failed, his "fa,lngs have leaned
to virtues SIDE" lie las never Numbered into en-
riching his private pockets. He has stumbled
into the public treasury with graspIng and grabbing
hands. He has never trippcd by happy accident
into the County Court House, lined with purple
carpets and golden chairs His chief blunders have
been against HIMSELF aud not against his country.
And such are virtuous vices
Another Of the popular caprces Ia that he Is not
safe man. This Is q vague and indefinite indict-
mcnt II 1t means that the federal government
would be unsteady in his hands-that he would have
one policy to-day and another to-morr0w-nothing
could be further from the truth. Mr.. Greeley is as
steadfast In his intellectual judgments as he Is in
his moral convictions. Fckleness does not belong
to his nature. His sincerity, his earnestncss,
his straghtforwardness-a these qualities are as
patent as the sunshine to all who know him well
enough to know anything OF the movements OF his
mind. He would be as safe, as prudent, as con-
servative President as ever sat In the executive
chair his administration would deal pre- emine ntly
with the business interests and practical develop
ment of the country; he would have the grandest
Cabinet that the nation could produce, and his min
listers and all their under-Oficers would be ex-
pected to work about eighteen hours out Of the
wcnty-four-under the tireless example of their
chief, who Is one Of the hardest working OF "thc
sons Of tolln
We have thought fit to notice these fallacies
to-day, and shall from time to time correct other
misjudgments concerning one OF the best known
yet least understood OF American statesmen.