Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1872-01-26
The Next President.

TIL. ,ife sben ruler can deceive his people
and bnad their eyes to his true character mas
gone BY. Once It vas possible to do this once
tex.s " too llr TO hear, too high TO call lie
could. in a great measure, WithsraW hiI'ell
,rom the ob,rrvstioG Of the common people, and
practise dsreputable or wicked things IN pm
v,,e while the masses, who saw him only IN his
public capacity, praised hir goodness anu virtue
Then there WE Z. the divinity which doth hedge
=. King and which made il treston TO utter
ones thoughts about the sovereign, II those
thoughts we're adverse to him. Then the means
Of communication were 50 few and poor thsl
the provinces might be praising the ruler, while
the capital vas whispering his misdoings All
this is changed. The most mercilessly criticized
msu in every civilized country to-day Is lis
chief magistrate. Not only is his person not
inviolsble, as was that Of the soveresnr anu
rulers Of old but even the STAIRS Of bis household
his most sacred family relations are exposed 10
the gaze Of the public. Wherever be goes he Is
logged by the newspaper reporter, with Eo'e
book and pe1cil in hand, sDd the daily history
Of hi. lie, hi. every movement, his personal
habits are day by dsy served Up BY me
newspapers for the grstidcsiioa Of all who are
interested in such details. Every paper contains
II, criticisms on his course and character, ana
be stands Ike the tEest tree Of the forest, N the
fan light Of the morning sun. while the smaller
tr1es, the shrubs and briars, are hidden IN the
shadows below. To no country are there re-
1u.rks more applicable than is ouT oWn OF 70
chief magistrate are they truer than Of tie
President Of the United Ststeg. Every act Of
his, private or official, and every event Of bis
life, is daily published, criticized and commented
upon Everything that can possibly be con-
strusl to his discredit every word, deed or
habit, upon which a construction can be put
which will tell agsinst him liz the approaching
campaign, is seized upon with syidity by the
opposition journals for political capital Now.
with all this close and vindictive surveillance Of
General Grant by the opposition press, what
AAvs they discovered
Fi-s., th.t he is wanting in personsl dignity.
But the American people is not very digni- |
fei one, ard il is a question il the Presidents
sssy ways DO not suit and as truly represent the |
people. a. the stif-tscked etiquette and cold |
formality q the old school, Then, he smokes
"Oh, the pity of it, Isgo; the pity Of It. "
But does rot this fact make him more truly
representative Of tie people Of this nation
Certainly. there are plenty Of good legislators,
good Governors, good men, who smoke.
Thirdly, be likes fast horse. That is great
sin, and he and Henry Ward Beecher must be
condemned together. Fourthly, he has taken
gifts But Gen Grant has never accepted gift
since he became President. And what he &C
eepted before that, was the free gift Of generous
and almiring people, and az recognition Of his
trauscendent services 20 bis country. Looking
hack now. we nigh, with, Il ouch wishing were
# any service, that he had declined kl such test,
imonials, like &" the noblest Bomsn of them ALI
Gen. George Thomas. But at the time, no enc
thought Of questioning the propriety Of the &C
oeptance /; nor was it any more derogstory 70 the
character Of Gen. Grant, than the acceptance Of
honors and estates by the Duke Of Wellington and
by Bismarck WAS to them. Fiithly, he hss ap-
pointed relations to Office Yes, to some extent
He has done not as much Of this as is charged,
and 10 more than some of the Senators and Re
personalities who echo the malicious scurriliy Of
the y, 7. Sun, whose editor howls because he
was rot hribed with an Office But this is
faul; which msy be forgiven, as long as the
President ie not keeping in Office bad men be- I
asuse they are his kindred, and as long as he Is
urging reform, which viii hereafter put all
,itiEsns, Of equal capacity, on an equal footing
or appointments There are some other charges
which ehsye not considered, ouch ss that Gen. S,
Grant takes summer vacation that he wont
make speech, &c, which only show to what I
desperate straits bis enemies are driven in their
opposition to the peoples candidate FOR 1872.