The Portland daily press., 1872-12-28
Beecher ON our "Presidents."

Society ON ''Forefathers' Day." Henry Ward
Beecher responded to the toast-"the Presi-
dent of the United States, in which he thus
humorously referred to the bad official reputa-
ton and the serious trials of the occupants of
the Presidential chair:
81 call your historic memory to take notice
that we have never yet had President in this
nation that was good for anything during his
four or eight y ars of Office Laughter. If
you go back to the early newspapers and dis
cussions, you will find that Washington was a
VIGOROUSLY incompetent President. Thousands
and tens of thousands bitterly iuveighed against
him, and his presidential life was far from be-
ing happy one.
John Adams was certainly not very popu-
lar President. He sat but once, and the polit-
ical literature of that time is as bitter as gall
Jefferson, who took his place, was considered
by one-half of the people of this land as little
better than the devil HIMSELF and his ideas and
tendencies and everything about him was in
Weighed against with the utmost liberty-no,
lcense-of the press. After him came Madi-
son and Monroe and John Quincy Adams, We
are living in moderate and temperate times,
compared with then, for they were alternately
admired and abominated.
Of course, everybody liked jackson. laugh.
teri There were no opponents to him. He
was pre-emnently saint-of a robust order
Laughter But out of his lons political came
Van Buren, [laughterl, and he was universally
popular, was he not? Laughter Then came
Harrison, who died too soon. Tyler took his
place. need not recall to your minds the
sweet times of that four years. And then Polk.
Who is James X. Polk? Laughter Was
there ever an administration laid open to such
criticism?
Then Taylor and Mr. Fillmore and Gen. Tay-
Tor, seeing what there was before him retreated
Naughter.) He knew there was no justice on
earth. Then came Mr. Pierce As an old farm
ar N New HamnSbira caid. 10
big man in New Hampshire, but spread him out
all over the United States and he would spread
thin" [Great laughter.]
After Gen. Pierce we had-(and here Mr..
Beecher, with twnkling eyes, refectively placed
his finger to his forehead until reminded by his
neighbor)-I am reminded that it was Buchan-
an. laughter Happy is the man who
sleeps in an oblivion SO perfect. [Laughter.]
Then we had Lincoln. The glorification of
his untimely death, said the speaker reverently.
gods was of old. But during the four years in
which he, with his homely sense, his religious
feeling, his deep patriotism, the four weary
years in which he waded to the horses brides
in blood-was he sustained by the unanimous
voice of his nation? Was there ever a man
whose name was hewed and hacked 80 unmer-
cifully as his was?
Since Gen. Grant has been President of the
United States he has not had an easy time I
think that if he had his choice he would prefer
over again than to have the battle fought
around him which has beleaguered him ever
since he became President. [ DONE propose
now to discuss his merits or dement's. L think
we shall not appreciate his worth until he is
dead and gone, but in 20 years you will be ready
to declare him as good a President as any in the
long list. [Applause]
When he went to take the chair, he went
with most mischievous impression, viz: that
the government could be run by the common
nn1a nd fha io1r
when you can run a mandatory with green
hands, and all the trained operatives turned
out, thel. you may hope to administer the gov
eminent OF the United States by excluding pol
iticians. A government must be governed by
men who study governments, and he that stud
les government must not be an amateur. He
must make it the business of his life.
This was Gen. Grants first mistake and it
was more the mistake of the people, who, in
putting him there, told him to administer the
affairs of government without the politicians.
What was the result? He saw his mistake as
soon as anybody else, and began to lean toward
the politicians 1t is my impression that in the
four years past he has learned to study govern
ment, and is a better prepared man to sit in
that chair than any one that could be selected
He has, it is true, one fault. He cannot cut
a dash. When he was called to leave the
church, where our lamented friend and neigh
Dor lay in state and here Mr.. Beecher dropped
his voice reverently, as great and sudden hush
fell upon the companyl-he blushed like a
school boy to walk down the broad aisle with
every eye upon him. 1t was a most refreshing
sight.
L have always believed in him and do now,
and l think we ought to be grateful that in the
chair at the White House sits man whose
grandfather was born in New England, and if
so good man as Gen. Grant himself was not
born there, what would he have been if he had
been SO fortunate?"