National Republican., 1873-03-06
FILE IN,rcrnAI. Address.

THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
We have only briefly alluded to the inaugu-
raj address Of President Grant. II is paper /
which will bear more careful perusal and
more critical study than Il will DO likely TO
receive In tho immediate rush OF events and
the excitement Of the present hour. In
fact sundry gifted geulusos will have to
swallow dictionaries by :ho cord In order to do
Justice toits real and imagined imporfectiops.
Such exhibitions Of spleen and malignity are
always In bad taste, and 1t was particularly
out Of place to mock aud make mouths at an
historical event such Gs as that Of Tuesday, |
especially when II was celeb rated by go
splendid and spontaneous public recogniI
tion at the hands Of our veteran soldiers and
the people at large. This Is free country,
however, and we must not complain too bit
terly Of tho indeccncics and incongrui-
tIos Of conduct which are the natural, although
unpleasant, results of license Of speech
and Of the press. We think thatit ls far bet
ter for those who have the ear Of the public,
through the medium Of printers Ink and
white paper, and who assume TO be the edu-
Gators and guides OF the people, to adopt q
becoming and dlgnined department In deal
ing with important aud interesting questions,
than TO play the buIoon or the common
scold.
In the lrst place, then, II must bc borne In
mind that an inaugural address is purely
personal AMI private matter. II Is speech
Of plain man to millions Of his fclldw-citi-
zeus. Il Is tho only formally informal ex-
preston of the ideas and intentions Of
public servant to the people whom he serves.
1t Is not judicial legal, or diplomatic
paper. It is simply a little plain talk about
the present, past and future and the pc rsonal
connection Of the speaker herewith. II Is
quito different from q message to Congress,
which Is purely business do cument. II has
not, nowadays, the political siguiheance
Of times past when the President was
looked up TO as the head and man aging
leader Of great political party, whose habit
1t had beeu and whose business It was to
know and control all the po lltical movements
Of his party, be they Of greater or less i'm
portauce, who must be cognizant Of the per-
eonal and political claims and party standing
Of every applicant for Office, high or low, and
who could wield for his own and his partys
aggrandlzemont that enormous power OF
patronage to which President Grants exer-
tons aud policy have given the death-blow.
Never, before the administrat ions Of Lincoln
and Grant, has the central fact that the Presi-
dent Is simply an exec utive officer, and the ser
want Of the people, not tho loader OF political
party, been so fully brought out and 90 fully
eIemplhed This Is one Of the features OF
our rise from tho position Of democracy,
turbulent, rudo and tondlng towards despOt-
Ism such as We saw in tho timos Of jackson
and Buchanan, aud VIII lch bore the fruit Of
tho slavchOlders rebel lion, to that Of an In
telllgent and conser yatlve republic, founded
upon the ideas, tho opinions and the self
confidence Of thoughtful and honest men. II
Is this principle that Il forcibly and prom
incnuy Drough ut out 10 tho inaugural, which
millions Of readers have just perused, and for
It's enunciatlon Ia such clear and unmlstak-
able terms We should b0 scarcely less CRATE
full than we shall DO for its thorough and un-
deyiatlng execution. For tho reiteration OF
this principle, and for the broad and hopeful
views OF our future, Preside ut Grant deserves
The thanks Of tho nation.
Tho Presidont's brief reference 10 himself
and his calumniators will excite marked at
tentlon. Ho says he has boen 1.-THE subject
of SANDER and abuse scarcely ever equaled
In political history" notwithstandi ng his un-
selfish devotion to the intcres Is Of the people.
II Is not easy TO say who has been the best
abused man In public life In this country.
There 10 an abundance Of candidates for that
distinction, aud wo cannot wond or that each
man should think bis own case the hardest
Tho public forgets all thls foul mo uthod Sian
der, which Is drowned in the general result oI
the great achievements Of great mon, but
those who have been subjected to tho fiery
ordeal Of public life can easily understand how
the needless aud malicious mlsrepres eutation,
Of political enemies and he proneness OF the
people TO maguify the smallest bit OF scandal
into black cloud Of iniamy which tempo.
rariy obscures the most splendid ashieve.
meets and the most honest sincerity OF pur-
pose, must raukle In the mind Of q sensitive
and honorable man. We are accustomed tC
hear Gen. Grant called passive, stolid AND
uncXcitabe, but there arc occasions when he
shows that In the inncrmost depths Of his
nature there Is delicate capacity for suffer
ing and a strong sympathy with his fellow
men, which arc all the more startling because
they arc entirely unexpected. There ART
many thousands of his old soldiers now
living who recollect his lery and eflcacioul
indignation when the steamboat captain OF
the Mississippi charged double fare to thos'
heroes Of Yleksburg who had been rewarded
for their valor with furloughs to enable then
10 90 home. There are also many who vii
remember the stern and effective reception
which cotton dealers, who made haste Il
follow In the track OF his army aud speculate
In the fruits OF Its victorious marches re
ceiyed at the hands Of the commander OF tn
army Of the Tennessee. The people may for
get, but General Grant cannot, how he was dc
nounced and yilaled during his military career
He probably has forgotten, on account OF II
trivial importance, but we have not, how III
present editor Of the New York Trib uHs mls
represented his conduct Of the battle Q
Shiloh and devoted his eight columns Of tn
Cincinnati GdEsue to denuncation OF hiI
and fulsome adulation Of General Lev
Wallace, whose shameful tardlness, +
call II by 10 harsher name, was mainl
tho cause Of the repulse Of the 1rst day
We can all remember the Idle tales told O
his nepotism, his acceptance of presents, hi
frivolity and his self-aggrandiEement. Per
haps, by the way, we ought not 10 forge
that during the saturnalia OF the blgots q
the credit mObiler slandcr, when It SCENE
US though no one could be secure Of an
reputation except for iniamy, neither tn
character Of the President nor that o
any OF his immediate military family" ha
been assaled ever so lightly. II waSTightan,
proper for him to express his gratitude TO