Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-11-07

e riously discussed. fetches 10 the fronl
4 among thoughtful men, the eharaete
: and capacity of General Grant, Doe
s he entertain such design, and, If SO
B has he-the capacity to make it possible
! And will Grant accept tn
D situation and use all these influence
: for so selfish purpose as that iouns
e IN this proposed revolution? Ask :
duck if it will take to the water. Or ;
tiger II 1t has taste for blood. Neither
will give you an ineligible answer
but each will act ali the same. Power
! with this man Is an instinct. uf all
things such instincts are the most
dangerous. Strong. In the absence Of
intellectual cultivation that DESTROYS
, instincts, he has the insensibility and
courage of an animal For one Caesar
who acts from calculation ami the high
courage OF a man, we have thousand
Louis Napoleons who seize the eeca-
sion from animal impulse only. The
brainy man of culture, whose force Of
character makes him a leader, Is afr
to be just, and SO possessed of generos
lty and patriotism that he subordinate,
vulgar ambition. But the great Ie-
straining power lies in his capacity To
calculate the difficulties in his way.
lie discounts obstacles where one less
endowed seizes his opportunity.
Fools rush in where angels fear to
tread, and half the time rush in sue
cessfully. The Macbeths whose vivid
/ imaginations compass failure and hcsi-
tate. letting .laFe not wait apou |
would, are seldom dangerous.
The people who laugh at anticipated
danger from such character. or are
amazed at it Ehea on them. have NOT
studied human nature. Its selfish
eowardice is not taken into account.
Not one in thousand will kill rattle
snake or attack bull ii By u king
'by-path he can avoid the danger. We
once hired ferocious little boy to slap
the faces of his comrades as they came
from school Only one out of eigh-
teen resented the Insult. and this one.
had he stopped toeonsider, would have
gone off with threat to complain to
his big brother. What a sway the
bully has We know that the big
fellow with his bore of aggressive
boastiDg is coward at heart, but who
demonstrates the fact By punching his
head? And after all the highest type
of that force of character which wirs
so much in this world is found among
the coarse and uneultiyated.
OF this sort is General Grant His
ignorance and stupidity are positively
amazing. The way in which he puz-
-iou ,x-.,- The asr,,r,loa4 4 -
litieal economy Is really pitiable But
when, no longer able 10 hesitate, he
acts, whether right or wrong, It is with
a force and prOnlptness that entirely
redeems him in the eyes OF his follow
ers. His generalship consisted in the
fact that he would fight. Had he been
put in the war at the time Mcclellan
was his career would have been brief
and disastrous. but bloody. As il was.
he lost more men in his march from
Washington to Lees surrender than
Lee had under him. There is sort
of subdued power in the mans face,
however, that Is remarkable Without
a particle of that magnetism that wins
while it controls, his look excites a
feeling more akin to fear than respect
There is, as ii were, a smOuldering FIRE
in his dead eyes that men generally do
not care to disturb. We pass him
almost daily when in town, as be
slouches to and fro before the Execu-
tive Mansion with his hands behind
him, and note his rounded shoulders,
thick-set and ungainly form. upon
which the clothes hang as if purchased
at slop-shop; his bloated red face.
from which not the slightest ray Of
intelligence emanates, for the eyes,
those windows of the soul, next TO
those of the late Louis Napoleon. are
the deadest eyes ever given TO human
being, ana he reminds US Of an iIl-con-
ditiOned and not Over-cleanly bulldog,
at which it would be dangerous to poke
cane.
Aud such he is. We doubt when
he was nuisance of an inebriate in
the army, or later a wood -hauler at
St Louis, whether any one ever slap
ped him on the back. Not that his
acquaintances had for him any respect,
but the sullen, silent rOugh did not
invite familiarity. The leading poll
tieians and officials realize this and
act accordingly. Evidently uneasy IN
the presence of refined people, he be-
comes aggressive, instiuctiveiy putting
that arnlor on for self-protection, and
the gentlemen present feel themselves
threatened with snubs. 4 former
member Of Grants Cabinet, General
Cox, told US that the politicians, dis
covering that their President could not
be talked TO, arranged little process
through which he could be talked at
Meeting in his presence as If by acci-
dent, they would discuss with much
emphasis the subject which they wish
ed disposed Of Two or three sittings
Of this sort. in which Grant took NO
paTt,apparently listening with indiffer-
ence as he smoked, would have mark
ed results. A few days after the Ad-
mnistration would be found veering
around TO the point desired.
When to this sort Of man we add
the darker fact Of moral nature that
is as Obtuse as his intellectual Is OBJ
scure, we may appreciate our danger.
Looking at all of General Grants
wrong-doings since his elevation 10
the Presidency, the man actually seems
to lack morally, as he does mentally,
the power to distinguish right from
wrong. To select George H.Williams
as his nominee for thcexalted position
of Chief Justice illustrates the one
defect, as his retention In Office after
the exposure illustrates the other.
Said the late General Hillyer:
Il asked the President If it was
really true that WIIliams had taken the
contingent fund to purchase his wife a
carriage? He replied that such seem
ed to be the fact When | heard Of
IL [ got Babcoek TO look into it, and |
believe IL is so. Then. Mr.. President,
he will be defeated Oh. MOI be re-
Piled quietly, i shall not Withdraw
his name.
This is only one instance out Of
hundreds. From the first hours of his
executive existence. when he sold the
Official patronage of this District To
Sayles j. Bowen to reimburse said
Bowen for loss Of $4,000, until the
present moment he has been the asso-
ciate of ronghs and the patron Of
rogues, the recipient Of gifts which be
paid for in Offices, the supporter Of bis
own incapable family at the public
treasury, and all with a self-sstisfed
complavency worthy born Bourbon.
why. General Sehenek. be said
to that distinguished gentlemen, who
was demonstrating with him for put
ting an incapable person in Office over