The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-04-07
GRANT on THE RAMPAGE.

A Tribune correspondent tells this funny
story: Theinterview between the presiden
and the representatives of the South Carolina
Taxpayers yesterday morning was IL
some respects a remarkable incident. None
of the reporters or correspondents whC
usually haunt the White House on such oc
cssions were present, and the accounts o.
what took place, as published this morning
are made up entirely from hearsay, and are
very far from giving acorrect idea of what was
really said, either by the South Carolinians
lor by President Grant. The truth is that
the president was in something like pas
sion. 1t came about in this way. Among
the delegates chosen to the recent.taxpaye rs
convention was harum-scarum ex-confed'
era officer named Gary, who prides him.
self on his undying opposition to the new
order of things in the south, and who, while
enjoying a certain personal popularity in
his own county, has long been the enfant
| terrible of those Carolinians who really want
to see things set to rights in their state on a
basis in harmony with the congressional re-
construction. Gary, in spite of the remon-
strances otiriends, who vainly urged that the
non.partizan and non-poiiticsl con-
Germ, insisted on making speech
in that body, in which, with
bad taste and worse rhetoric, but with un-
deniable vigor, he pitched into Grant, con-
gress, and the republican party generally.
1 The convention, in rebuke to the sentiments
of the speech, at once, and by an overwhelm-
/ ing vote, recommitted the report, which had
been made the pretext for its delivery, and
/ the snubbed orator subsidized. The local
ring organs in South Carolina, however,
i eagerly caught at Gary's ebullition as a
| proof that the complaints of the taxpayers
were only rebel mutterings in disguise, and
though the speech was violent and foolish
enough in all conscience, they altered and
garbled some OF it's worst sentences in a
way to make it ten times worse, and, in
that form, kept them standing for several
weeks in large type at the head of
their editorial columns. When the
delegation sent by the convention
| with the memorial to congress appeared in
Washington several days ago, there is good
reason to believe that the president felt
kindly enough toward them. He told Sec
rotary Fish that, although he was going to
Philadelphia he would make it point to
give them an audience before he went; and
the secretary (who was president general of
the Cincinnati. cordially sympathized with
a delegation which included several MEM
bers of that old order, among them General
James SimOns, the vice president general,
was probably as much surprised as any
body at the reception which the South
Carolinians finally met. 1t seems that sly
Senator Patterson, who, for reasons OF
his own, did not relish the welcome
which seemed awaiting the delegation,
got across to the president few minutes be-
fore the promised interview and called his
attention to the garbled extracts from Gary's
speech He timed his visit so well that he
came out of the executive mansion Just as
the delegation entered it and they were ush-
cred into the presence of General Grant while
he was probably still smarting from the vex-
alton caused by the bitter and abusive words
just read to him. His manner during the
ceremony of presentation plainly showed
the struggle between Unsurpassed anger
and desire to be dignifled and courteous.
The Hon. w. ID. Porter, the spokesman of
the delegation, and one of the most polished |
advocates of the Charleston bar, made a
calm and brief but striking and very pathe |
tic presentation of the shocking condition of
his state. The president listened with marked |
attention and replied slowly but with
vigor and without any of that hesitation
which he is said usually to exhibit when |
making a speech. His words, which have |
not, so far, been fully reported in any of the |
papers were these:
GRANTS wRATHFUL SPEECH.
GENILEMEN:-Afterl listening to what has
been said, do not see that there is any
thing that can be done, either by the execu- /
tive or by the legislative branch of the ma
tional governments, to better the condition of
things which you have described. South Car |
DINA has now a complete existence as a
sovereign state, and must make her own
laws. If those laws are oppressive to her |
people it Is very much to be deplored. |
But what is the cause of the evils in |
your state may be question worth consid
erIng. Whether part OF that cause is not |
due to yourselves, whether 1t is not due to |
the extreme views which you have held, |
whether your own action has not CONSOLE |
dated the non-tax paying portion of your |
community against you, are the questions |
which leave for your own consideration.
L feel great sympathy for any people who
are badly governed and overtaxed as Is the
case in louisiana, and as also seems to |
be the case in South Carolina. But
will say to you candidly There the presi- |
dents manner hardened visiblyl that
while / have watched the proceedings of
your taxpayers convention with no little |
interest, portion of my sympathy has
been distracted by the perusal OF certain |
speech delivered during its deliberations, |
vile and more slanderous than anything 1 |
have ever experienced before, even among |
my worst enemies in the north-a speech |
more bitter in its personality and falsehood
than anything have ever seen, even in the
New York Sum-"
Here the president paused. His visitors
were completely taken aback by his words,
and still more by the unpleasant vehemence
with which they were uttered. Several Of
the delegates fastened to explain the cir |
cumstances connected with the speech,
which have already briefly noted, but their |
explanations seemed to fall UNDECIDED. The |
president met everything that was said with
some fresh reference to the irritating subject. |
quote his words in rejoinder to the expos
tulations of one delegate: 81 have
meyer seen a speech equal to 1t in
malignity, yileness, falsity. and Islander.
When think of 1t, 1 can scarcely restrain
myself"
AS this very painful and embarrassing
interview closed, Mr.. Porter ventured to
suggest that it was hardly just to hold a
whole community responsible for the i'm
proper utterance of a single individual. But
the remonstrance was scarcely noticed by
the president, and the delegation sadly and