The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-01-16
President Grants Retrest-Ths Value
OF . Wise Ceup.eIlor.

stoou oo'on VI eiSut uays ago. On receiving
Sheridan's ''banditti" despatch the Presidents
military instincts got the better of his judy
ment. and the indorsing reply, made with his
sanction by Secretary Belknap, foreshadowed
policy which would have subverted the
foundations of civil liberty. Had that policy
been persisted in the country would have
rocked from side to side with the mighty up
heaving of a political earthquake. 1t is fortu-
nate for the President and the country that
the Cabinet, at this juncture was not wholly
composed of unfiinching partlsans of the type
OF Williams and Belknap. The inestimable
value OF prudent unimpulsive statesman
like Secretary Fish, who stands SO aloof
from vulgar partisan intrgues that the dis
interestedness of his advice could not be
suspected, was manifest on this occasion, when
the President stood on the brink and had de-
cided to leap into The abyss of o stupendous
! political mistake. 1t was chiefly owing to
Secretary Fish's sobrieiy of judgment and
frmness of purpose that President Grant was
prevented from running himself and his party
and plunging the country into dangerous
agitation, of which no man was " Use enough
to foresee the result Whatever praise may
be due to Secretary Fish for his success in
settling the Alabama claims controversy, he
has done an infinitely greater service in re-
storing the imperilled tranquility OF the coun
try on this occasion. II foreign war had
resulted from this dispute with England it
would have been o lighter calamity than the
domestic consequences of such policy as was
recommended to the President by General
Sheridan. If it has ever happened
that the right man was found in the right
place MIR. Fish's position in the Cabinet in
this crisis is an instance. He has saved the
administration from an incalculable blunder
and the country from civil contest which
would have stirred popular passions to their
protoundest depths.
Secretary Fish's success in arresting the
madness of the administration was due in
great part to his firm determination to re-
sign if he did not carry his point, but it
would not have been so effective if it had not
been supported by powerful rising tide of
public sentiment The popular indignation first
exhibited in the press and afterward by calls
for great public meetings, signed by citizens
of the highest standing, strengthened Mr.
Fish's position and reinforced his personal
influence Not even the President, not even
Attorney General Williams, could be insensible
to the electrifying effect of Mr. Fishs resig-
nation on popular sentiment, already heated
to the point of explosion. If this fresh
fuel had been added to the fame the republ-
can party would have been cleft asunder and
the support of a servile Congress, even if that
could have been further relied on, would not
have enabled the President to breast the
storm, unless he fell back on bis military
prerogatives. Moreover, the resignation of
Secretary Fish and other members of the
Cabinet who were ready to retire with him
would have given Speaker Blaine a strong
vantage ground for prosecuting his canvass
for the Presidency, and this astute politician
would have made dexterous use of the OPP
portunity. He could easily have cut all the
ground from under General Grant or the man
whom Grant might favor as his successor, I'M
less restrained by military force. The Presi-
dent was therefore compelled to back down
| and out and relinquish the policy on which
he had set his heart. The practical fruit OF
this moral coercion was the disclaiming
| apologize Message, in which he washed
his hands before the country of all
completely in and all responsibility for
the military interference with the Louisiana
| Legislature. The President covered his re-
treat on true military principles. 1t is GUS
tomary, we believe, when an army is forced to
|
troops in front of the enemy, whose aggres-
sive attitude may serve to conceal the with
drawal of the main body. This kind of
tactics was practised by General Grant in his
Message, and the feint was so successful as to
be mistaken by the democratic press for a
veritable attempt to hold the position from
which be was retreating. The inconsisten-
cies, which are SO easily pointed out, are of
the same nature as the inconsistency between
McClellan's resistance at Malvern Hill and
his strategy for bringing his discounted
army under the protection of the naval guns
on James River. Instead of exulting in q
signal victory the democratic organs are
still arguing that the rear guard Of de-
moralized retreating army is o formidable
aggressive force. The Euening Post, whose
venerable, patriotic editor headed the call
for the late meeting, and made the opening
speech when the meeting assembled, has a
clearer understanding Of the situation. The
Evening Post says that President Grant has
yielded to the force of public opinion, and
has been driven by it to surrender" 1t
goes on to say, "It is a surrender Of which
he need not be ashamed and for which the
people will never blame him. And again,
'sThe surrender of the President sufices to
illustrate the power of public opinion. Let it
be remembered by the people that when they
are united in sentiment nothing can stand
before them" But the Evening Post omits to
say that the prompt effectiveness of public
opinion in this perilous emergency depended