The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-02-18
The Essential Facts.

We have published a good deal
about the Louisiana outrage, hut the
following editorial from the New York
Tribune Ga Liberal Republican paper
is so pointedly true that we cannot re-
fuse it a place in our columns. We
await anxiously to see what the Tribune
will say about the last outrage perpe.
tratcd by Grant in s%cnling a special
message to Congress for the purpose
Of getting .he desperate men, who fol
low the lead Of Butler, to ovelturn the
present peaceful! government of Ar
kansas and &c. instate the carpetbaggcr
Brooks rs Governor. Speaking Of the
Louisiana affair the Tribune says:
The unconditional defenders Of the
President have gathered their scattered
wits together during the last day or
two, and now begin to insist that we
must wait for all the facts in the case
before we withdraw our confidence
from the President and from General
Sheridan. They say there are points
in the situation OF things in Louisiana,
in the action OF Speaker Wilt, and the
orders of Gen. Emory, which If known
would explain many things which now
have IN cquivocal look.
All this is darHening counsel with
words. The only r@tts essential are
these: The United States Army in
terfered in the organization Of the Lou
isiana Legislature, and elected some
half dozen members from that body.
Gen. Sheridan reports and justilies
that action. The Secretary OF Wal
telegraphs the Presidents full ap.
proval. 1t there we've no other facts
Than these, this Administration is hope.
lesslv diocreditcd before The American
people. These facts cannot be eX.
plained. They are, in the eye Of con
stilutional law and tradition, unpardon'
able. There can be no excuse for this
interference with IL State Legislature in
a time of peace. The politics OF the
legislators, the genuinencss of their
election, the behavior of Speaker
Witt. are al as foreign to the case as
the song the syrens sang. The act OF
the military was illegal, aud cannot be
made anything else. 1t ta;nts with its
own Inherent vice every II who or
dered it, and every one who officially
approves il. ..
1t won!d not he necessary to add
anything to this oHrnse to give The
present Administration its proper place
before public opinion. But it seemed
determined TO show what luxury OF
~provocat:on it could give to the coun-
try. After this %unhearl-of outrage
against the Legislature. Gen. Sheridan
sends a dispatch to Washington de-
nouncing the community where he is
stationed as composed of murderers
and assassius, and requests the P"esi,
dent to proclaim them as "%banditti,"
and allow him to treat them as such,
In view of this fact. it is idle to say
that Gen. Sheridan is n brave officer
who fought well at Five Forks, and de
serves well Of the country. This is as
irrelevant As it is true He should
have been removed from New Orleans
as soon as he had written and publish
ed that dispatch, for it must be relnem
bered that he gave publicity to it in the
very city which he so bitterly insulted.
He was worse than useless there from
that hour But rs if to defy the publ,
opinion thus shamelcssly outraged,
Mr.. Belknap, the Secretary OF War,
answered this unprecedented out5urst
Of passionate %imprudence by saying
:. the President and all Of us thorough
~ approve your course
In all this, there is no rumor, no
possibility of false witness. The ouly
witness against Gen. Sheridan is him,
self; the only witness against the Presi,
dent is the official record made by his
order. There is no necessity for wait
ing and weighing evidence. There is
enough now before the country to en-
able it to give an intelligent verdict on
the matter at issue. This will b
promptly given, and the ALministra-
ten and It's unconditional supporters
mas then take their time in determining
the process and details OF their disaster.