The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-09-02
ANDREW JOHNSON.
An Interesting Letter from the Hon.
Hugh McCullOch.

An Interesting Letter from the Hon.
Hugh McCullOch.
To the Editor ofthe Nelc YORK. Tribune:
SIR--I have been panied by noticing
in the London Times a cable dispatch |
announcing the death of Andrew John
son. | hope | may be permitted to |
offer to his memory brief tribute of re- |
spect. knew Mr.. johnson intimately |
for four years, and had perhaps rs
much of his confidence as he gave to any
member of his Cabinet. My impress
sion, however, was that his experience |
as politician had made him distrust- !
full, and that he never gave his conf |
dence unreservedly to any one outside of
his own family. This distrust was one
cause of the unpopularity, not to say
failure, of his administration. Had he
confided in the leaders of the party
which brought him into power, and gone
with them, his path would have been Il
pleasant one; or if, discarding them, he
had called to his aid the leaders of the
opposition, with whom, on most ques
tions, he was in sympathy, he would
have shared with them the responsible
ties of most difficult position, and re-
ceived a support which he needed, but
seemed not to desire. Thus uncon-
sciously perhaps distrustful of his fellow
men, but conscious of the rectitude OF
his intentions, he attempted the imp0S-
sibility of administering properly the
Government in the most trying period
of its history without a party to support
him. Distrust was one of his faults,
and in becoming President, not by the
choice of the people, but by the death OF
Mr.. Lincoln, and regarded, on account
of his being Il Tennessean Ootwith-
standing the evidence he had given OF
his fealtv to the UniOn), with suspicion
bv many of the extreme men Of the
North, it was perhaps his greatest
fault. Another fault, and Il very dan
gcrous one in q Chief Magistrate, was
an irresistible propensity to make
speeches and to indulge in invectives
unbecoming his great Office, and fire.
quentlv unjust to those whom he at
tackled, or against whom he undertook
to defend himself. He never cOmprc-
hended the power of silence. Then,
too. he was combative. His whole life,
from the tailor's bench to the Senate,
had been filled with the combats in
which he had been engaged, single
handed, with Il powerful Southern arts
tocracy, bent upon preventing his po-
litical and sociaf advancement. This
combativencSS he carried into the EN-
ecutiye Mansion. 1t had become apart
of his nature, and he could not rid HIM
! self of it. He seemed never to be happy
unless he had some one to strike ut or
| to denOunce. Such were his faults,
and they were grievOus ones in the
| highest officer of the Government; but,
great as they were. they were counter
balanced by many of the noblest quail
| ties
! He was man Of convictions, and I'M
altcrably true to them. Lacking quick
ness of apprehension, he was slow in
reaching conclusions, but when he had
! reached them he adhered to them with
uncOnqucrable tenacity. No drawer
man, morally or physically, ever lived.
Sensitive to pain, he possessed an IL
domitablc will, that enabled him to en-
dure pain without a murmur. During
| his occupancy of the Executive Mansion
! he was the victim of Il most painful
! disease, and although his agony was,
at times, most eXcruciatin%, It was
indicated only by slight contraction
of the facial muscles. | said to him
one day, upon observing this peculiar
muscular contraction, ''Mr. PreSl-
dent, YOU are not well. " 'No, y
replied he; emo, Mr.. Secretary, |
could not suffer more if an animal were
@nawin@ at my vitalS, " and yet he con
tinucd at his work rs if in perfect health.
He was of the same material that mar
tyrs were made of, and had he lived in
their DAYS, and been sentenced to the
stake, he would have died as they did ,
without recanting his opinions, or Civ
ing expression to his agony. \ bitter
enemy, he never struck Il foe after he
considered him vanquished. In his
family relations he was atfcctionate and
indul~ent; fond of children, he was As
gentle and kind in his treatment Of them
as a woman. Notwithstanding his dis
trust of men, he was full of generous
emotions. Never absent from his post,
he was one of the most indefatigable
workers. He was orderly in his habits
and tasteful in his dress, and although
deprived of the advantage of what Is
called good society in his early life, he
had the bearing and address of gen
tleman. The White House was never
more what the mansion of the President
ou~ht to be than when it was occupied
by himself and his modest, uupretend
ING, but really accomplished, daugh-
tiers. Stigmatized by his opponents Il
an inebriate, he was not Incorporate II
the use of liquors. For some six weeks
after he become President he occupied {
room opening into mine, in the Treas
ury Department, where | saw him eve
~ hour. from nine in the morning unit
five in the afternoon, and for nearly fom
years there was not a day, both in sea-
sonable and unreasonable hours, that
did not meet him; and although | fire.
mentlv saw him under excitement which
a stranger might have regarded As IN
dicating intoXicatiOn, | never saw hin
under the influence of liquor. The re
ports of his inebriety which were circu,
lated broadcast over the country, anC
believed, perhaps, by majority of his
countrymen, were audaciouS calum
MES.
Mr.. johnson was Il man of vigorOu,
! lllltlttl. W ittl lftNrNNNt III N'Ab'iN III
made up in Iobust strength. His an
nual messages, with the exception o.
his ta1fr pas in regard to the payment
of the Government bonds, and his other
messages to Congress are admitted tC
have been among the ablest of our Elk
ecutive papers. OF his patriotism, o.
his hearty devotion to the Union, there
can be no question. He gave Illustrative
proof of this in Tennessee, when to bC
an outspoken Union man was attended
with danger that few men, however
brave, dared to encounter. During
the dark days of the war his was about
the only cheering voice that came W
from the South. recollect with wha1
enthusiasm he was received when he
came to Indiana to rebuke treason anC
strengthen the faith of the supporters
of the Government when its existence
was in peril. He lived long enough tC
make friends of thousands of his enc
mics, and the welcome that he received
when returned to the Senate, of which
! no had heen for piUhteen wears a con.