The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-02-05

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less questions which idle people send in to
newspaper Offices, and with full share Of
which We are troubled. We furnish the
news of the day and make such comments on
1t as seem TO Us just and At, and there our
duty ends. But here Is batch of queries
before US which. az they bear directly upon
the most interesting topic of the day, we will
undertake to answer. We give fair warning,
however. that in the words Of the late Mr.
Greeley. it is for this once only
"a d F." asks Us what we really think
of General Grant Well. in the first place.
we have great admiration for him. We be-
lieve him better fitted to adorn private life
than almost any public man we have ever had
in America and this is saying good deal
We freely confess that General Grant il out Of
place in tho Presidency. It was mistake in
him to accept that Office, as everybody now
sees, and as we have often told him. We do
not doubt that he will resign-at least if he
takes our advice-and if be should be 90
deluded as to hold on to place, Of whose
duties he is entirely ignorant, and where he
daily loses somewhat of his earlier glory and
reputation, it is quite certain that two years
hence the people, who by this time are fully
aware Of his true place. will with great unan-
unity elect him to stay at home.
81. A." asks els it or is it not true that
the HERALD is an organ Of the administra-
hon?" This correspondent reminds Us of q
Missourisn, who wrote to his county news
paper somewhat similar query :-"Did the
battle of Waterloo take place before or after
the beginning OF the Christian Era9" To
which the editor replied, lit did" u. A.
must have been living somewhere in the back
woods not to know that the HERALD is the
special organ of General Grant, the best and
the most faithful friend he hos ever had, and
at this time almost the only journal which has
the patience and devotion to advise him
what to do. If -. A." will read the HERALD
he will see there almost daily foresbadowed
that course which General Grant would pur-
sue if he were as wise as we wish he was, and
which it ID our earnest desire and hope he
may yet determine on. The first step in the
policy we recommend is that be shall resign;
and in this, as in many other affairs of life. we
assure him that it is the first step only which
costs. Having resigned, all the rest would be
easy and pleasant. He could go to Europe
or to visit his friend Kalakaua or amuse him
self as he liked, and we promise him not only
very good time, but the thanks of grateful
people.
3D. asks, "What does General Grant
want?" This question reminds US of an un-
feeling remark of the late Thaddeus Stevens
in regard to General Banks, when the latter
was once, in 1866, making speech in Con-
gress. "What does General Banks want?"
asked puzzled member Of the Pennsylvania
statesman, who replied, ''Want confound
him, he wants brains that's what he wants"
Now, we are far from suggesting that General
Grant wants brains, for he does not What
he lacks, as we have often pointed out to him,
is capacity to understand civil government.
He is soldier, used to force and his notion
of governing would, by persons who like him
less than we do be described as system of
''main strength and stupidness." In the
name Of peace he sends our most brilliant
General to New Orleans, which is q good deal
like appointing bull to keep order in china
shop and allows State Legislature 10 be
dispersed by federal troops, which is like
smoking out beehive with o shovelful of
sulphur-you get rid of the bees, but they
would hardly call it a civil proceeding. Gen.
eral Grants way with the South is not original
with him. 1t is founded on the same theory
which led hunter who had caught bears
paws around q tree to imagine be had
caught the bear. While he held the crea-
lures paws it was all well enough, though in
convenient and costly. But he had to let 90
at some time, and he discovered by and by
that merely holding his paws neither tanned
nor subdued him, and that the real work
would begin whenever he let go. Grant, with
the whole federal power to back him and no
regard for the constitution to restrain him,
can certainly hold down the Southern bear.
But what is the use? Some day we shall have
to let CO. and the management Of our bear
will begin from that day, and all Grants
holding down will count as mere folly or
worse.
Craftsmanship consists in managing people,
not in knocking them down with club. But
that is what o mere soldier like Grant can
never learn. There is not the least doubt
that General Grant is in earnest when he says
"Let Us have peace :" the difficulty is that he
knows but one way to procure peace, and that
is by shooting every man who, as he may
happen to think stands in the way Of peace
When statesman says 'Let us have peace
he instantly sets to work to study the causes
which shall remove friction, produce har-
mony, and leave natural laws to work out the
final cure. But q mere soldier like Grant
snaps his heavy jaws together, gets q stony
glare in his eyes and determines to have
peace, if he has to kill every man in the
State. 1t would be wrong to call Grant, for
n =. = L.