Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1877-11-13
AN UNDESERVED DEFENSE.

A controversy between ex- Secretary of State
Hamilton Fish, and Wendell Philips over the
Grant-Sumner quarrel, is just now attracting
a good deal of attention in the East. The
facts are that Sumner, who was Chairman OF
the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,
not only had policy of his own which was
opposed to Grants views and purposes. but he
was arrogant enough and indelicate and sell
fish enough to assert that policy even to the
extent of interfering with the business and
plans of the State Department, Thus, at a
time when our Government was negotiating
the Alabama Treaty, Sumner, with singular
perversity, made his celebrated attack upon
the English government-an attack which was
quite uncalled for and quite out of place, and
which surprised England and disconnected the
friends of that sagacious and benehcent move
nent which finally resulted in the Geneva Ar
bitration and the handsome award of fifteen
million dollars to the United States. More
over, Summers hostility to Grant (as whose
Mentor and instructor he had vainly hoped to
be recognized), prompted him to counsel Mot
ley to such a course as was quite inadmissa-
BILE under the instructions imposed upon the
latter by the Department of State. 1t is be-
cause Motley chose rather to follow Sumner
than obey the authority of his superior officer,
that he was removed from his place of Am
bassador to the Court of ST. James The fact
of the matter is that Sumner had no sympathy
with any movement or policy or scheme in
which he was not recognized as the central
figure. The history of Reconstruction will
show Sumner in the light of a constantly re-
curing obstacle and malaptop. The Civil
Rights Bill became law in spite of him. and
with all his show of devotion to the colored
man, the Fifteenth Constitutional Amend
ment was the work of more practical and less
selfish hands than his Sumner was an abo-
litionist and stood for the Union in the days
of conflict but he too much valued himself
as an historical figure to be always consistent
or frequently practical A man who is for
ever ''editing his speeches is TOO greedy for
fame to forget, at all opportune times, his
own overshadowing Importance, 1t was Sum
over to Horace Greeley in 1872 He had at
tempted to play the schoolmaster with Grant
and had been discomftted at the indifference |
shown toward himself and his self Importance. |
He expected to run" the quiet General, in |
short, and was in dudgeon over his disappoint-
ment. So, and for no better reason, he at
tackled Grant personally, leagued himself with
Trumbull, Tilton, Schurz, Fenton and the
rest of the malecontents, and made war on
the Republican party. A more malignant
case of soreheadism never was known. Now
comes Wendell Phillips, consistent North
erner, and does himself the injustice to be
summers champion and defender. Sumner
,orfeited, by his malignant course toward the
party and toward the North, as well as by his
lisengenuous course toward Grant, all right
% such defense. Wendell Phillips ought to
re in better business. Moreover, in this par
ocular instance, Phillips is wrong and Fish
) right