The Portland daily press., 1877-03-06
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE.


ocrats and disappointed office seekers, selected
one oi 'ueir own number as a candidate, and
"en' W WORK WITH more zeal than effectiveness,
70 acconpiish the great aim and purpose in.
scrlbed on their banners, Anything to bes.
Grant, Bat Grant never was beatenl The
euemy made tremendous noise, flooded the
country with essays and paragraphs, tried ev.
cry art of persuasion and exhortaton, but the
people persisted in standing by the great SOL
dler, and bore him in their arms to victory,
with an enthusiasm as creditable to their man
hood as it was complimentary to Ills worth.
The shafts of calumny levelled at him fell
harmless. Not that they lacked cleyerness and
ingenuity. The editors who made so desperate
raid upon him numbered among them some
OF the brightest quill drivers in the profession.
They adopted great variety of plans of attack.
One would intermingle with his abuse a we'll
feigned regret at being compelled to speak ill of
man who had "done the state some service"
Another would disclaim any hostility to Grant
but express grief that be would listen to bad
advisers A third would remind his readers
how long and tenaciously he had adhered to the
cause, but at last things had reached point
where he could go no further in that direction.
The major part Of them however overdid the
business sadly by the violence of their vituper-
atons.
Ii the general had been less conspicuous
parsonage this cannonade of slander would
have damaged him seriously But fortunately
he lived directly under the public eye. His life
was perfect contradiction of everything that
was uttered in disparagement of him. 1t would
be impossible to name man more absolutely
free from the frailties and infrmities incident
to human nature. He is the perfect incarna-
tion of integrity and frankness. Few men are
less susceptible to influence yet none could be
more considerate of the opinions and wishes of
others. His will is resolute but his heart is full
of tenderness. Always master of the situation
through his natural strength of character and
the readiness with which he meets every emer-
gency, he is never wanting in respectful defer
ence to the judgment of his official associates.
Throughout his second term Gen. Grant has
tnlly realized the expectation which led the
people to insist upon his reelection. Thirteen
months after his inauguration hs placed him.
self in antagonism to Congress by vetoing the
currency bill. 1t was the grandest of his civic
acts There were men in the national councils
would have signed that bill if they had been in
his place-not because they approved it but on
the score of expediency. And 1 dare say that
if vote had been taken in any rural debating
society or young ladies boarding school to de-
eide whether he or they possessed the highest
claims to craftsmanship the score would have
run against him, for the moment, every time.
And yet he was wiser than Congress as every
body now is willing to acknowledge. His idea
of expediency is to do exactly what he believes
to be right, and in this instance as in most
others that proved the true doctrine.
Take another example Of his courage and
good sense. The bill for equalzlng soldiers
bounties passed both houses. 1t was carried in
the Senate on the last day of the session by the
casting vote of Vice President Wilson. The
President vetoed it before he left the capitol.
His quick perceptions led him instinctively to q
discovery of the defects of the measure, and he
Instantly exercised his prerogative 10 give it its
quietus. That magnificent stroke of the pen
saved the TREASURY sum of money more than
large enough to pay the salaries of the Presi.
dent and Vice President, all the cabinet mins-
ters and all the justices of the Supreme Court
of the Uuitsd States for one hundred yearsi
And yet at that very instant all the female
boarding schools and cross road lyceums were
shrieking for statesmahship!
1t might have been supposed for the credit of
American manhood that after Gen. Grants
brow had been crowned with the laurel of his
final campaign there would be an end of all
efforts to Inisrepresent him. But somehow or
other the very persons who fancied little
W hafOra hat ha
beat him became possessed with the ineradi-
cable notion that he was dangerously popular
and inordinately ambitious; that there was
nothing to prevent his third election when the
time came. except the respect of the people for
their traditions; and that it was necessary to
warn them against the hero worship that threat.
ened to set at nought the example of Washing.
ton and his two-term successors. Out of this
mole hill of conjecture rose that mountain Of
childish prattle about third term, that
lowered for while over every other topic Of
voice or pen There never was so much breath
wasted before on purely imaginative theme.
As for the President he was at first amused BY
1t, but when he found to his astonishment that
there were people taking it up with every ap.
pearance of seriousness, 1t passed from joke
to an annoyance. He never would lend impor.
tance to the driyel by talking about it except in
private conversation, and then he used to say in
his good natured way that although he did not
doubt that there were good many people who
would be glad when he went out of office, he
didn't believe there was one man in the coun-
try who would welcome that event with as
much heartiness as he himself would
Finally this ignis fatuus disappeared and was
forgotten. A real presidential canvass sobered
the people considerably. When they were re-
stored to ebriety their sense of the great merits
of Gen. Grant returned in all its original vigor.
He retires from Office with the profound re-.
spect of his csuntrymen Sensible people un-
doubtedly place far higher estimate upon his
ability than they did before it was tested in
state affairs. He has had remarkable faculty
for always doing the right thing in the right
way. No decent critic pretends to impute to
him any other fault than an occasional error Of
Judgment in the exercise of the appointing
power. That is kind of reflection to which
every Executive is liable, do what he may. No
earthly power can convince Smith or Smiths
hackers that the place he and they were in
hot pursuit of should under any circumstances
have been given to Brown. Patronage is
source of weakness to the man charged with
the dispensation of it and makes ten implac-
able enemies to every one lukewarm friend.
The measures Of the administration have
been judicious and salutary. The only policy
that has not been crowned with complete sue
cess is that of Southern reconstruction. On
that point the difficulties have seemed to battle
all efforts of craftsmanship. But really when
we take into account what an intricate and per-
picking problem it was, wonder that it remains
unsolved ceases. 1t requires generation to
allay the animosities engendered by 9 four
years civil war. The sullenness of the native
whites, the greed of the carpet baggers and the
ignorance of the blacks have stood as triple
wall of obstacles to characterization of the
sections Still things are worse than they
would have been if Congress had adopted the
recommendations of the President. In this as
in most other matters the executive branch of
the government has been stronger than the
legislative, ever since Gen. Grant has been at
its head.
10 ,,Ao 4 "a