Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-12-13
THE GRANT nTovEmENT.
d There AnEthing ln ID.

are promoting the present attempt |
10 keep Gen. Grant prominently !
before the people mean business.
There can be no doubt of their pur |
pose to get the General nominated |
and elected President; it is pur-
pose which they have been steadily
pursuing ever since the 4th of March,
1877. But our question refers, not
to Gen. Grant and his friends or
their purposes, put to the people Of
the United States. 1t has been per-
sistently urged upon us that the
people of the North and South are
wearied out with the blunders and
selfishness of politicians and are
now disposed to take up Grants
cause against them on the theory, it
is supposed, that he is not a politi-
elan, does not make blunders and is
not selfish. We have alluded to
this alleged movement more than
once without any definite argument
about it, without taking any posi-
ton regarding it; for how can one
argue with that which itself argues
no public question, how take n posi-
ton in reference to that which
takes no position itself? But as this
is the Grant week in Louisville, we
propose to look a little into the his
tory of the long-cOntinued demon
stration which we are called upon
to accept as a ''Grant movement"
Let us be explicit, however, before
we begin, for we find we have been
misunderstood already. AS mat
ter of private opinion, then, we are
obstinately skeptical as to the ex-
istence of anything that really de-
serves to be called a Grant move
ment in the South. Certain political
managers have wished for such a
movement and have hoped to start
one by persistently asserting the
existence of it, but that any consid-
cradle body Of men in any part of
the South seriously propose to sup
port Gen. Grant for the Presidency
is proposition to which we shall
give an unqualified negative, at
least until we see it supported by
some attempt at proof. The only
really prominent man in the South
who has given any cOuntenance to
80 preposterous an idea is General
Toombs, and everybody knows that
General TOombs has counted him
self out from any claim to political
influence in the South by his own
impracticable temper which leads
him to spend his life in growing at
the result of the war instead of aim
ing at practicable objects compatible
with the results of the war, so long
since accepted as inevitable. But
even he does not express himself as
having any high opinion of Grant
or any expectations of good from
his administration. His acceptance
of Grant, so far as it goes, contains
more of spite towards all other poll
ticians than of favor towards him.
So much for our own views, which
we were surprised to find had been
egregriously mistaken. proceed
with what we know of the "Grant
BOOM"
AS soon as Gen. Grant was well
out of the White House, a little
band Of political bummers devoted
themselves to the four years labor
of advertising him for the Presi-
dency. After mature deliberatiOn
foreign tour was determined upon.
Many considerations dictated this
course. The General had great
capacity for laundering he is one
of those persons who is bound either
to keep his mouth shut or to put his
foot IN IL. For seven years after his
first accession he had pursued the
former course, but during his last
year he had acquired the habit OF
talking on Sunday afternoons, and
as regularly as the mouth opened,
in went the foot. So he must be
put out of the way of the interview
ers, except those who were carefully
selected by "the management, " and
in their case the dialogue could be
carefully composed before hand
Moreover, a European reputation
being found a good thing for prima
donnas, first tenors and great TRACE
dians, it was thought that some
thin coat of paint from European
sources might disguise the black
ness of his record for fraud, violence
and corruption incurred during hi;
Presidency.
The first step was to get him en-
dorsed as a royal parsonage. The
Department of State at Washington
communicated with the foreign
offices of the various European
Governments, intimating that thi'
Government expected Gen. Grant t.
be received with the honors Gus
tomary in the case of visits from
royal personages. This was gros:
violation of both the letter anC
spirit of our American institutions
We have no "rOyal families" IN
this country, and a man who ha:
been President steps down into the
ranks of private life as soon as his
term over, and Gen. Grant was NJ
more entitled to these distinctive
honors than any private citizen Wis
iting Europe. This, however, the
European powers could not and die
not take into consideration what
ever recognition the State Depart
ment might give him at Washing
ton, the same was necessarily
accorded him at London and Der
lin. War ships fired their salute:
when he landed, the militia received
him at the docks, the Queen al
Windsor and the Prince of Wales
dined him at Marlborough House
In France there was not much gush
The French Republic was then
young and was engaged in a doubt