Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-11-14

GENERAL GRANTS reputation as a sphinx
has come largely from the fact that he pos
sesses TO a rare extent the power of silence
when he has nothing TO say, or when he does
not care 10 commit himself. But those who
have ever convcrsed with him have common
ly found him willing to bear his share of the
conversation, and to bear it intellgently and
well. His ability to talk wisely and inter
estiDgly has of course not been lessened by
his foreign travel. \ recent conversation
with Judge Curtis of Sacramento Cal, is
reported in one of the papers of that city, in
which General Grant expressed an estimate
of the American character, remarkable for
sagacious perception and clear statement.
He said
America is respected throughout the
world, but it must not be presumed from
that fact that she is necessarily loved. Our
institutions are in measure rebuke % the
aristocratic classes of the old civilizations"
Judge Curtis asked, is she feared" Gen.
Grant said, Not in a sense that her exist
ence or her power is a menace TO the peace
of other countries or that disposition of
aggression on our part is Il danger TO any
country. But the United States Govern
ment is the most powerful on the earth. Our
navy is not equal to the navy of third-class
power, but there is no power possessed of
4 navy greater than We can build on very
short notice. We have all the resources OF
power, the wealth, the materials of war,
with the necessary mechanical capacity
to make them effective" Mr.. Cur
It's asked, what as a military pow
or, General?" We'll" said the Gen
eral, Z" in that respect We are the most power
full nation on the earth. We have, say, fifty
millions of people that are physically the
equal to other people. We have of course,
no standing army, but pointing 10 the dense
mass of people below every man in that
crowd under forty years Of age can become
a good soldier in five minutes. And this
would be as true of every other crowd in the
country. Besides this, there is the superior
power which the faculty Of command gives.
Our capacity for command is greater than
that of other people. | have no reference to
the military capacity of generals in command.
refer solely to the general aggregate capa-
city of command among the people Our
people, from boyhood, we may say, have the
control anddirection of somebody else. There
are more Americans who are employers Of
labor, or i'll positions where they direct other
men, than any other people on the earth.
Some have command of hut one, some Of
five, others of fifty, and even in groups
where one man commands there are foremcn
down below. This produces and develops
among our people the faculty of accomplish
Ing desired result through others, and this
capacity is of the highest value in the army.
The command of an army in its aggregate
sense resides in the entire rank-that is to
say, in every man who holds any position
above that of private, and the higher this ca
pacity in the people from which the army is
drawn the higher its manifestation in the
operations of war. 1t is this faculty of com
mand which gives discipline. Whoever
knows best how to command knows best how
to obey. Discipline is not the result of mere
locility; it is the intelligent perception of
he necessity of obedience"