National Republican., 1880-01-02
ECTING 4 PRESID ENT.

General Grants Views on Important Topics
In part fifteen of "Around the World with
General Grant" Mr.. John Russell Young gives
tho following:
| remember hearing tho General describe
| the inside history of the Electoral Commits.
sion, and Of his own part in that movement
Many Of the things he said belong to the his.
tory which one day may be written. 70 write
| them now would be premature. Nothing y
said the General, could have been wiser than
the Electoral Commission, and nothing could
| be more unpatriOtiC than the attempt TO i'm.
pair the title of President Hayes as fraudulent.
| There WAS good deal of cowardice and
knavcry in that effort. Mr.. Hayes is just as
much President as any of his predecessors.
The country cannot too highly honor the
men who devised and carried through
the Electoral Commission. Mr.. Conkling,
especially, did grand service in that He
showed himself brave enough to rise above
party. The crisis was serious one,
and for me ono Of peculiar annoy
ance. There is something radically wrong
about our manner of attaining and declaring
the results of Presidential election, which |
am surprised has not been amended. 1t used
to worry Morton a great deal, and on previous
occasions we had trouble about it. The simple
duty of declaring who has the largest number
| of votes should be easily done. We should
mover go through another Electoral Commits
sion excitement. This is question which
should be decided free from politics, and yet
| il is delayed and paralyzed from purely po-
| litical considerations. History, however, will
Justify the Electoral Commission us IL fine bit
of sef.government on the part of the people.
/ say this without regard to its decision. |
would have thought tho same If Tilden had
been elected"
NO FEARS OF AN OUTBREAK.
A question was asked ms TO whether tho
General had any fear of an outbreak as tho
result of tho Commission. "That was tho
leust of my fears" said tho General. II
never believed there would be a blow but
had so many warnings that made all my
preparations. | knew all about the rifle
clubs Of South Carolina, for instance, the
extent of whose organization has never boon
made known. was quite prepared for any
contingency. Any outbreak would have bceu
suddenly and summarly stopped. So far
as that was concerned my course was
clear and my mind was mado up.
did not intend to have two governments,
nor any South American pronunciamentos,
did not intend to receive commissioners
from sovereign States as Buchanan did. If
Tilden was declared elected intended to hand
him over tho reins and see him peacefully in
stalled. | should have treated him us cordially
as / did Hayes, for the question OF the Presl-
denoy was then neither personal nor political,
but National. | tried to act with the utmost
imparliality between the two. | would not
have raised my finger to put Hayes in, if in so
doing did Tilden the slightest injustice, All
| wanted was for the legal powers to declare q
President, to keep tho machine running, to
allay the passions Of the canvass and allow the
country peace.
AN PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL
that the thing ended as it did without de-
volying upon me new responsibilities. The
day that brought about this result and enabled
mo to leave the White House as did regard
us one of the huppicst fmy life. felt, per-
Honolly that had been Souohsalod u special
deliyerance, 1t was great blessing to the
otherwise. We had peace and order, and OBJ
seryance of tho law, aud tho world had u new
illustration Of the dignity aud efficiency Of
the Republic, This we owe TO the wisdom and
foresight Of tho men who formed the Electoral