Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-10-13
GRANT ON HANCOCK.

GRANT ON HANCOCK.
An Estimate of the Character of the
Democratic Presidential
Candidate.
He Has Long Had the "Presidenta' Bee in His
Bonnet -.-Something about His Career
in Louisiana.
Rev. DIR. Fowler, missionary secretary
Of the Methodist Episcopal church, has
published a report Of an interview with
Gen. Grant which has raised something
OF a breeze iii political circles, on &C
count of the fact that it relates principal
ly to Gen. Hancock, Of whose character
and Louisiana career rather free esti-
mate is given. The interview was an
informal one in Gen. Grants Galena
month The general spoke rather more
freely than perhaps he would have done
had he been talking to a regular re-
porter. The conversation seemed to
have made some impression upon DIR.
Fowler, for he soon after wrote to the
general for permission to publish the
substance of it; and the latter replied
that he preferred that it should not be
published until a campaign speaker,
to whom he had made similar
statements and who had undertaken to
verify them, had made them public.
Whether the speaker had made this
statement, and DR.. Fowler had, there
fore, considered himself authorized to
publish his report, the general said, in
a conversation with a Chicago reporter,
on Tuesday, that he did not know. 1t
appears, from the interview with the re-
porter just named, that DIR. Fowler,
writing from memory as he did, made
some mistakes in his statement; these
the general corrected. The leading
points of the document, as thus revised,
are as follows:
Down to 1864 Gen. Hancock appeared
ambitious only to do his duty as an
officer in the army; but in that year he
received a vote in the Democratic
national convention for the nomination
for the presidency, and "from that time
he has had the presidential bee in his
bonnet-his smile, after the convention,
was SO broad that one could almost see
it when his back was turned. Hancock, ;"
said Grant, 81 is q man who likes to hear
himself praised, and he sometimes ccnl-
planned that he was not complimented
highly enough" He was ambitious Of
promotion in the army, and thought
Grant stood in his way; but when Grant
was made general, and Hancock received
major generals commission upon
Grants recommendation, he wrote his
superior manly letter, thanking him
for his kindness, and acknowledging that
lie had misjudged his feelings toward
himself.
Respecting affairs i'll Louisiana and
Hancock's career there Grant is repre-
sented as saying:
The Legislature passed a law authorizing the
issue of $4,0000OO of levee bonds, ostenslbly
for the leyee, conditioned on their bringing to
the state not less than so per cent. of their face
The governor and three commissioners were 70
place the bonds on the market: but they soon
found that the bonds would not bring more
than 10 per cent. To avoid the law they invent
ed the plan of borrowing money and using the
DOnUs as cOllCcial. lney cOulu DOlIOW aDOuC
"a or IS per cent of the face of the bonds.
Just at this juncture, to prevent these men
from dcfrauding the state, General Sheridan,
who was commander of that department, took
off the heads of the governor and commission
Els SO quick that they did not know what allied
them, and appointed good men in their place.
For some reason the removed were very anxious
to be reappointed They employed Reverdy
johnson and another lawyer to work for them,
agreeing to pay them, it was said, $3.50, 1000 if
they were reinstated. Reverdy Johnson came
to me, but was SO stupid and stubborn that I
could not be induced to reappoint them.
He then went to Andrew Johnson and made
his case, and Andrew johnson sent for me and
asked me to rcillstate these men. I refused to
do so. He said "Reinstate them, if il is only
for one day. I will promise that they will re-
sign" thought johnson might not know
of the motive why they were so anxious to be
reillstated, and. thinking would do him great
service in keeping him from great blunder,
told him zone hour would DO these men as well
as one day." and unfolded their intent. But
johnson insisted on their being rcinstatcd. I
refused and excused myself
johnson then removed General Sheridan and
appointed General Hancock.
Before Hancock left for Louisiana
Grant called on him and said:
"General, you and I are soldiers-army Of
GERS. We have life positions; we serve under
successive administrations without regard to
party. 1t is our duty to enforce the laws of
congress. We are not responsible for the Wis
dom Of the laws; congress bears that RESPONSE
bility. We simply enforce Them"
He said: ''Wen am opposed to niggcr
domination"
To further remonstrance from Grant
he made the same reply:
When Hancock went south published all Or
der prohibiting him from appointing anybody
to Office who had been removed by his prede-
cessor. This, Isuppose, he did not like, but my
object was to prevent the possibility of the
men being put in place who had arranged for
the negotiation of those bonds, even for one
hour After he had been down south some
time he made pretty clean sweepot the officers
who had been appointed by General Sheridan.
l then teleglaphed to him to suspend his
orders of removals and report to me by mail.
(There was an order existing, if I rember Alright,
prohibiting the use of the telegraph when the
mail could be employed.) He replied in very
long dispatch, costing, if I remember correctly,
about $3.50. I informed him was not satisfied,
but if he had any further reasons to conlmuni-
cate to do so by mail. He again replied by tel
egraph, but gave nothing new, saying simply
that his usefulness would be destroyed if he
was not left free to act, and that unless he was
left free to act he should ask to be relieved. l
ordered him to revoke his order making re-
movals and to make no more. He then asked to
be relieved and relieved him.
I always regarded his mere declaration in
order No. 40, that the military should be sub
ordinate to the civil power, as something that
everybody accepted and nobody disputed: AS
officers, we were sworn to obey our superiors:
Congress was our superior, and had made the
laws, and these laws made the military subor-
dinate. We were acting under them. But his
order, or his construction of bis order, made
the laws subordinate to his own opinions.
Gen. Grant said that this order result
ed in the loss Of many lives; that cases of
such results arc on record, and then gave
the following horrible story, saying that
names and dates are within reach if any
one disputes them:
Two brothers, ex-Confederate soldiers in
Texas, took up for the outraged negroes and
Unionists in their neighborhood. They believed
in fair play and free speech. They were sooll
threatened, soon condemned, and the order
given among their neighbors for their death.
they had to flee in the night. They found an
old horse worth about $40 and mounted him
and rode as far as they could out of their neigh
borhood. Then by hiding by day and travelling
by night they finally got over into Mexico and
to safety. After a long time, when they
thought the matter had passed over, they re-