National Republican., 1880-11-15

has not been the shrewdest and most saga
cious, it assuredly has been the purcst of
all the administrations Of the American re-
public. SO says history, and so we are
bound TO believe and to proclaim.
--- -
GENERAL sCHOFIELD on The WHIT
TAKER CASE.
The friends of Cadet WHITAKER have
in reality noble champion in Major-Gen-
eral SCHoFIELD. He works by reverse
action. His hasty assumption of WH1rTA-
EER's guilt at the start and the ridiculous
general order No. H. in which he exoner-
oted all the cadets before quite a number
were sworn, added TO the foolish scene with
the gray-haired TOWNSEND, conspire TO
make him powerful man "on the side of
the enemy" Perhaps General ScHoFIELD
has been notified that he will be susper-
seded and strives in his valedictory 10
have the last word, like a pelulunt old
woman. Or it may be that West Point
after exercising its summary method with
poor WHITTAKER--n method not wholly
unknown to some white victims-is some
what apprchensive that public opinion is
not entirely on the side of those who would
misrepresent American institutions and
who treat negro cadets az Baltimore plug
ugles used to treat paddles" Know
nothingisn and prejudice against color are
remnants OF the old America-the civiliza-
ton born of slavery. The doctrine of to-
day, emphasized by our recent elections, is
Ill L., Of
public concern aud common privileges are
not to be classified by color, birth, religion
or wealth. OF this fact West Point and
Maior-General ScHoFTFLD seem woelully
obliyious. The French have u proverb,
He who excuses himself accuses himself"
In the long re-bash of the WHITAKER
case from the West Point view General
SCHoFIELD reiterates the same story with
which the public were provided on the
morning after the outrage. Indeed, it diff
fers in no respect from whnt Professor
NICHE has said in the North American Re-
rie,C and what Professor ANDREWS elabor-
ated in the International Reriew If WHIT
TARER's story had some minor discrepan-
cies this thrice-told tale from West Point
has n comicnlly suspicious consistency. 1t
is too consistent These witnesses stand
up so straight they lean backward, but
always toward West Point. They seem TO
have fear of some one. They are not sat
isfed with the American people nor our
democratic notions of equality. They evi-
| IDENTIFY would have "niggers know their
place. and it would seem that West Point
rs at present constituted is no place for
that unfortunate class of our fellow citi-
zens unless they could manage to learn n
foreign language, call themselves japanese,
Cubans or "southerners," or by some leger-
demain disguise the fact that they were
born in America
We had almost given up the Witt
TAKER case. We had supposed it would
remain among the unsolved mysteries,
ranking with the disappearance OF
: MORGAN or the assaiant Of WILLIAM
PATTERSON. WHITAKER proves "a good
= enough MORGAN until after election, y
: when up he pops, not through the agency
of that arch enemy of West Point, Pro.
iessor GREENER; not by the conniyauce o.
: bluff MARTIN 1. TOWNSEND, but through
: the revelations of Professor ANDREWS, tC
y whom we referred several days ago, nnt
9 General SCHoFIELD, who, judging from hi'
labored special pleading, his fnr-fctchet
= and illogical mOralizing and his persistent
obiquity to the real facts at issue in The
5 WHITAKER case, show that some fresl
edict has gone forth, some new genera
order has been promulgated. Is WHITTA
KER to have court-martial, as his friends
Justly demand? Is General POPE, How
ARD or SAXToN to succeed the favorite o
: the cadets? Has the persistence of on,
= negro professor foiled the craft of all Wes
: Point? Or have the brave words of Secre
: tary RAMSEY at the West Point graduation
at last crystallzed into equally brave acts
He spoke the American love for fair pla.
and justice, our English birthright, whel
= he said
Il 1t is pre- eminently the duty of al
C graduates and undergraduates Of thi
o academy, who are the benefciaries of al
V our people, to symbolic their faith in tn
y vital source of our national strength, tn
:, equality of manhood, by recognizing tn
llHNl OF every pclsOD, VI NHhlSNtI COnUl
. tion, to strive for the attainment of sucl
s. positious as their abilities and desires ma,
o warrant II il an ignoble thing to be gov
d erned by an imaginary superiority owe
h., any of our less fortunate lellow-citizen:
born of adventurous circumstances, AM
thrice ignoble to make active exhibition 0
SO unworthy n sentiment by oppressin
those whom we may deem beneath us.
true manhood dictates the extending of th
- helping hand to lift up the lowly aud kinr
y words of encouragement TO those who ar
Vt struggling to elevate themselves. l asI
/ you, my young friends, TO give some though
A. TO these suggestions and to cultivate, no
= only love of country, but as well n love TO
the sentiment of which our country wa
u born.
- These arc sentiments worthy Of the Dee
u laration of independence; worthy Of tn
l. father of his country 49, sentences whic
Is deserve to be written beside the celebrate
o Gettysburg address Of ABRAHAM LIScoLl
u Contrast it with the bungling phruseology
y the reasonable reasoning against all Amer
= lean theories Of government and the hope
J. lessly confused thought of Alajor-Ctonerl
u JOHN M. SCHOFIELD:
n Whatever Just cause of self-reproac
ID any portion of tho good people of tn
N United Siates NAV have for negleCte