The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-10-07
GRANT EXPLAINS
ABOUT HIS INTERVIEW WITH REV
DIR. FOWLER.
IL is Substantially Correct, TbouEh Cos
tanning many Inaccuracies Result.
ing from Its Having Been writ.
ton from Memory-What Han.
cock Thinks About IL.


publishes the following interview witt
General Grant, in explanation Of the Dr.
Fowler interview, published to day by tn
Cincinnati Gazette. The General was quit
ready to converse, rs the report Of his con
yersation wasin many respects inaccurate
owing, OF course, to the fact that Dr.. Fow
Ter reported II entirely from memory.
The reported interview. /" said Genera
Grant, though it Is in most respects cor
rect, contains also many mistakes, anc
makes me say things in way not in
tended, and contains some language thai
I did not employ. The facts are tha. DR.
Fowler called at my house In company
with Mr.. Cramb to pay his respects, and
the conversation turned upon politics.
talked freely without suspecting for mo
ment that the conversation was ever to be
published. Some time aiterward DR.
Fowler, on whose mind the conversation
had made some impression, wrote 10 me
saying he desired to publish It II did no,
object. I replied, saying would rather
this would not be done until one of our
| u"
verifying them, had made them public;
that as he was preparing the facts care
fully, It would hardly be fair TO anticipate
him. That might imply permission to DR..
Fowlerto publish his report OF the conver.
sation when the speaker alluded to had
made his speech. l have not heard that
he has made 1t, but he probably has, or
DR.. Fowler would not have published this
article"
wherein is the statement Of DR.. Fowler
incorrect?"
'"1t is inaccurate In many respects. He
reports me, for instance, as follows: "Down
to 1854, he, Gen. Hancock, seemed like q
man ambitious to do his duty as an officer,
but in 1854, when Mcclellan was nomina.
ted, Hancock received one vote and that
greatly excited and changed him. He was
so delighted that he smiled all over. II
crszed him. Before that we got on well !;
after that he would hardly speak to me.
was working to enforce the laws OF Con
gress, and he was working for the Presi-
dency. Perhaps he thought I didn't
praise him enough, but, anyway, he hardly
spoke to me-
~ said, substantially. that up to 1854 I
viz NV nuPROtU dhuCUGh uau tLluukut VI
the Presidency, but at the Democratic Con-
vention Of that year he got o vote-not one
vote, as DR.. Fowler has 1t, which makes
me imply that he got the support OF but
one delegate from time he had the
Presidential bee in his bonnet. When
met him afterwards his smile was SO broad
thatyou could almost see 1t when his back
was turned. do not know that said he
thought l did not praise him enough,
though possibly that may be the fact.
Hancock is man who likes to hear him
self praised, and sometimes complained
that he was not complimented highly
enough" H1
allow about his promotion?"
~ stated TO DR.. Fowler that Hancock
was promoted to be q brigadier and major
general on my recommendation. / recon-.
mended him and Sheridan at the same
time. Hancock's appointment was de-
layed' for q time. Hancock's promotion
was made after the war, and / think It
was after the Chicago Convention that he
was made brigadier. When ! recom-
mended him for major. general, he had
been very cold toward me, and we had
not spoken for along time. never knew
WiAt W 90 buO hattci, uuicud u6 tuOukut l
had not consulted him in making his as.
signments to duty. When promoted,
however, he wrote manly letter TO me In
which he said substantially that he be-
lieved he was entirely indebted to me for
II, though he had thought was not will
ing to do him Justice. This convinced him
that he had been mistaken. He was made
major general when l was made Gener-
al" NJ .
as there any other point in which the
Doctor Is Mistaken"
Eyes, he does not get hold OF the points
about Order No. 40 correctly. By the va.
rious Reconstruction acts, Congress, for con-
sistency's sake, suppose, stripped me Of
all authority over the district commanders
in their civil duties, except in the. matter
Of the appointment and removal OF civil
officers in the reconstructed States As
was the senior my authority was superior
TO others. DR.. Fowler quoted me as say
ing the Louisiana Legislature favored a
law authorizing the issue OF 81 900, 900 OF
levee bonds. This i may have said, but
II did 1t WAS mistake, the amount be.
ing 81, 600, 900. In regard TO the statement
that the Louisiana Commissioners agreed
to pay Reyerdy johnson aud other
lawyers $3.50, 900, / stated what under.
stood and not fact within my own per-
sonsl knowledge.
.sThe next paragraph OF DR.. Fowler's
report is wide OF the mark. lam made 10
say that he Johnson called Hancock TO
Washington TO instruct him in defeating
the laws Of Congress. /, OF course, do
not know why be called him. I could
only surmise. 1knew Hancock came.
"a mistake also occurs" said General
Grant, sin the following paragraph,
wherein am made to say, he went
South aud removed the Governor and
commissioners that General Sheridan had
appointed. I instantly telegrAphed him
not to appoint to Office any man who had
been removed, and to give his reasons by
mail for removing the men, When Han
cock went South ] published an order
prohibiting him from appointing any.
body to Office who had been,removed by
his predecessors. This, suppose, hedid
not like. but my object was to preyen
tie possibility Of men being put In place
/ who had arranged for the negotiation oil
those bonds, even for one hour. I had In.
tended TO tell Hancock all about It, as
had johnson, but seeing, during my in.
terview rith him, that It was not going to
please him, l did not tell him. After be
had been down South some time, he made
o pretty clean sweep Of officers who had
been appointed by Sheridan. Then tele
grsphed to him TO suspend his orders oI
removal and report to me by mail. There
was an order existing, II l remember right
prohibiting the use otthe telegraph wher
the mails could be employed. he replied
in avery long dispatch, costing, II i remem
ber correctly, about $l2 so. Informed hin
! was not satisfied, but II he had AM
further reasons 10 communicate, to do q
by mail. He again replied by tele
graph, but gave nothing new, saying sim
ply that his usefulness would be distroyet
III he was not free to act, and unless he wa
left free to act heshould ask 10 be relieved
ordered him TO revoke his order maxim
, removals, and to make no more, when b
asked to be relieved and | relieved him.
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