The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-10-16
GRANTS FIBS.
&c, &c.

GRANTS FIBS
No wonder New York gave Grant the cole
shoulder week ago, on his first visit to tina
. city after his trip around the world 1t is tn,
: only city in the country he has visited sine,
his return IN which he was not given an IOWA
ton" In New York the only crowd" tina
e met and greeted him was ex-colector of the
e port, Chester A. Arthur, whom Hayes remov
. ed from Office for "nCompetcncy," as Sher
man mildly puts 1t, and eX-collector Murphy
| who was removed four years before from the
: same office for notorious dishonesty. Within
the past few weeks Grant has made such an
p exhibition of himself that no city authorities
could pay him formal honors with any show
: Of self respect. In his brutal attack on Gen
Hancock, instead of showing the hero OF
Gettysburg to be weak and vain, he exhibited
himself as weak, vain, selfish, sullen, devoid
of all honorable and manly feeling, and with
al inetIably stupid; for what he said exhibited
not only jealous, mean.spirited nature, but
had the much graver fault OF beng consplcu-
ously untrue. Take for example but a few of
the numerous glarlng falsehoods of the Fowl
er interview:
i l. Grant said that up to 1864 he had been
on the best Of terms with Hancock, but then,
the latter getting vote for president in the
I Chicago convention, he got the presidential
bee IN his bonnet and became cold and haugh-
| ty, &c. The records of the Chicago conven-
ton Of 1864 show that Hancock got no vote
IN that body, nor was his name once there
mentioned as presidential candidate.
. Grant says that when Sheridan in 1867,
was in command at New Orleans he found IN
office three evee commissioners who were de
termined to sell city bonds at 40 per cent, &c,
but Sheridan took off their heads so quick
that they did not know what alled them" but
Johnson removed Sheridan and appointed
Hancock to reinstate them. The records show
that these levee commissioners were appointed
by Sheridan May 3, 1867; that June Sd he re-.
moved them and appointed others and July
eth he removed the new commissioners and
rsinstated the old ones, the identical ones
whom Grant accuses Hancock of wishing to
reinstate, but whom Hancock, who never got
to New Orleans until Nov. 90, 1867, never
disturbed
8. Grant accuses Hancock of removing all
the officers Sheridan had appointed right and
left. The only officers Hancock removed were
nine members of the New Orleans city coun
Gil because they persisted in electing street
commissioner and a recorder, in contempt of
| L.. 4 "a r L.. l.
cessor Gen Sheridan, not to elect said officers
The removed councilmen made complaint to
Gen. Grant and he ordered Hancock to sus-
pend his order until he could hear more about
it. Hancock replied that he understood the
case perfectly; that he had simply enforced
an order of his predecessor, and if the act was
revoked it would destroy his usefulness &c.
Grant telegraphed to let the order stand, but
few weeks later telegraphed imperatively to
Hancock to revoke his order, upon which the
latter asked to be relieved.
4. Gen. Grant says Gen. Hancock intended
to restore to Office the corrupt governor whom
Sheridan had removed Wells was the cor
rupt governor whom Sheridan removed, ap-
pointing Flanders in his place. Flanders was
the governor whom Hancock found IN Office
and with whom he cordially co-operated in
his efforts to protect the state and people from
the plumber ana rascallty Of the radical ex-
tremlsts.
5. Grant says II was compelled to relieve
him" Hancock was not relieved" or remov-
ed from command at New Orleans at all
by Gen. Grant, but came to Washington and
was relieved at his own request by President
johnson, the unconstitutional law not yet hav-
ing been passed by which the power of the
president to appoint the reconstruction com.
manders was taken from him and conferred
upon Gen. Grant
G. And lastly, Grant tells an untruth in say
ing that mo one eyer thought of Hancock IN
connection with the command of the army of
the Potomac" 1t is well known that after |
Meade's failure at Nine Run Gen. Hancock,
before he had fully recovered from his Gettys.
burg wound, was summoned to Washington
and offered Meades place, which he declined,
pleading condition of his health, &c; and
that afterwards, before Petersburg, he was
again offered the command of the army of the
Potomac and again declined.
In view OF these, which are but a few of the
more garlng of Grants misstatements In that
deplorable interview, we can only add, In the
language of the Boston Post, IF there are any
who had any respect for Grants character be-
fore, or any faith in his manliness and honor,
they will ask themselves why he has descend
ed to the degrading service in which we now
behold him Wewlll tell them. 1t is because
he has the presidential bee in his bonnet"
Grant is not afraid of Garfield but he is afraid
of Hancock. The latter has commanded the
confidence and esteem of the nation TO de-
gree that Grant never experienced. Moreover,