New-York tribune., 1881-12-24
IS THE SOrL or HOYOR.r

NJ.
"the soul Of honor lie did some rather re-
markabe things for an honorable man between
1860 and 1863, nut it was always insisted
by his friends that he was "thc soul OF
honor lie did several queer things, too, after
his retirement from public life which made
more or less talk, but unpleasant comment
thereon was always met by his friends with
the remark that it could not be possible that
he had done anything diSreputablc, because
Le was known 10 he the soul of honor
Men who disagreed with him politically, and
even those who had personal differences with
him. all said he was /" the soul OF honor We
strongly suspect that if approached on the
subject he would say 10 himself. General
Joseph +. Johnston, Of Virginia, is also by
common consent "thc soul OF honor He
was Lieutenant General of what used to be
called i'm the warmth aud stress Of the war
the "Rcbcl''-uow more politely described as
the Confederate Army when Mr.. Davis
was what We used to call the " leader of the
Rebellion now more politely known as the
president Of the Confcdcracy.' The one
thing that has been impressed upon the mind
Of the Northern public is that these two men
are above all Things che soul OF honor
/ ms btlll% So W. dlt ptl4tiA W O''Ni ~ 'iLh'
General Johnston, who is "the soul OF honor,
has intimatcd, in an interview which has been
published, that Mr.. Davis, the other soul of
honor" got away with two millions and a
halt in specie belonging TO what wa called
the Confederate Government when that unique
political cdIicc fell to pieces; and that Mr..
DAVIS. the o,her "soul of honor being in
quircd OF with reference to the same, refuses
to he interviewed, but permits himself to con
vcy the impression that the first named 'soul
of honor if he has made any such statement
as that imputed to him, has said what he
knew there was no foundation for Other
people connected in various ways wiki the
dcfunct Conirdcrlry aud supposed to have
knowledge OF Mr.. Davs's financial condition
at the time of hI, capture, have been drawn
into tine matter and induced To- give their
opinions upon the question 10 the public.
non. of them thu, taG has flooded che subject
with lisIt, but al have agreed, with singular
uuanimily, tlai both the gentlemen are " the
soul OF honor Mr. Burton Harrison. who
was Mr. Dayi,'s private secretary, slys So and
General Robert Toomh., who We believe i, not
on friendly term, with The cy-IrcsIyn,, IN
dor,c. IN, assertion. Most of the gentlemen
who have been called upon 10 contribute in
formation on the subject say that General
Johnston never cpuld have made any such
assertion because he j. "thr soll OF honor"
and that Mr. DAVIS never could have carried
oil that amount oi money bccau.c, IN the first
place, hc Is "thc soul Of honor and in the
second hc had no chance.
BatGencr,l Johnston, being pr.sscd to explain
doc, not withdraw the mum1Gpn. but only
saws be- DID not know that MS statements were
to be- published, and that hc did not say
there were twenty, but only fifteen wagon
loads of specie that went South with Mr..
Davis. ard are unaccountcd for. So tine matter
stands. Ii General Johnston meant anything
at all in his conversation with the reporter, it
WAS that Mr. Davis had been guilt" Of dis
honesty Nh Davis means, of course, in the
little that hc says about it, that General john
sion has been ciulty of lying. In this state of
things il il difficult to see how both can be
"thc soul OF honor" The common practice at
the south il whenever a man who Is the soul
of honor" charges another who i. also " the soul
of honor" with cheating, and the latter re-
soouds with charge of lying, to settle it with
pislols nc ten PAGES. Then, whatever the fact
may be- ~ ~ the cheating or The lying, one
tbiuo i, cStahlishrd--that each ia 4" the soul of
honor Bat here is II case which does not
now bid fair TO come to pistols at ten PAGES,
and yet there are the charges, and by common
consent each is "tho soul Of honor 1t
creates confusion.