Daily Republican., 1882-02-28

bound to spring into conspicuoss an
brilliant success. Within six years b.
wss 81 recsssively president of q college
State Senator Of Ohio, Mlor-Genera
OF the Army of the Unired state. an
RApsssentadvs % tke Nati0ua
IConarSsA A c0mbination Of honors 8
varied, no elevated, within period "
brief and to man 40 young, is withou
precedent or prallel in the history o
The country.
4 n
NOMINATION TO THB PRESIDENCY.
Gartied's nomination to the Presi
dency, while not predicted or anticipa
ted, was not surprise to the country
His prominence IN Congress, his solit
qualities, his wide reputation strength
ened by his then recent election Al
Senator from OHIO, kept him in tn
public eye as man occupying the very
highest rank among those entitled tt
be called statesmen. 1t was not mert
chance that brought him this higl
honor. eve must" says Mr.. Emer
son, reckon success Il constitutions
trait If Eric is III robust health and
has slept we'll and is At the top Of biz
condition, and thirty years old at his
departure from Greenland, he will
steer west and Ills ships will reach New
FJundland. But take Eric out and
put in a stronger and holder man and
the ships will sail six hundred, one
thousand, fifteen hundred miles farther
and reach Labrador and New England.
There is no chance in results"
As a candidate, Garfield steadily
grew in popular favor. He was met
with storm of detraction at the very
hour of his nomination, and it contin.
ued with increasing volume and mo-
mentum until tho close OF his victorious
campaign
Moonlight nor greatness in mol ahty
Gan censure 'scape; backbOundinK ca umnp
The whitest virtue strikes What KING sc
Can tie tie x Tie gall up In the s,anderou,
tongue?
Under it all he was calm, and strong,
and confident; never lost his self-pOs.
session, did no unwise act, spoke no
hasty or ill.c0nsidered word. Indeed
nothing in his whole life is more re.
markable or more creditabla tLan his
bearing through those fl ve full months
OF vituperation-a prolonged agony of
trial to a sensitive man, a constant and
cruel d-att upon the powers Of moral
endurance. The great mass Of these
unjust imputations passed unnOticed,
and, with the general debris of the
campaign, fell into oblivion. But in q
few instances the iron entered his soul
and he died with the injury unforgot-
ten If not untorgiven
n II
One aspect of Gartield's candidacy
was unprecedented. Never before in
the history Of partisan contests in tits
country had successful Presidential
candidate spoken freely on passing
events aud current issues. To at
tempt anything of the kind seemed
novel, rash, aud even desperate. The
older class of voters recalled the unfor-
tunate Alabama letter, in which Mr..
Clay was supposed to have signed his
political death warrant. They re-
mem bered also the hot-tempered effu.
sion by which General Scott lost a
large share of his popularity before
his nomination, and the unfortunate
speeches which rapidly consumed the
remainder. The younger voters had
seen Mr.. Greeley in series CT vigor-
GUS and original addresses, preparing
the pathway for his own defeat. Tn.
mindful of these warnings, uuheeding
the advice of friends, Garfield spoke to
large crowds az he journeyed to and
from New York in August, tc q great
in that city, to delegations
and deputations of every kind that
called at Mentor during the summer
and autumn. With innumerable crit.
les, watchful and eager to catch =
phrase that might be turned into odium
or ridicule, or sentence that might be
distorted to his own or his party's in
jury, Garfield did not trip or halt in
any Que Of his seventy speeches. This
seems all the more remarkable when
ii Is remembered that he did not write
what he said, and yet spoke with such
logical consecutiveness of thought
and such admirable precision of phrase
a. to defy the accident of misreport
and the malignity of misrepresenta-
ton.
AS PRESIDENT.
In the beginning of his Presidential
life Gartleld's experience did not yield
him pleasure or satisfaction. The du.
ties that engross 80 large portion of
the Presidents time were distasteful to
him, and were nnfavorably contrasted
with his legislative work. 81 have
been dealing all these years With
ideas, he impatiently exclailn cd ole
day, "and here am dealing only with
persons. l have been heretofore treat
ing of the fundamental principles Of
government, and here am considering
all day whether A or b shall Re ap-
pointed to this or that office" He was
earnestly seeking some practical way
Of correcting the evils arising from the
of overgrown and unwieldy
patron age-evils always appreciate and |
often discussed by him, but whose mag.
nitude had been more deeply impressed |
u on his mind since his accession to
the Presidency. Had he lived, COM
prehensive Improvement in the mode |
Of appointment and in the tenure of
Office would have been proposed by him,
and with the aid Of Congress no doubt
perfected.
But, while many of the Executive
luties were not grateful to hin, be was
assiduOus and conscientious IN their
discharge. From the very outset he TX
hibited administrative talent Of q high
order. He graAped the HELM of office
with the hand of a master. In this re-
,pect, indeed. he constantly surprised
many who were most intimately asso-
,iated with him in the government, and
those who had feared that he
might be- lacking III the executive fac
atty, His disposition of analysis, and
lis skill in classification, enabled him
20 despatch vast mass of detail with
singular promptness and ease. His
Cabinet meetings were admirably cou-
iucted. His clear presentation of Off.
'ial I 'yects, his well considered sugges.
ion OF topics on which discussion was
invited, his quick decision when all had
oeen heard combined to show thor
'ughness of mental training as rars as
l.