Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-03-11
The Garfield Policy.
What n Stalwart Editor Expected to Com
oft.

What n stalwart Editor Expected to Come
oTlt.
A recent interview with MIR. J. b. Nc
CullaSh of the st. Louis Globc-DemOcrat is
a very interesting contribution to the his
tory of the Garfield campaign and admin.
istration. The speaker seems to talk by
the book. He is his own witness, and the
interview he gives between himself and
Gen. Garfield is one OF the most character.
istic OF tho many that have found their
way into print since the memorable treaty
of Mentor. Mr.. McCullagh's estimate of
the character of the late president is stated
as follows:
II will not say that Mr. Garfield was
Overestimated in point of ability. He was
what the world calls great man intellect
ualIy-that is to say, he was thoroughly
educated, full Of information, and ready
and strong in argument, leader in debate
on all questions in which he took an inter-
est. But my objection to him rs president
is that he was an insincerc man. and I
think 4 weak man.
Mr.. McCullagh believes, and is by no
means slow to say, that Gen. Garfield S
administration would have been sad dis
appointment to the country had he lived
to complete it. He had already produced
a fatal breach in his own party he was
already doing consciously or unconciously,
the work of a mere faction. He had been
rescued from obvious and conceded defeat
by the timely excrtiOns Of the StalwartS :;
and the rescue had been arranged for upon
terms as clear aud definite as they could
be made. Mr.. McCullagh says:
"While l was travelling in the east in the
summer of 1880 saw in the papers a great
many statements, pretending to be authen-
tic, to the effect that when Garfield was
elected the Grant men would be compelled
to take back seats. On my way home 1
called on Gen. Garfield at Mentor and had
q private talk with him. had with M Q
a number of papers with this statement in
them. One or two of them were published
in Ohio. and pretended to speak for Gov.
Foster. Said I to the General Il don't
think this is going to do the party any
good. The Grant men were beaten at
Chicago and they know it. They went
into the fight to win and they lost. They
don't expect to occupy the boxes, but they
would like to have fair show in the dress
circle. Even If they should be pushed
into the back seats or crowded into the top
galleries they will stay through the circus,
but after that they will do heap of ofkicking
il they don't get good treatment Gen.
NdTllctu ldusSucu, tuU bdiu ut Olu uOG KNOW
exactly what meant. explained to him
at some length the animus which seemed
to dictate these attacks which were mainly
directed against Grant and Coukling, and
I wound up by saying that we will not
propose to have it regarded as a peniten-
tiary offence to have supported Grant at
Chicago or to regard CoDkling as one of
the accredited leaders of the Republican
party. The general looked at me for a
moment, rose from his seat, put his hands
on my shoulders, and said: My dear fel-
low, you don't know me if you think that
with my consent the services Of Grant and
Conkling can ever be forgotten or ignored
by the Republican party. know these
men we'll, know what they have done,
and know that if am elected will owe
as much to them as to any two men in
America
Il never saw or heard q man more earnest
to outward appearance, in my life. And
it is because he said what he did, and
afterward did what he did, that say he
was insincere. l use a very mild word,
too, because subsequent events have
shown that, at that very time he had
made league with Mr.. Blaine, tho basis
Of which was tho humiliation of MIR.
Conkling. and, if possible, his political
death. Mr.. Blaine's letter accepting the
premiership proves that, although it was
dated later"