The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-06-21
RosEcRANs AND GARFIELD.

General Rosecrans is seeking TO fill altogether
too large space in the public eye His proper
lions not great enough TO loom ID by the side
/ of Garfield. and he can not gain fame either al
the expense of the late President or by trading In
This is about the only view which the American
people will be inclined TO take OF the newly PUB
lshed letters which Garfield is said 70 have writ
ten to Chase and the criticism which Rosecrans
into the controversy IL will only be to regret that
Garfield was not in command OF the Army which
ROsecrans mismanaged so badly, and 10 remember
that ROsecrans began his abuse of Garfield during
the Presidential campaign, when he made himself
conspicuous only through the intemperate Ian
guage he used and the unreasonable preJu dice he
displayed. Rosecrans is not very big man at
best and he will not grow in public estimation
by reviVing recollections of his command of the
Army of the Cumberland, and still less by i'm
putting improper motives to General Garfield in
making criticisms which history subsequently
vindicated. Garfield is dead lion, and his fame
is not to be impaired by the howlings OF his enc
mies.-Chicago Tribune.
Such attacks upon General Rosecrans do
Mr. Garfield's name and fame no good,
while they do not in any degree injure Gen.
eral Rosecrans 1t is too early to form any
Just judgment of the character Of Mr.. Gar
field. At the mention of Garfeld's name
the yelling mad man, Guiteau stalks into
prominence, and then comes Arthur, Conk-
ling, Logan and the entire gang known as
the "3O6''-with bronze medals-Dorsey,
Brady, "My Dear Hubbell, {" followed up by
Blaine John Sherman and the members of
he Louisiana Returning Board, and finally,
Jumbo Grant. 1t occurs to US that the half
breed papers, under the circumstances,
should for the present permit General Gar
field to sleep. Certainly nothing is to be
e. l.. "a ,--,1
Rosecrans. On the contrary, the
facts in the case fall with fearful
severity upon the dead President. 1t is a
fact so substantially authenticated that no
one denies it that Garfield sought position
on General Rosecrans' staff, and, by the
consideration of the General, became its
Chief. Mr.. ]. w. Schuckers, formerly
Private Secretary of Hon. S. P. Chase, and
custodian of Garfield's letters to that distin-
gaished statesman, has permitted the letters
relating to Rosecrans to see daylight. For a
time these letters were in kindly spirit;
then they were egotistic and finally treach-
erous eliminating in the removal of GEN
eral Rosecrans from his command. As a
matter Of course, the General was entirely
oblivious Garfeld's connection with the
business. He seems to have regarded Gar
field as the soul OF hOnOr-ab0ve suspicion
sans peur ct sans repFoche A contemporary
says:
At the time this letter was written General Gar.
field protesting the wsrmest friendship for
General Rosecrans, whose Chief of Staff he still
was. After the removal OF the latter there never
was any suspicion his part that Garfield had
{ any time been ether than his friend and de-
fender, and such was his opinion after the War,
until two years ago. IN November, 1879, the
New York sun, in discussing statement that
the removal OF Rosecrans was due to report
made by its editor, Charles A. Dana, at one time
Assistant Secretary of War, said that that re-
moval was due to a private communication
from General Garfield while Chief of Rose
Grams STAFF. General Rosecrans was sur
prised at such a statement aud wrote to General
Garfield for an explanation. On January 10, 1850,
Garfield wrote him declaring that any such
charge, whether coming from Dana or any other
liar, was without particle of truth, and ehal
lesging the production. of any letter written by
him to Chase warranting charge that he had
been at any time or in any sense, untrue or IN
faithful TO Rosecrals 1t is absolutely inpossi-
theory giving Mr.. Garfield credit for stralghtf0r
wardness and veracity; and Mr.. Schuckers, who
has been very savsgely denounced for giving the
letter to Mr.. Dana, makes sone sharp aud sar-
castle remarks about the attempt of some of the
men who have constituted themselves
the special champions of Garheld's memory, to
Fix his place 10 history" by the deliberate mutt
lation and suppression of the truth. He justly
inns hat ha has Of
evil of the dead in this matter, since he merely
gave for publication General Garfeld's own letter
to a man who had been assailed for stating facts
which it proved, and after Mr.. Garfield had him
self challenged its production. Even then he
took no action, not. he declares, having heard of
any such controversy, and it was not till the
bully and coward Blaine in his eulogy of the
dead President, with that shocking bad taste
which characterizes his performances, reopened
the subject and assailed the reputation of General
ROsecrans anew, that the matter was called to Mr..
schuckers' attention and the letter furnished to
the paper concerned
AS We have remarked, it can do the name
and fame of the dead President no good for
half-breed papers to be continually attack
ing General Rosecrans, and if such papers
have half sense-if they have any regard for
Gartield's reputation-they will stop il. If
they do not, an avalanche of facts will crush
them and their idol with them. At any
rate, let Garfield sleep undisturbed until
Guiteau's neck is broken, and then, if the
half-breeds want to continue their war upon
General Rosecrans, the facts shall come
with the fatal effects of GuiteaU's bullet.
The half-breeds may as we'll take warning.