Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-03-09

ano reach Labrador and New England |
mere Is no chance in results.
as candidate. Garfield steadily grew in
popular favor. He was met with storm of |
uetraction at the very hour of his nomina-
Ton, and 1t continued with increasing VOL |
uine ana momentum until the close OF his |
victorious Campaign:
no might nor greatness in moralityt
The WHISKY vsns1re -seape: bsckwonndtng calumny
Oo1 Tie the gan mp in the slanderous tongue
Under it all he was calm and strong, and
coDndent: never lost his self-possession.
Ola no unwise act, spoke no
HAsrY OR ILL CONSIDERED WORD.
lnoeed nothing in has whole life is more
rem afkaoie or more creditable than his
of'aring through those five full months OF
Vl'uperation-a prolonged sgoay of trial
70 sensitive man, a constant and cruel
Uralt upon the powers of moral endurance
Ihe great mass of these unjust imputations
passed unnoticed, and with the general de-
OTIS OF the campaign fell into oblivion. But
In lew instances the iron entered his soul
and died with the injury unforgotten if no,
upfOrgiyen.
One aspect of Garfield's candidacy was
unprecedented. Never before, in the his.
Tory OF partisan contests in this country
mad successful presidential candidate
spoken freely on passing events and current
issues. To attempt any thing of the kind
seemed novel, rash, and even desperate.
Inc older class of voters recalled the uu-
fortunate Alabama letter, in which Mr.
Ciay was supposed to have signed his po-
htlcal death warrant. They remembered
also the hot tempered effusiun by which
General Scott lost q large share of his popu
rarity before his nomination, and the un-
fortunate speeches which rapidly consumed
Inc remainder. The younger voters had
seen Mr.. Greeley in a series of vigorous and
oIlglnal addresses, preparing the pathway
of his own defeat. Unmindful OF these
warnings, unheediHg the advice of
trends, Garfield spoke to large crowds as he
Journeyed To and from New York in Au-
gust, to great multitude in that CITY, to
delegations and populations of every kind
that called at Memoir during the summer
and autumn. With innumerable critics
watcbtul and eager to eaten phrase that
might be turned into odium or rid;cule, or a
sentence that might be distorted to his own
or his party's injury, Garfield did not trip
or halt In any OF his seventy speeches.
This seems all the more remarkable when
it's remembered that he did not write what
he said, and vet spoke with such Ieg,ca
consecutiveness of thought and such ad-
markable precision of phrase as to defy the
accident of mlsrepOrt and the ma,ignity OF
Misrepresentation.
Gsrfield's Preside entail Policy
In the beginning of his presidential life
pleasure or satisfaction The duties that
eneross so large portion of the presidents
time we're OistastefCl to him, and were un-
tavorablv contrasted vito his legislative
work. II have been dealing all these years
with Ideas" he impatiently exclaimed one
day, "and here am dealing only with per
SONS. have been heretofore treating OF
the fundamental principles O; government,
and here am considering all day whether
A or b shall be appointed to this or that
office" He was earnestly seeking some
practical way Of correcting the evils arising
from the distribution Of overgrown an0
unwleldy patrOnage-evilS always appreci-
ated and often discussed by him, but whose
msg1ltude had been more deeply impressed
uOOn his mind since hls accession to the
presidency. Had he lived, a compreben-
sive Improvement in the mode OF appoint
ment 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 duties
| were not grateful to him, he was assiduous
and conscientious in their discharge From
the very outset he exhibited administra-
tive talent of high order. He grasped
| the helm of office with the hand of mas
ter. In this respect indeed he constantly
| surorised many who were most intimately
associated with him in the government,
and especially those who had feared that
| uity. His disposition of business was Or
derIy and rapid. His power of analysis
and his skill In classification enabled him
| TO dispatch a vast mass Of detail with
singular promptness and ease.
His cabinet meetings mere admirably
conducted. His clear presentation of Off
cial subjects, his we'll considered suggestion
of topics on which discussion was invited
his quick decision when all had been sard,
combined to show q thoroughness OF
mental training as rare as his natural abil-
ity and bis facile adaptation to a new and
enlarged field of labor.
With perfect comprehension of all the
lnheritances of war. with a cool calculation
efthe obstacles in his way, impelled always
by generous enthusiasm, Garfield con
ceived that much might be doue by his ad-
ministration toward restoring harmony be-
tween the different sections of the Union.
He was anxious TO 60 south and speak to
the people. AS early as April he had inef-
fectually endeavOred to arrange fer q trip
to Nashville, whittier he had been cordially
invited, and he was again disappointed a
few weeks later to find that he could not
go to South Carolina to attend the oenten-
Liai celebration of the victory CT the Cow
pens. But for the autumn he definitely
counted on being present at three memoir
able assemblies in the south, the celebration
at Yorktown, the opening of the Cotton ex-
position at Atlanta, and the meeting of the
army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga
He was already turning over in his mind
his address for each occasion, and the three
taken together, he said to a friend. gave
bim the exact scope and verge which he
needed. At Yorktown he would have be-
fore him the associations of hundred
years that bound the south and the north
in the sacred memory of a common dan
ger and a common victory. At Atlanta he
would present the material interests and
the Industrial development which
appealed to the thrift and independence
OF every household, and which shonld
unite the two sections by the instinct of self
interest and self defense. At Chattanooga
he would revive memories of the war only
to show that after all its disaster and all IT'S
sufterings, the country was stronger and
greater. the Union rendered indissoluble,
and the future, through the agony and
blood Of one generation, made brighter and
BETTER FOR ALL.
Gar6eld's ambition for The success of his
administration was high. With strong eau
ton and conservatism in his nature he was
in no danger Of attempting rash expert