Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-05-08

An Impressive Lesson.
Tho announcement that Ulysses s.
Grant has failed as specnlator in the
New York stock market may agonize a
few soft-headed people, but as 'o all the
millions who are IN sympathy with gen
uine American institutions very few tears
will be shed. To begin with, Gen.
Grant at the close of the war was tho
recipient of royal largesses of money
and houses. Secundus, during the last
few years OF his administration he re-
ceived double the salary of his prede-
cessors. As he was an essential vulgarian
he reached out for everything in sight;
and no present, from bull pup to car
riage and four, was ever declined by
him. Ha was fond Of appearing in pub
lie with lin Fisk and of accepting the
dead head attentions of that worthy,
which facts gave point to Fisk's charge
that he paid, through the Presidents
family, $25. 900 for Executive connivance
in the villainous Black Friday nilair,
Grants treachery in which transaction
led Fisk to say to New York reporter
that the Hero of Appomattox was devoid
Of that honor amongst thieves which is
supposed, at least amongst the larcenous
fraternity. to cover many delinquencies.
No matter what the merits of this Fisk.
Grant controversy may have been, II
would never have arisen II the President
of the United States had been q self
respecting man. Grants intimacy with
the chiefs Of the Whisky Ring may. in
the estimation Of the charitable, have
left him ignorant Of moneyed completely
in their doings; but, considering the
coarse grain of the man, 1t requires q
good deal of charity to enable one to nc.
cept this view Of the matter.
The lavish gifts which a grateful peo
pie showered upon this successful soldier
Immediately after the war were by no
means the end of worry voluminous
chapter of benefactions. George Jones,
Of the New York Times, after Grants
retirement from the Presidency, raised
subscription of $3.50, 200 for him amongst
the capitalists which, the public were in
formed, was placed out at six per cent.
interest. and which, of itself, guaran-
tees him an income of Si5, 200 per an
mum. In addition, he has permitted
himself to be made the stool. pigeon of
many doub ful financial and mining ope-
rations, from all of which. undoubtedly,
he levied very heavy tolls. That ho
should be cngulfed in the same mael
strom Of speculation in which he was
used as willing instrument to plunge
Others will be regarded by many persons
who never voted Democratic ticket in
their lives as a sort of poetic retrbution.
The attempt to get mp maudlin sym
pathy for Grant will doubtless fail. He
still has the ample income arising from
the $3.50. 600 fund raised by George Jones
and his associates, and there is no obi
CATION whatever ON the part of the
American people to support him in shod
dy splendor in New York City. Per
haps the worst office this man has per-
formed in the economy of American
daily life is the avowed and vulgar pref
erence which he has exhibited for the
company of the merely rich In this re-
spect he has shown himself to lack both
the fine instincts of the gentle
man and the patriot. Any one
who chooses TO pick up the
Ann of Thomas Jefferson will find there
in multiplied evidences of the earnest
desire of Washington to escape the
pomps of urban, official and fashionable
lite, in order to take refuge on his farm.
How different with Grant?
There are two propositions which the
masses OF the American people will
accept with scarcely respectable dis
sident voice. The first is that Gen
Grant, enriched perhaps beyond his
deserts, should have kept out OF stocks
The second is that as he has made his
bed he should lie in it. like any other
insatiate grasper after money which, ii
attained, would not have been honestly
earned.
1t will be hard to persuade the Ameli.
can people that Grant is any better
than Thomas Jefferson, who entered the
revolutionary struggle and exalted Of
flee rich and emerged from them ns poor
as church mouse. and that in his old
age; or than Andrew jackson, who, on
leaving the Presidency, was com
PEELED to borrow $4,000 from his faith.
full friend Francis p. Blair to prevent
his homestead from being Knocked down
at the hammer These men never
dreamed of calling upon their fellow cit
liens to make good the harshness of
Dame Fortune.
1t may do Grant good to be compelled
to leave the garish Fifth Avenue and
afford his fellow citizens n spectacle OF
an old age frugal and contentod. To
support rivalry with the monarchs of
finance in ono of the most expensive
cities of the world he was obliged to
sacrifice, repeatedly, the little scli-re-
spect with which he was originally en-.
dowed by nature. As it is the masses
will obstinately decline to see in the
financial contretemrs which has over,
taken him anything but realization Of
the old adage, "Put beggar on horse
back aud he will ride to the devil" We
heartily hope that the Congress of the
United States will decline to permit
itself to be slampeded into departure
from honored American precedents in
the interest of a man who has an assured
income, from trust fund, of Sl5, 900 a
year. The proposition to put Grant on
the retired list as General, with the
emoiuments OF that position, ought to
be sternly voted down.
-----------.s-----
HoaE sCIENCE is the title of n new
magazine issued in New York City. As
its title would Indicate, it is largely de.
voted to topics relating to the domestic
sphere, hygiene and aud kindred mat.
ters. The names OF Dio Lewis, Robert
Collyer, 7. Dewitt Talmage aud other
noted people, figure amongst its contrib.
uLors. The first number is neither in.