Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-07-29
UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.

UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.
General Ulysses s. Grant, the nations
hero, is dead. The figure so prominent
in our military and political circles, as
the leader of our armies to victory. and
for two terms President Of the United
States, has passed from the gaze of men,
while Fame writes his name upon the
scroll of the few immortal ones that
were not born to die. Now that the NOR
tai has become immortal, his contempt
raries, and posterity to q greater extent,
will emblazon his merits and deal gently
with his failings His life now stands
before the world as whole, its cycle
completed by his decease at Mt. Nc
Gregor last Thursday morning. No great
man ever lived who was not subject to
the detractions of his rivals and enemies,
and Grant was no exception to the rule
But in all these cases, as time goes on,
the critics disappear, and the form of the
hero stands out al the more refulgent
from the mists which have partially OBJ
scured it's lustre. General Grant has
been criticised by many from the time he
became prominent in the war of the Re-
bellion until the very hour fatal disease
laid its hold upon him. Yet through it
all, the sober sense of the country from
the great Lincoln to the humblest soldier
in the ranks, has been with him. AS he
neared the hour of his departure, the
whole nation, his Confederate foes as
well as his comrades, became watchers at
his sick chamber, and now that he has
gone, all lips and pens accord in giving
to him that mead of honor and praise
which shall be his as long as time shall
endure. His fame is safe. It is interwo-
ven with the greatest epoch of American
history, and he is to the 10Th century what
Washington was to the 18th, its grandest
figure. One may ascribe to this or the
other general greater genius than to Grant,
and predict what somebody else might
have done. The pen of the historian
will deal with the facts and record for
the admiration of posterity that Gen.
Grant commanded the armies that put
down the greatest rebellion the world has
ever known It will deal less with the
peculiar characteristics of his life, and
treat more of the great events of which
he was the central actor. Two names
have been written high upon the scroll
of fame by universal consent, and no one
will ever desire or attempt to detract from
their merit-those of Abraham Lincoln
and U. s. Grant
That there should be extravagant dem
onstrations of sorrow at the death of a
man like Grant, and that all the world
should stand as mourners at his sepul-
chrc, is owing not more to the sterling
qualities be possessed than the reverence
Of the people for the lgreat principles
which entered into the contest. His star
has risen, not merely as military hero
of the first rank, but as the savior of a
mighty nation. He was the representa-
tive man of that illustrious band of pa
triots who periled their lives in battle for
the cause of freedom and. as such, men
honor his memory. He was not cut off
like Lincoln, Garfield and others in his
prime, leaving the tangled meshcs of his
work for others to re- arrange, but he died
in retirement and peace, with his work
accomplished. Like Washington, his
senior by only a. few years, Grant died in
the maturity of his years, and left a
rounded out life spent almost entirely in
the service of his country.
AS men begin to view the life of Grant
dispassionately, its true greatness will
stand out more clearly to the mind. They
will begin to realize the difficulties under
which he labored, and the obstacles he
overcame. That he alone of all the great
generals from Mcclellan to Mead. was
able to mass the Union forces and destroy
the Confederate army under the shrewd
and able Lee, IS proof enough of his abil-
tiles a. a great commander. That he was
betrayed in political circles and financial
affairs by those IN whom he put conf
dence. cannot dctract from the eminent
services he rendered his country and man
kind.
Even those who felt the vigor of his
blows in battle, are foremost to express
their admiration of their conqueror, and
regret at his departure.
To-day, with sad hearts, we add anoth.
er to the list of our departed great, names
that add lustre to our fame, and cause
our land to be respected throughout the
globe. With the death of the great CON-
nander. the thrilling events of the war
seemed to be banished to remoter dis
lance, and We arc reminded of the time,
so rapidly approaching. when all who
served beneath the standard of the old
captain. shall have passed away. To those
who shall come after them, the name Of