Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-08-07

G1e lVGn. his journey acIUsS cQe An1ef1s'
can continent was n continuous ovation.
all the great cities apparently .vying with
each other in their efforts to do honor tG
the distinguished traveller
Soon after hlsreturn from his tour around
the world it became evident that, while he
President, he would not be adverse to a re-
election now that four years had inter.
vened. 1t was thought by his friends that
this fact would also, in q measure, dispef
the objections so generally entertained to
the violation of the unwritten law of thep
the days of Washington. The oppositioa
to Grant personally wns also very bitter,
and it became evident that he could not
secure the nomination without a desperate
struggle. This his friends headed by SEM
ators Conkling, Cameron and Logan, were
prepared to make After many Intensely
exciting contests IN the various State Con-
ventions, is was thought hat more than d
majority of the delegates othe National
Convention were i'll favor Of Grant, but
tions, and others were lod OFF by the blan-
dishments of other candidates. The result,
was that neither Grant nor Blaine, his o
litical opponent, had quite enough strength
to secure the nomination., and the dele~
gates holding Tire balance of power were
After q bong and exceedingly animated
contest, the Blaine delegates went with. the
scattering ones and nominated James A..
Garfield, the ballot on which this, was
achieved having shown 306 for Grant. In
commemoration of the fidelity of the "Old.
Guard,' as the third term7ers loved to style
themselves, medals were struck and, deliv-
cred one year later to all who had sup.
ported the General. During the campaigns.
that followed Grant took an activeinterest,
presided over great political meetings held.
IN the interest of Garfield. After the as--
sassination of the latter, however, he took:
40 part in politics.
The death of General Ulysses s: Grant
closes one of the most remarkable careers.
the name and achievements, of the great.
soldier been identified with our national
life that to a large part of the American,
people the news brings q sense of personal
bereavement, recalling the anguish which
rent the popular heart. when. Washington,
that other grand commander, was calledtor
his reward just at the close of the last cen.
fury. General Grant has been held in PEI
culiar esteem and affection by the people Of
the whole Union of late years, and nothing
more touching or beautiful has, ever been
witnessed than the universal sympathy and
tenderness with which they watched over.
his last hours of WEAKNESS, weakness and
suffering. The fatal end has. been seen APP
preaching stealthily but with cruel and res.
%fentless steps, and the brave old hero fac
AA6 0SAoA ~ AAAP04 D0oA AAo LIZZIE
mayed demeanor made an intensely pa
thetic and impressive picture, but one ex.
quisitely in keeping with the dying mans,
character. He showed no fear Of death,
which he had seen in close proximity and
terrible form scores of times before, but.
the battlefield never subjected him. to q.
more awful strain than the slow sapping of
his vitality by the dread and insidious dis
ease which had seized him in its remorse-
less grasp. To this stricken. man, caught
~ - >0rDan hAforo 1rhSnhx 1~,1, ltd
iron will was hopeless, the popular
heart went out, and it is. not too
much to say that could others
have assumed the burden of his woe, hun
dreds of chivalric souls would have been,
ready to take upon themselves the pain
the ilustrious sufferer and spare him to-
the country. But it could; not be, and the
%dauntless leader on many bloody battle-.
fields was left perforce to meet the dark
angel in a struggle that must have but one
sad ending.
1t is not easy, within the narrow confines
of a newspaper article, to do full Justice
to the extraordinary character Of Generak
Grant. Doubtless the eminence he win
occupy in history will be due chiefly to hiss
natural and just. But to the generation
contemporaneous with him. he has pre-.
sented in his personal attributes many
claims upon the popular regard associated
from his purely military 'career-or'
b bin in ne that was car sesn the TO q oam-:
ties which most strongly appeal to .Ameri-
cans for recognition and approval. He,
was grounded in simple principles of man
illness and probity whichdistinguished him,
rose from obscurity to greatness anti sue
cess by sheer force of merit. and innate
ability. 1t is folly to talk Of such men
coming to the front by accident. A
th%eologian has said that when the. AL
mighty wants great men He makes them.
The life of General Grant would seem to-
verify this. From infancy to the break
ing out of the war his training had been
of the kind to fit him for the place destiny
had prepared for him, and his appearance
upon the stage of war was but the natural
and simple working out Of events which
made him a necessity and brought his ca
pacity into play. He came to the front as,
the leader of our armies because it was seen
he had the ability to command, and
no higher proof of Lincoln's craftsmanship
great war President discerned Grant'sun-
assuming merit and placed him in undis-.
puted control of the operations against the,
Confederacy. How we'll Grant indicated
the trust reposed in him, the triumph of the
Union cause following plans mapped out
was not of his own seeking that he became
President. 1t was in obedience to the
peoples will, and there can not be the
least doubt that his own preference would
lave been to remain at the head Of the
army in the high and congenial office
created for him by Congress. But
the same simple principle which always
dominated his life made difference to the
popular wish a duty, and he cheerfully
accepted it. His Presidential term, Of
service fell upon the troublous, reconstruc-
ton period, and some of his acts awoke
bitter personal, factional and partisan hos
Utility; but through every executive step
taken by him can be traced the desire.t to
do strict and impartial justice and to serve
the best interests of all the people of every
section. This has become so apparent that
the most malevolent political criticism
long since spent its force, n the value OF
Grants services as President has been con-
coded without question or reservation.
In his private life General Graz has
been a model of uprightness and propriety,
his devotion to his family being one of his
distinguishing characteristics. So, from
whatever point we view him, he stands
"four square to every wind that blows"
The errors be made and the misfortunes
that overlook him were due not to weak
ness or moral lapses on his OWN part, but
to too great confidence i'll men who were
unworthy and abused the trust reposed in
them by one too honest m true himself to
suspect Implicitly in others. He was of the
txyoo that tho uorld louo~ aud a6mi,,os