The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-07-25
GEN. GRANT'S DEATH.

general and ex-president, while ex-
pected daily for the past few weeks,
has excited universal sorrow and re-
greet over the entire country. There
Is hardly town or hamlet in this
broad land that has not given some
sign Of mourning in the way of dra-
ping and closing all public buildings
and flying flags at half-mast.
Perhaps the sentiment of the
south is more correctly mirrored in
the comments of her leading papers,
the Atlanta Constitution and the
Charleston News and Courier, than
will be shown from other sources,
and we make liberal extracts from
their editorials. The Constitution
said in its editorial yesterday morn
ing:
"With the clearing of the early
mists yesterday morning which how
cred over Mount McGregor passed
away the soul of General Grant, the
most distinguished of living Amcri-
ans, the general commanding the
jctorious armies of his country and
vice president of the republic.
|ashington alone of al men in our
history has equalled him in honors.
General Grant was a great comman-
Ter. The operations Of the war in
hich he was the leading figure Of
the union armies were colossal. It's
expenses to his government were
over 100000 day. In the siege
Of Richmond he lost 10000, and in
single charge saw 3 900 men struck
down. The comprehension that
gTasped this tremendous situation
and the fortitudo that endured its
awful disasters was itself greatness.
The clear-sightedness that moved
straightforward amid these Devil
derlng scenes undeterred was mill
tary genius. General Grant did not
have tactical skill, tho vast resource,
the superb and finer qualities of lea
dcrship that General Lee had in our
opinion in richer measure than any
man that ever went to battle, or the
spirit that made StonewaIl Jackson
irresistible.
''In place of either of these Gen
erals he had fallen somewhat short
of what they accomplished, but as
leader of the cxhaustless armies Of
the north, he was iron-wiIIed and
absolute master 70 hammer these Ic-
gions against the valiant shell of the
cOnfederacy. He was a man of des-
tiny. As "a statesman he was honest,
sincere, but crcdulous, sphinx-Iike to
the world, but easy to his courtiers,
stubborn where he should have lis
tened anxiouSIy, and facile where he
should have been stubborn. In bus
mess he was weaker than in politics.
In both, it must be said, that his
personal record was clean, and that
he came stainless as to his own char
acter from contact with thieves and
plottcrs. 1t is as a great soldier,
brave, simple, generous and victori-
Gus that he will be best remember
ed. 1t is as a soldier, even though
his sword struck down her cause,
that the south loves to remember
him.
GAS the conquoror of Lee, refus-
ing to take the sword of that great
leader, whose heart broke when he
surrendered his army, as the thought
full victor feeding his starving enc
mics from his own wagons, as a
highminded man of honor demand
ing his parole at the hands of vim
aictive secretary of war, as daunt-
SIS man standing alone but deter
lined between the south and angry
North, he held, as he deserved, in all
his trials the deepest and fullest
sympathies Of our people. He died
IS he had lived brave, silent, an
complaining. lie fought against
death with manful strength, and
when he was overpowered, bowed
his head without q word. When his
life went out great name passed