Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-01-23
FRIDAY MORNING. JAN. %. 1888.
AN ASH BAKING.

nual ash raking of the rebellion. The cir
cumstances are somewhat peculiar. and
differ from the routine Republican meth
DDS of stirring up the embers. Gen: Will
liam Tecumseh Sherman is held in de-
servedly high reputation as commander
but bears an inferior and as we'll deserved
reputation as an incompetent meddler in
politics. His kindly meant cartel drawn
up with Gen. Joe Johnston at the surren-
der of the latter which was afterwards
promptly repudiated by the national gov
eminent, was an evidence of this. He
was harshly criticised at the time by many
of the leaders of the Republican party for
his venturing beyond the duties of SOL
der and essaying the role of statesman.
Like all the Sherman family, he is fond
of controversy when it can be made in a
public arena, a disposition that often
brings them to grief. Notably was this
so in the Generals case when he made the
official assertion that Wade Hampton
burned the city of Columbia, and when
pushed to the wall for proof suffered a
rather amusing rout, seeing by this
controversy it was made matter of his
tory that the Federal troops burned the
town, while previously at the North it bad
been debatable question. With increas-
ing years the brave old soldier shows an
increasing aptness for getting into the
same sort Of trouble. Lately, at meeting
of Grand Army Post in Illinois, he
made speech, and in it with nothing
whatever in the passing event to, bring it
olt, be made the statement that he had
seen letter written by Jefferson Davis
in which he avowed the intention of be-
coming the dictator of the Southern Con-
federacy. The assertion must have been
made with that want of particularly
which characteriZes Oratorical Efforts at
suppers, for when it was published, and
its publication was Immediately followed
by letter from Mr.. Davis saying the
statement was false, the General seemed
much surprised. But in these days of
newspaper reporters, an understandable
statement is more dangerous to the man
that makes it than the man about whom it
is made. The old soldier was besieged by
reporters to know where they could get
the Davis letter that Sherman had seen.
The old man became demoralzed and fret
full, he wouldn' t say where the letter was
now, it might have been burned up in the
great fire in Chicago where the headquaa-
ter letters were burned, and in any case it
was none Of the reporter s business It was
''a personal matter between two. gentle
men and would be settled" The repor-
tiers were hilarious over this ominous re-
ply, and the country was filled with tele-
grams to the effect that the two old gen
tlemen would fight duel. Of course
there was no such letter in existence. and
never had, been. but the old general did
the next best thing for his side of the
question and hunted up letter written
by Vice President Alexander 81. Stephens
of the Confederacy ,penned ia 1854, and CAP
tured by some of Sherman1s raiders-apd
which by the bye was all that the old soldier
had ever seen-ln which the Vice President
who was no great admirer Of Mr. Davis.
INDUCED in the sort of talk which was
very common Ia the Confectionery sbous
the time that Mr.. Davis sent his message
to the Confederate Congress r-command
ing thu suspension of the hlbe1s corDus
1t was line of argument most freely IN
dulged in by attorneys who were feed for
getting or keeping men out Of service bv
writs OF hdbedS corpus against military
commanders, and Was to the effect that
such proceeding was to be watched bg a
yet free people. as step towards dicta-
torshlp. The veteran Sherman then takes
this letter, comments on it, Introduces ALI
legitimate and Legitimate differences from
it to fill up the sand after preparing a
generally loyal and particularly hot reply
to jeff. Davis statement that he had ut
tered falsehood, sent it to-the War d.
partment There it will in due time be
engrafted on his work by the official his.
torian Of the rebellion which the govern
ment has employed, and will appear in
the Government history.
To all this, nobody in the South or else
where had objected. However unreliable or
uninstructive Mr.. Stephens views and
Gen. Sherman's comments might be, they
at least were history and might be used as
such. But early last week Senator Haw-
ley, of Connecticut, Mr.. Blaine's unsuc.
cessful competitor at Chicago, offered a
resolution calling for this document, that
it might be printed and go through the
country with the implied sanction of the
Senate. The Anglo-Saxon love of
fair play at once showed itself in opposi-
tion to this one sided proposition. That.
in controversy between an old man bro
ken in health and fortune who the Ma
tional Government itself refuses to call a
traitor and has officially declined to prose-
cute for treason. and another citizen
who has tried to fix that stigma on
him, the Nation should throw its weight
on the side of the latter with no purpose
but to aid him in the unpatriotic effort to
rake up the ashes of a long past civil war
was something that went against the
sense Of patriotism and fair play of nearly
every Southern member of the Senate
Even Senators like Brown of Georgia,
Vance of North Carolina. and Vest Of
Missouri, who were far from being friends
of Mr.. Davis Confederate policy or of the
man himself. were forced upon the floor
in remonstrance against this truly Con-
necticut trick to boost up one man in "a
personal matter between two gentlemen"
at the expense of the National treasury.
They and other Senators from the south
made the statement that Davis was no
traitor to the National government nor
was any man on the Confederate side IN