The Indianapolis journal., 1885-08-03
OFFENSIVE PARTISANSHTP
Specimen Editorial from One Of Cleveland's
Appointees.

Appointees.
On the 2Sth of July William NJ. Hancock was
removed from the position of postmaster at
Meridian, Miss, as an offensive PARTISAN" and
>. y. Shannon was appointed in his place Mr.
Shannon is chief editor and half owner of the
Meridian Mercury which in its latest issue
printed the following as a leading article:
GRANT IS DEAD.
And that is the sensation of the hour, and we
do not understand why it should be, for men
born to die are always dying. 1t is no novelty
for great or little to die that all men
should be cut up about it and be standing on
their heads. When a great and good man dies
the world wants 20 make demonstration on the
occasion to testify their respect, because it pre-
sents the last opportunity they can ever have
There is something pOble in the respect the good
pay to the good on such occasions. 1t is AS old
as ancient literature that it is not allowable to
say anything of the dead but good. Yet Byron
wrote it down when King George LII died
1t is the mockery of hell to unfold
The rottenness of eighty years in gold
It is safe to say there Will be an immense
amount of the same sort of mockery on the
present occasion. We wish we knew something
good to say of Grant. now he is dead. We would
so love to say it. They say he conquered the
rebellion, so-calted. In a certain sense, he did.
When Hannibal invaded Italy, and was manever-
ing his great army here and there in the neigh
borhood of Rome trying to get some decidedly
advantageous position to strike a decisive blow
at the Romans, who were trying to defend their
country against invaders. with something Of the
confidence Of the Confederates in their cause
and their great generals, in the belief that con-
stancy would triumph in the end he wrote
Fabius the Roman general. letter one day,
twitting him. IF Fabius is so great a
general, why don't he bring his army
out ana fight me}' Fabius quietly
retorted, 'If Hannibal is SO great a general
why don't he compel ME to fight him?" Grant
had none of the great military abilities Of either
If Hannibal had had the great resources behind
him that Grant had, his "On to Rome" would
have been successful in spite of the superior
generalship of Fabius as Grants 'On to Rich
mond' was successful in spite of the superior
generashlp of the confederate commanders
For every confederate soldier opposed to him he
lost man, it is safe to say, wounded or dead
outright. Time and time again his grand army
pierced and broken by the lesser army com
manded by the greater generals. But the
Yankee Nation behind him was as numerous as
the Persians who invaded Greece, and as fast as
Lee and his better soldiers thinned them out
they were able to fill their ranks in again
Grant was q brutal commander and made
no account of the lives of his men he
sacrificed. Napoleon said the Lord was on
the side of the party that had the biggest cannon
Grant believed the Lord was on the side of the
General who had the most men to sacrifice in
battle. And so 1t was he won IL the end, not by
any display of military science, but by getting
the most men killed in battle. Where Lee had
to confess to few hundred killed, Grant could
boast of his thousands slain in battle While we
would greatly love to say something good of
Grant. now he is dead, we dare not ascribe to him
great military renown for the reason that we
would have to belittle his betters Lee and his
great heutenants, StOnewall Jackson aud others,
were opposed to him in his great military opera
tions. and they held him and his grand army in
check, as Fabus held the bold Carthagenian in
check until conquered by sheer exhaustion. We
regret to be compelled to speak out unpleasant
truths on this melancholy occasion.
Only thursday morning, before the sad tidings
had reached us, we were meditating on one of
Grants eplgrams, ascribed TO him as being said
towards the latter period of the war. He said
the cOnfederates had robbed the cradle and the
grave to recruit their wasted armies. Some
fools have repeated it something smart On
the contrary, to the refined mind, under the cir
cumstances, 1t is exceedingly coarse and vulgar,
and like Grant was himself--a coarse and vulgar
man, with coarse and vulgar thoughts.
He come after the war to be q ruler over these
people. AS ruler he gathered no reputation or
glory. Southern people, to be honest, can only
speak of his civil rule with disgust and horror.
He was the author Of that negro rule in these
Southern States that SO distressed them. AS
President he took to himself thieves and in
famous scoundrels, and there were those who
said then he would take even more than q fair
division of the spoils of the public money they
raided. 1t was notorious that Grant could take
anything that anybody offered him. Andy
johnson, a rather deiectable rascal himself
said he would take anything, for he took the
damned lie" from him
Grant is dead We have no tears to shed;
but may the rulers in heaven be kind to his
soul.