The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-05

| to lose sight Of the statesman amid the glory Of
the warrior. Such was the magnitude of those
great measures Of state, of domestic and foreign
policy; so far reaching their influence, cofnpre-
hensive their mission, that generations may pass
from the vision of the world the true and
| full estimate of his political worth shall be de-
termined. Then, his administration OF eight
years will receive the calm consideration and
| just approval of his eountrymen. When the
memories of party strife shall have been for
gotten; when the disappointed aspirations for
office shall have ceased to tester; when the rivals
| for place and power are 10 more; then, as comes
the sun from the mist of the morning, so shall
his administration appear IN greatest splendor.
| Then the historian of that calmer age will won
| der how soldier, by endowment and education,
accustomed only to camp and field unearned in
statecraft, unfamiliar with political science, un-
acquainted with the methods of civil administra-
ton, could have displayed such breadth ot states
manship in the measures which he originated
and approved
Great and benefcient as were his measures of
reconstruction, amendments to the Constitution,
| or finance. OF the Improvement OF the laborlng
classes, or the just treatment of the Indians, of
the elevation of the freedmen, of the promotion
| of education and of the concessions he compelled
| foreign powers to make, yet, in the interest OF
I universal peace, in the ultimate recognition of
the brotherhood of nations, in the advancement
of Christian civilization In all the earth, the
| treaty of Washington will be esteemed of i'm
| measurable grandeur and benefcence, not TO be
| estimated by millions of dollars, but by the
possibility and prophecy that all international
| disputes may be adjusted by peaceful arbitra-
| ton, when nations shall learn more"
| Such was his dream of the future expressed to
! the International Arbitration Union in Blrming-
ham, Eng, when he said: Nothing would afford
me greater happiness than to know, as believe
| will be the case that at some future day the
nations Of the earth will agree upon some sort of
congress which shall take cogniZance of inter
national questions of difficulty, and whose
decisions will be as binding as the decision Of
nyty ~, 1rf 10 h,vN,l,.
| And whether in camp or Cabinet in private or
! public, at home or abroad, how pure and com
mendable his moral character. Life in the
camp has proved ruinous to the morals of the
| greatest Of warriors. The excitement of life
devoted TO arms, the scenes of excess and plum
der to which a soldier is exposed, the absence of
the restraints of home and church, tend to the
| worst Of passions and to the corruption of the
| best morals. But here in the presence of the
| dead, whose ears are forever deaf to our praise
| or censure, let it be grateful duty to record
that after five years in camp and field. he re-
| turned to his home without stain upon his
| character. Among ancient or modern warriors
| where shall we find his superior IN moral eleva-
| tion! Given to no excess himself, he sternly
| buked it in others. He could speak to every
| one according to their station-to generals of
their battles, to statesmen of their measures, to
| travellers of their discoveries, to artisans of
| their inventions, to Christians Of their hopes;
| and he could be the delightful companion of
| kings and queens, of courtjers aud chosen
friends; never took the name of the Creator in
| vain, and an Impure story never polluted his
| lips He assured me, as his pastor, that were he
disposed to swear he would be compelled to
| pause to phrase the sentence. Such the
purity of his thought life that he has been seen
| to blush and withdraw from the companionshp
OF those who had presumed to relate salacious
| story in his presence.
His sense of justice was equaled only by his
love of truth He preferred honor to wealth,
and poverty to riches not his own. O, Ameri-
| IF ha pl lOpU
Of your age and the object of the worlds adml
ration, having nothing to bequeath to these he
| loved. save the good name, and that, Heaven
admitted to probate without the whisper of
| contention
Gentle true and kind, gratitude was one of the
noblest emotions of mis- soul His words were
| few, but pregnant with grateful recognition
! To one who had been friend in need he declar-
ed II am glad to say that while there is much
| unblushing wickedness in the world yet there is
a compensating grandeur of soul. II. my case
| have not found that republics ungrateful,
nor the people," And so he had expressed
himself in his speech in New York in 1880: Il am
not one of those who cry out against the Repub-
l!c and charge it with being ungratefu l am
sure that AS regards the American people as
| Nation, and as individuals l have every reason
under the sun, If any person really has, to be
satisfied with their treatment of me-" When
restored to the Army as General and retired
full pay, he was deeply touched; and taking the
wife of his youth by the hand. he read the tee-
eloquent than words, tears Of gratitude TO the
Nation he loved moistened those cheeks never
| bianched with fear
He followed the divine maxim, Before honor
is humility" 1t is difficult to be victorious and
not be proud. Military success leaves in the
| mind an exquisite pleasure, which fills and alb
serbs the thoughts The conqueror ascribes to
| himself superiority of capacity and force He
| crowns himself with his hands; he DEGREES
to himself secret triumph: he regards as his
! own the laurels others helped to gather and
when he renders to God public thanks he mingles
his vanity with his devotions. But read his
orders; read the reports of his victories; read the
| memoirs OF his lite. and he praises his great sub
| ordinates and the army and navy that did the
| fighting Behold! the contrast III the general
orders and reports of battles by the first Ma
poleOn, and those by this unpretentous con-
! Gueror What pride and boldness in the one;
what humility and modesty in the other. And
Who in all these four lustra since the strife was
over, in the decade since he retired from the
chair of State, with a name great in both hemiS
pheres, has ever heard him speak Of his deeds of
valor or the success Of his administration! Let
| another praise thee, and not thine own lips;'
and to day the people crown him with their
| grateful beredictions
I'm honor preferring one another" was the
inspired maxim of his life. How evident his
delight in announcing the triumph of those great
generals who fought under him. And here in
the presence of the illustrious dead let us recall
the tender and constant friendship Of Grant and
| Sherman, and Sheridan. They were as one man.
They acted without anxiety There was in them
| concurrence of thought, motive and aim, born
of mutual confidence They were at orce the
supplement and converse of each other lie was
profound in reflection; they acted by sudden
illumination. He was cool without languor;
they ardent without precipitation. He was more
| ready to act than speak, and most resolute and
| determined when silent; they most eloquent in
words and deeds when executing the plans of
their chief. He created in them the expectation
of something extraordinary: they sought to
reach those prodigies which crowned his life as
the most consurnmate general. He, 10y his rapid
and constant efforts, won the admiration of the
world; they rejoced to shine in the association
of his glory. He, by the depth of his genius and
his incredible resources, rose superior to the
greatest dangers; they. by an admirable instinct,
seemed to learn to draw fortune into tin cir plans