National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-07-27
GRANT IN THE PRESIDENCY.


ut all times and under all circumstances,
beyond the shadow of doubt, and there
is almost equal unanimity in eulogism of
his military genius. He goes into his
tory as the great soldier of his time, as
much greater than the illustrious captains
of carly times as the object for which he
drew his sword was worthier than their
inspirations.
But there Is not unanimitv of sentiment
or harmony Of tone when his eulogists
touch upon his career as civil officer.
Many newspapers which seem to find 1t
impossible to speak too kindly or too
warmly of Grant, the man. or Grant, the
commander, abate much of their enthusi
asm when they come to refer to President
Grant.
1t is not our purpose to complain of
this, for it is natural, inevitable. 1t was
the fortune of Washington and Lincoln. 1t
has been the fortuue of all men who have
held great offices in times of strong pub.
lie feeling. 1t is simply impossible for
men of this generation to do exact justice
to the motives and acts of those who
were opposed to them during the eras of
war and reconstruction. The next gen.
Grafton will deal more fairly with Grants
two terms in the presidential Office. and
we have not single doubt TINT history
will eventually write him down as one of
the greatest and best of Presidents.
In many respects the era of reconstruc-
ton was more dangerous and d ffcult
than the war era, To fight an enemy in
the field was a simple problem compared
with that of rehabilitating the seeded
states and restoring the shattered Union.
Under despotic government, or even
under a constitutional monarchy. it
would have been easy to rule conquered
provinces, but repulic knows no such
rule and can have no such provinces
The southern states had to be rebuilt in
some shape, and the foundation of their
structure must be either the ignorant
blacks who had not been disloyal or the
intelligent whites who had inst been
compelled to lay down their arms after
four years of tremendous and unparal-
leled effort to destroy the Union.
These are the simple facts, mentioned
in no spirit of unkindness, but to show
how strange, how unprecedented, and
how vast W IS the work imposed on those
who attempted to restore the Union. If
they made mistakes they did that which
nothing short of divine wisdom could
have avoided, and such will be the YER
dict Of history.
That Gen. Grant was just to the south
and her brave people is evidenced by
his report on the operations of the armies
in 1865, in which he said:
It has been my fortune to see the armies Of
both the west and the east hght battles, and from
what have seen know there Is no difference in
their fighting qualities. All that 1t was possible
for men to do in battle they have done.
All have proud record, and all sections can we'll
congratulate themselves and each other for having
done their full share in restoring the supremacy
Of law over every foot Of territory belonging to
the United States. Let them hope for perpetual
peace and harmony with that enemy whose man
hood, however mistaken the cause, drew forth
such herculean deeds of valor.
Gen. Grant did not seek the presiden-
tial ofice-it was thrust upon him; and
he who would learn the motives which
inspired the hero's heart at that time has
only to refer to his public utterances
In his letter accepting the nomination in
1868 he said
Peace and universal prosperity, its sequence,
with economy of administration, will tighten the
burden Of taxation, while 1t certainly reduces the
national debt. Let us have peace
Those are words that will ring through
the ages, grand vindication of their
author, a perpetual inspiration to patri-
otism. And in harmony with those
words we give the following extracts, all
showing the same fervid patriotism, the
same love of justice, the same devotion
to the welfare of the people, the same
complete subordination of himself to the
constitution and the laws
| shall on all subjects have a policy to recon-
mend, none to enforce against the will Of the
people. Laws are to govern all alike-those OPP
posed to az well as those in favor of them
know no method to secure the repeal of bad or
obnoxious laws efIectual as their strict execu-
tion.-Inaugurat address, 1869.
To protect the national honor every dollar of
| the government indebtedness should be paid In
| gold unless otherwise especially stipulated in the
contract. Let II be understood that no repudil-
ton Of one farthing Of our public debt will be
trusted In public places-IHaugural address,
| 1869.
! We are republic whereof one man is as good
III another before the law. Under such "a form of
government 1t is Of the greatest Importance that
| all should be possessed Of education and intelli-
gence enough to cast a vote with a right under
standing of its meaning. nnttdi Message, ISL
Let us all labor to add all needfu guarantees
for the perfect security of free thought, free
speech, and free press, pure morals, unfettered
| religious sentiments and OF equal rights and
privileges to all men, irrespective of nationality,
color, or religion. Encourage free schools and
resolve that not one dollar OF money appropriated
| to their support, no matter how raised, shall be
appropriated TO the support Of any sectarian
school.-AddreSs at Reunion Of Army Of Ten
nessse, 1875.
That there was too much corruption in
the public service during the two terms
OF President Grant is true, but its excess
was one of the inevitable consequences
of the war. There is corruption now,
and there always must be 80 long as i'm
perfection chAracterizes humanity. Presi,
dent Grant did all that was possible to
promote honesty and fidelity in the
public service, and he left the govern
ment much purer than he found it.
The Philadelphia Press, in brief arti-
Gle on Grant as President, says of him
that