Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-07-27

The claim which the city of Washington put
forth for the custody of General Grants re-
mains was not grounded so much on special
reasons operative in the present case only as
On the conviction that the proper place OF in
terment for citizens whose lives identify them
with the history of the republic is the capital
of the country. And it is gratifying to see by
the welLnigh universal sentiment of the press
that this feeling is shared by the nation at
large. There should be in the United States, as
IS the case In other countries, a sacred spot
where the bravest and best should repo.e In
honor together. Such a pantheon of heroes
would be not only the glory, but a wall of
strength 10 the capital and to republican insti-
futions. The most precious spot in all that
proud British empire, upon whose domain the
sun never ceases to shine, is the few square feet
OF earth in London which contains the dust of
her great men; and there is not an Englishman
any where the face of the earth to-day who
would not make the last stand and shed the
last drop of blood to protect Westminster
Abbey and ST. Paul's from the Dissertation of
an enemy. In like manner would Americans
be stirred by n new and broader and deeper
patriotism if the national capital contained
the ashes Of those whose deeds have made the
country illustrious. This is the sentiment which
underlies the general expression i'm favor of
Washington as the burial place of Grant, and 1t
is this patriotic feeling that has been outraged
by the selection which has been made.
Perhaps the most singular and certainly one
OF the most painful, features connected with the
Selection of Central Park as the burial place of
General Grant yet brought to the notice of the
public is tine disclosure made in an interview
with Adjutant General Drum, published in the
Washington Post of this morning In this inter
view that officer is represented as saying:
"Col. Fred Grant in a conversation which
Mount
explained to me the reasons for the choice, and
i am convinced they are good and sufficient
reasons. Just what they are i anu not at liberty
To state, as they were explained To me cOnfiden-
TALLY in a private conversation"
If General Grant had been a mere private
citizen, to be inferred with the simple obse-
quies usually accorded to friends and neigh
bors, the confidential reasons entertained by a
member of the family for the selection of a
particular burial-place would be accepted
hnal, and no one would ask for them; but the
case is different with the remains OF the great
captain, who more than any other man of his
day public character in his own country,
who equally with any other filled the eye of
the whole world, and who Is to be inferred with
all the ceremonial honors a nation can give to
its greatest dead. In this case the people of the
country have the Fight to know, and they will
never rest until they do know, the reasons why
the place of all others deemed by popular senti-
ment TO be the most unsuitable was chosen as
his last resting-place. The occasion Is one in
which secret influences should not have been
allowed to enter, and the fact that they exer-
eised a controlling force in the decision
will suggest thoughts and reflections which the
American people would be glad not TO enter
tain.
1t will be regarded as unfortunate, too. that
under the circumstances General Drum should
be the recipient of any reasons which he is not
at liberty TO make public. He was sent to
Mount McGregor by the President, TO represent
the Executive, and through him the American
people, and he should not have permitted him
self 10 become the custodian of any Information
which the public might not properly have.
The funeral and burial place of General Grant
are matters of national concern, or they are pri-
vate affairs. If the former, private considera-
tiOns should not be allowed to prevail against
the unanimous wish of the people. If the latter,
then the decision of the family should be ac-
cepted as final, and no inquiry as to the reasons
therefor should or would be made. The public
will not, however, fail to make the proper dis
finction, nor will it be slow to draw its own
illusions from whatever course may finally be
pursued in the premises.