Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-08-31
COLONEL HoLLIsTER ON GRANT.

EDITOR DEMOCRAT: Sitting idly here
in this valley OF Little Lost river, picked
up a paper containing the eulogy by
Colonel Hollister on the late General
and ex-President Grant, on the occasion
of the exhibition in your city and presen-
tation OF Weggeland's portrait of the
Dead Hero, and after reading it for the
first time, was struck with the aptness OF
the old and oft-repeated PRAYER, "Save
me from my friends"
No man who ever Lived, died and was
buried in this country, has been feted,
honored, rewarded and buried with half
the eclat as Grant was; none whose
faults have been SO freely and completely
overlooked and condoned. His political
antagonists We'd with his political friends
in conferring honors and emoluments on
him in his life, and at his death united
in honest and sincere mourning, and in
consigning his remains to their final rest
ing place.
Although never being myself special
admirer of General Grant, 1 have always
given him credit where credit was due
while he lived, and now that he is dead,
have no criticisms to make regarding his
life. l have had no comments to make
regarding the craze OF the public over his
sickness, death and burial, though fully
aware of the fact that probably hero
worship was at the bottom of the furore
off f,,ll
of the dangers threatening the liberties
| OF people who idoliZe q successful mill
| tary chieftain, can see no danger 7lOW
from Grant, for death hath shorn him of
all power for mischief, if indeed he ever
contemplated any.
After reading Colonel HOLSTERS
eulogy felt, and still feel, that possibly
the Colonel slightly erred in one or two
particulars. The Colonel is good writer,
a good editor and we'll posted, but the
best men are liable at times to err. For
instance, was it necessary, or in perfect
taste for him, in order to do justice to his
subject, to cast this reflection upon the
generals who were in the field at the
same time with Grant. The Colonel says:
eighty thousand men were taken from
| plow and anvil and set in line of battle
within four weeks after Charlottesville.
Such was the devotion of the people and the
efficiency of everybody but oar Generals"
(The italics are mine.) l will give the
Colonel credit, however, for his reference
to General Hancock when giving Grant
credit for work done, as the Colonel adj
mits, by Hancock. Thus:
"When word at last came that Grant had
moved out of the Wilderness by the left
| flank and renewed the mortal combat with
! Lee at Spottsylvania Court House, taking
! sixty cannon and six thousand prisoners one
| morning, and, by the qUay, 1 6eliere it acas
Hancock aUho did ii, (the italics again are
mine), the North breathed free for the first
time since the first Bull Run"
l am of the opinion, however, that
Colonel Hollister has made mistake in
bringing to light the extracts quoted from
| General Grants letters to Mr.. Colfax
Both these gentlemen are now out of
politics; we are all willing to let them
rest in peace, and nothing ought to have
| occurred to cause any unkind feelings on
the part OF political opponents toward
them; but is it reasonable to suppose
that Democrats will easily forget the
manner in which Grant speaks of them?
Colonel Hollister quotes the dead General
as writing in 1871, long after the war was
over, and at a time when the "bloody
shirt" ought to have been buried out of
sight, as follows my great ambition is
to save all that has been gained by SO
much sacrifice of blood and treasure, and
| religiously believe ohat that can only be
done through the triumph of the Repub-
lican party-until their opponents get on
a national, patriotic, Union platform"
In another letter General Grant SAYS
again writing to Colfax:
Everything seems to be working fa-
vorably for loyal administration of the
Government for four years after the
fourth of March, 1873. 1t is important
that we should have such an administra-
ton, though it is not important who the
head may be )" though he was laying the
wires for that end and expected to be
that head, which he became.
In these extracts, Democrats who were
willing to "let bygones be bygones," and
who joined his political friends in confer
ring honors upon General Grant in life.
and in his burial, are now coolly informed
that, when alive, he regarded them and
SO spoke OF them, as unpatriotic and op-
posed tothe Union. They are told that
he religiously believed that if a Democrat
should be elected to the Presidency in |
1872, all that was gained by the war
would be lost. They are insulted by the
implied statement that, if Democrat
should be elected in 1872, the administra- |
ton would be disloyal one.
1t is pity, and l regret it, that Colonel
Hollister saw proper to make the fore !
going quotations Grant ought to have |
been permitted to rest in peace there
are living Republicans senough-including
the Mugwumps-to sufficiently vilifv and |
insult Democrats, without resurrecting !
the dead to do it. The production of |
these unfortunate expressions relative to |
Democrats is naturally calculated to |
arouse feeling antagonistic to his /
memory, for the reason that Democrats
who were and are as loyal, as patriotic, /
and as sincere lovers of the Union as |
Grant ever was, are not likely to rest
quietly under the charges which he ut
tered against them These charges, let
it be remembered, are made, not against
the rebellious South, for the rebellion
had been subdued, peace prevailed and
only political contest was pending, that
war was waged by the Republicans
against their opponents, the Democrats.
BY the way, possibly General Grant
had forgotten, as most Republicans seem
to forget, that the South was not sub
dued by Republicans alone, but by men
of both political parties. Had all the
Democrats of the North kept out of the
Union army might not the result have
been different?
To conclude, let me repeat that 1 think
1t would have been better for the memory
of General Grant if Colonel Hollister had
not made the above quotations; and per-
haps it would be well, if, in the future,
we should