Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-06-29

ns Deferred Act of Justice
Probably political bigotry was
never more thoroughly illustrated
than in the ferocous way in whlch
Major General Fitz John Porter has
been pursued by men like John A.
Logan. Porter was originally ais
graced because he was friend oil
McClellan's. 1t was necessary to
find some scapegoat for nincompoop
Pope's disastrous second Bull Run
campaign; and that modern Bobadil,
with a beaten and disorganized army
ON his hands, was only too ready to
cooperate in the conspiracy against
Porter. This splendid soldier was
consequently cashiered and barely
escaped with his life. After years oil
undeserved obloquy and prescription
during which thousand malignants'
like the Illinois Black Jack, were
heaping every conceivable insult on
his good name, Porter at last sue
cecded in obtaining a rehearing in his
case. A board was constituted when
consisted Of the most reputable OH
GERS in the United States Army.
After a careful investigation OF all
the old, and the sitting of great deal
Of new evidence, this board reported
that McClellan's friend had been
grossly wronged. AT the hearing by
this second Court Of Inquiry quite
number of Confederate generals, who
were in Porter's front and flank, tes-
titled that Il would have been utterly
impossible for him TO have obeyed
Pope's order, and their quite PLAIN
and coherent testimony went to es-
tablish to demonstration Pope 8
absolute ignorance OF the position oil
the Confederate army and entire i'm
becility as a general commanding.
As Pope had 80 blundered as to per-
init his magnificent army to be
ground as between the upper and the
neither millstones, even at the very
moment when Mr. Lincoln was i'm
ploring Gen. Mcclellan to take COM
mand OF Pope's scattered, shattered
and demoralized army, Porter's ruin
was resolved upon. Gen. Grant care
fully read the findings OF the second
Court Of Inquiry; and, as a result,
he has placed himself repeatedly on
record as the earnest champion of
reparation to Porter, and such gallant
soldiers as Major-General Terry have
Joined with him con amore. Such a
thing as making full reparation for
such gigantic wrongs is OF course i'm
possible. To high strung and hon
orable man an unjust stigma like that
embraced in the wrongful verdict OF
a court martial was worse than death.
1t entered his soul like iron and ami
hilated all the joys OF life. 1t was
originally proposed to restore Fitz
John Porter TO his old rank in the
regular army, with full back pay for
the period during which he had been
unjustly banished from it. This
would have been but small measure
Of restitution. Grant and many OF
the most illustrious Union Generals
favored this plan, but it raised such
a howl from superheated patriots OF
the Logan stamp that Porter's friends,
though knowing the gross injustice
and inadequacy Of the measure, lin
tied their efforts to simply restoring
him to his old rank in the army,
allowing the back pay to go. The
Illinois Senator undoubtedly thinks
that he is ingratiating himself
with the Union soldiers by his malig-
nifty toward one OF their old COM
manders. In this we think that he is
reckoning without his host. The men
who fought on the Union side during
the war are as capable of forming
their own opinions as is Logan him
self. They read the newspapers as
well as he, and the attitude of Grant
and others and the findings OF the Sec
ond Court of Inquiry have not been
lost upon them. Porter cares moth
ing for the pecuniary aspect of the
matter. Like Mcclellan, he was am
ply competent to take care OF himself (;
and, unlike great many Republican
generals, he had fondness for earn
ing his own living. The Jackal howl
ings of Logan are the last notes OF a
partizan bigotry which grew out OF
the remorseless spirit OF such men as
Edwin NJ. Stanton and Thaddeus
Stevens. 1t might be an instructive
thing for Logan and others, who still
hope to live and flourish upon hate
to pick up the newspapers of Wasn-
ington City on the day following Dec
grafton Day, and to note the fact
that the only unornamented grave in
the cemeteries OF that place was that
of Edwin NJ. Stanton, whose acrid
temperament and ferocious spirit Of
injustice were responsible for so much
agony and blood during the war. The
people OF the United States stand
with Grant, Terry and the other ad-
vocates of Porter, and acclaim Con-
gress for daring to do right to a long
suffering and prosecuted patriot, whose
only crime was that a scapegoat was
needed for Pope's fiasco.
THERE is much speculation Just
4 4. 1. Al