The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1886-12-23
GRANT sNDLoesN.

Chicago Inter Ocean.
The Cincinnati Commercial Gdz-
cite publishes what purports to be the
fac siHliie Of letter written by GEN
eral Grant In May, 1871, expressing y
doubt as 10 General LOgan's loyalty
20 the Republican party. In this let
ter Grant IL represented as saying
"JOhn Logan is paving the way 10 be
Just as bad Is be knows how TO be." !"
This letter, admitting that IL came
from General Grant. was written
when there was confu, ION in the
Republican ranks. Summer was out
spoken in his opposition to the ad-
ministratiOn, Chase was 10 sympathy
with the sO-called reform movement,
and many distinguished Republicans
were quiet through personal friend
ship % sumner Chase, and Others.
In Missouri an anti-Grant movement
had been inaugurated by friends Of
Carl SchuTz. AS early as March 10
the anti-Grant movement had taken
shape st Cincinnatti, Ohio. All this
was before General Grant had con-
sented to be regarded as q candidate
for reelection. But on the 22d Of
April, after prominent gentlemen In
Massachusetts,, Ohio, and Missouri
bad gone on record against Grant,
Senator Morton, Ia q speech at q pub
lie reception rendered the President It
indianapolis, entered upon q defense
Of the administration, aud his utter
ances were interpreted to mean that
Grant would be u candidate.
AT this time the anti-Grant men
rucrn nlafrrnfnu man hn nfA
not come out In condemnation Of
Sumner as an opponent Of Grant
RumOrs to the effect that Logan
would desert his old commander were
industrOusly circulated at Washir e
ton and in Ohio and Illinois. POliti-
cal schemers had for weeks been en-
deavOring TO create misunderstanding
between the President aud Logan and
other Western Senators, aud Il was in
these weeks that the letter Of Grant,
now published, was written. The
schemers believed they had produced
arupture Of friendly relations between
the President and Logan, aud when
IL was announced that the Illinois
Senator would define his position in q
speech in the Senate, the boiling
newspapers all over the country as
sured the people that General Logan
would give the administration such
an Overhauling as IL had not received
even from Summer. On the very day
Of the speech Il was claimed by the
Cincinnati Commercial and other
boiling papers that Logan would
surely cut loose from the administra-
ton. But when the time came for
Logan to speak he surprised the plot
ters against Republican harmony and
delighted his friends by entering up
on an earnest, impetuous and effective
defense Of General Grant and his adj
ending by declaring his
attachment to his old
II is not too much TO say that that
speech turned the tide in favor Of
General Grant. Certain il Is that Il
cleared up all Misunderstanding and
caused great rejoicing among the
soldiers in the Republican party, and
among the stalwarts generally. From
that date General Grant gained in
and during the year many
who had shown an inclination to fol.
low Sumner and Sehufz FELL away
from them. From that date General
Grant knew that he had among all
lis thousands Of friends, no tFuer OF
warmer friend than General Logan.
The latter entered earnestly into the
OF 1872, and in the notable
canvass of 1850 he was one OF the most
trusted leaders Of the Grant forces.
In his memoirs General Grant
speaks OF his first meeting with Gen.
sral Logan in 1861 In terms that show
he two men became earnest friends
IN sight. Every one of the thirty re.
erences to Logan ia the memoirs Is
by the spirit Of apprecl.
tive friendship. Admitting that
General Grant wrote the note Of May |
z, 1871, it will count little against the |
estimOny so freely given in the later
'ears Of his life.